DRUG TASK FORCE GETS TEMPORARY FUNDING

The Tarrant County Commissioners Court approved temporary funding
Tuesday to continue operating the county's drug task force as state
officials debate how to spend dwindling federal narcotics grant money.

The court agreed to spend $465,000 to fund the county's narcotics
team through June 30 -- a 90-day stop-gap measure -- while it awaits
word from the state on its grant applications.

Federal grants, distributed through the Texas governor's office to
fund narcotics enforcement in Texas, have declined nearly 70 percent
to $14 million this fiscal year, compared with $33 million in
2004-05, said Rachael Novier, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry.

The state is reviewing applications for federal funds that could be
used by Texas' regional drug task forces. No deadline has been set
for awards. Novier said the governor is forming a strategy to use the
funds to focus on border-related drug crime.

"A drug strategy that targets the Texas-Mexico border is beneficial
for all of Texas," she said. "Some drug task forces said they can
keep their doors open (through forfeiture funds)."

In Tarrant County, drug forfeitures totaled about $700,000 last year.
The county's share to fund the unit is about $2 million, which pays
for street officers, prosecutors and support staff. Cities in the
region pay and assign officers to the task force, which costs about
$2.6 million, according to Assistant District Attorney David Hudson.

"There is a realistic possibility that we won't get any money from
the state," he said. "Forfeiture funds are not enough to fund the
whole unit." Police agencies that participate in the drug task force
could join the Texas Department of Public Safety in regional drug
enforcement efforts, but those departments have been reluctant to
relinquish local control of their efforts.

Commissioner Glen Whitley characterized the loss of federal grant
money as an unfunded mandate on local government.

"Every time something like this occurs, we have to realize this is
one of those things that is coming to us and affecting us and has
nothing to do with the bond issue, but it will affect our overall
budget," he said. "The state is backing out of their financial responsibility."