AG: SARALAND CAN VOTE ON DRUG FUND SPENDING

Control varies under federal, state laws

Police departments have wide discretion over how to spend drug money seized
under state law but must seek City Council approval in spending cash seized
under federal law, Alabama's attorney general said in an opinion released
Tuesday.

Saraland City Council members requested the opinion after questions arose
over who had ultimate control over a growing pile of cash seized mostly on
Interstate 65. The Police Department received $270,000 on Tuesday for its
role in several large drug cash busts under federal law within the past 18
months and expects several hundred thousand more in the months to come.

But it wasn't just a local question.

"Every chief in the state has an interest in it," said Pat Creel, police
chief of Red Bay in northwest Alabama. "Because of the limitation on funds
available through the city, it's where we do our extra drug work and buy
extra equipment."

Some cities allow their police departments wide latitude over how to spend
the money, which often goes to paying confidential informants and buying
drugs, but can also be used for new vehicles, computer equipment and
drug-related overtime. In other cities, such as Saraland, the chief notifies
the council about purchases made with drug fund money.

The opinion said that money seized under state law -- those cases prosecuted
when the federal government decides it lacks jurisdiction -- must be kept in
the city's general fund. But how to spend it is up to the law enforcement
agency it has been awarded to and is not subject to council approval.

Cash seized under federal law -- those cases where a U.S. attorney's office
gets involved -- must be kept in a separate fund, the opinion said. It gave
neither the police department nor elected officials sole control over the
funds.

Instead, it said the police department must seek approval from the council
unless the council hands that federal money to the police wholesale. And the
council can only approve or disapprove individual expenditures. It can't
decide where else the money can be spent.

"I don't think this necessarily changes anything for us per se," said
Saraland Public Safety Director Trey Oliver. "Chief (Gerald) Young and I and
the council and the mayor -- we're going to work together on this. There was
just a little dispute over who has final authority."

Oliver and Young had wanted to sign checks themselves on the drug fund
money, which created a debate over council control and oversight.

Council President Howard Rubenstein declined to characterize the matter as a
control struggle, instead saying the city merely needed more guidance in how
to administer the drug funds. The opinion, he said, provides that guidance.

"I look forward to working in a partnership with the Police Department," he
said. "I think that's the intention of the attorney general's opinion."