DRUG TASK FORCE BRACES FOR LOSS OF FUNDS

Local law enforcement officials are concerned a reduction in funds for
the West Central Drug Task Force will hinder drug enforcement
activities in the region.

A 2009 Eau Claire County budget proposal doesn't replace money lost by
the task force through shrinking state and federal grants. The
proposal amounts to a cut of $38,600 for the drug unit, area law
enforcement officials say, at a time when more resources are needed to
fight illegal drug trafficking and use in west-central Wisconsin.

The loss of the money would likely mean the cutting of a half-time
position within the drug task force. The position, which is now
staffed by an Eau Claire County sheriff's investigator, writes federal
and state grant proposals, tracks statistics for the task force and
runs its office.

If the money is lost, that work will have to be spread to the task
force's other investigators, who already have a heavy workload, Eau
Claire County Sheriff Ron Cramer said.

"It will leave them less effective. There's more than enough work.
Those folks are very busy," he said.

"We could actually use a few more people in the drug unit rather than
less," Cramer said.

"The concern is what happens next year. Will they come back and take
more money next year? I will certainly be working behind the scenes to
try to restore that money."

The $38,600 was not included Thursday in the version of the 2009
budget drafted by the county's Finance and Budget Committee.

The money still could be inserted into the budget by the County Board
during its November budget deliberations.

Losing the task force's grant writer would have a negative impact, Eau
Claire Deputy Police Chief Eric Larsen said.

"It has an exponential effect on our ability to raise money to keep
the task force going," he said. "That could snowball into further losses."

Cramer agrees: "It's imperative that we try to keep this
together."

The task force, which has existed for 20 years, is comprised of
representatives from 13 different law enforcement agencies from six
counties in west-central Wisconsin.

"The task force is one of the longest running and most successful drug
task forces in the state," Larsen said.

The task force needs more resources, not less, he said.

The Chippewa Valley's methamphetamine problem was significant earlier
this decade but was dramatically reduced in the last year or two. Now
the problem is starting to grow again, Larsen said.

"The distribution chain has reached us again," he said.

The Chippewa Valley has seen 13 deaths in the past two years because
of accidental overdoses by drug addicts, Larsen said.

"There's a lot of work ahead of us," he said. "This is the wrong time
to falter on our commitment to this problem."

Chippewa Falls Police Chief Wayne Nehring, chairman of the West
Central Drug Task Force's Oversight Committee, said the task force
will not survive if local government continues on a path of faltering
commitment.

"Each (law enforcement agency) will investigate drug cases in their
own community and the exponential impact of working in a group will be
lost," he said. "Communities in the Chippewa Valley will suffer for
it."