SLAGLE TO JUSTICE: WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?

WASHINGTON -- Southeast Iowa officials seeking additional funding to fight
the war on drugs came away from a meeting Thursday with U.S. Department of
Justice officials with one question: Where is the money going?

Burlington City Manager Bruce Slagle took the lead in asking justice
department representatives Patrick Coleman and Eric Acres why the state of
Iowa siphons so much off the top before dispersing Byrne Grant funds to
local communities.

Slagle said Iowa gives less than 41 percent of the grant money it receives
to multijurisdictional drug task forces like the Southeast Iowa Narcotics
Task Force in Des Moines County.

That compares to 64 percent in Illinois, 70 percent in Minnesota and nearly
51 percent in Missouri, Slagle said.

The low percentage of money getting through to Iowa cities has made it
difficult to maintain manpower to combat drugs, he said.

"It has led to cuts on the street at the local level in the fight on
drugs," he said.

The Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force initially received grant money to
fund five investigators: two from Burlington, two from Des Moines County
and one from West Burlington. Now, Slagle said, the money the agency
receives is just enough to fund three investigators, one from each entity.

"Very simply, from where we're sitting there has to be some level set here
so funding to local jurisdictions is sufficient to fight the war on drugs,"
he said.

West Burlington Mayor Hans Trousil chimed in, telling Coleman and Acres
something must be done to restore funding.

"Five officers was not enough; three is unacceptable," he said. "We're
seeing too many young people get wasted on this stuff, and we need to get
back that level of funding to get back to five."

Unfortunately, pleas for help may not have helped.

Coleman said the Byrne Grant is allocated based on a formula including
population.

Each state receives .25 percent of what is appropriated by the federal
government, with the remainder being distributed by population, he said.

Iowa this year has received $5.63 million, a reduction of about 3.5 percent
from the year before when the state received more than $5.8 million.

When asked why the amount decreased, Coleman said, "I honestly can't tell
you why."

Coleman said another formula determined the minimum requirement for funds
the state passes through to local agencies, and based on that formula, Iowa
is on the mark.

"The track record for Iowa is pretty good," he said.

Coleman said the state can keep 10 percent of what it receives from the
Byrne Grant to fund the Governor's Alliance on Substance Abuse, but has
only held back about 6 percent.

All states are required to take 5 percent for things like the Department of
Public Safety, fingerprint technology and records integration.

The rest, Coleman contends, is reaching Iowa's local drug fighting
agencies, something the Iowa delegation disagrees with.

The delegation was asked whether it has used other resources, such as the
COPS grant.

Slagle said Burlington has hired officers with COPS funding but was forced
to turn down the last grant because of concerns with the city's ability to
continue funding for the program after the federal dollars stop.

Under the COPS program, cities can receive funding over a three-year period
to hire police officers, but the funding decreases incrementally each year
until the entire cost of the officer must be paid by the city.

Trousil said West Burlington, which also has hired officers with the COPS
grant, is in the same boat as Burlington in being worried about assuming
funding when the federal money stops.

They were told the National Office of Drug Control Policy may have funds
available for high intensity drug areas, but there are only eight areas
that have received that designation in Iowa, the closet to southeast Iowa
being Linn County.

Chani Wiggins, legislative assistant to Sen. Tom Harkin, urged the
delegation to be vocal about their needs for continued funding for the war
on drugs.

She said while there is a proposal to cut $100 million from the Byrne
Grant, it likely will be restored by an amendment offered by Harkin. She
also said funding will continue for the COPS program.

"We need your support," she said. "Send us a letter we can hold up on the
Senate floor telling them this is important to our people back home. It
makes a big difference."