COUNCIL OKS DRUG TASK FORCE FUNDS

"We're sorry we need you; but we do!" Those words from Mayor Johnny Smith
seemed to echo the sentiment of the entire city council during Monday
night's meeting. The comments came in response to a request made by the
Calhoun/Cleburne County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and a subsequent
plea for maintaining financial vigilance where the task force's work was
concerned.

"That seems to be what we hear from all municipal leaders these days," said
Randall Sanders, a supervisor with the drug unit, who traveled to the
council's meeting to personally address the members and urge them to
continue supporting what he sees as a necessity to city survival.

"A lot of counties in the state are probably not going to be able to keep
their task forces in operation because of the cutbacks in Federal funding,"
continued Sanders, "and that is a shame. I implore you, however, if you can
afford to do so, then you need to keep the task force working to clear the
streets of drugs and the violence those drugs bring into a city.

"Think about it this way. If I am going to build a meth lab, and take a
chance on blowing the neighborhood up, where am I most likely to do it. Am I
going to open one in an area that has a task force in place and has a united
front against this type of activity? Or, am I going to head on down the road
to a county that does not have a task force? I think the answer to that is
pretty obvious."

The council agreed with Sanders' statements, as they voted unanimously to
approve a $24,313.93 payment to the task force for next year's operations.
This amount is up from the $6,500 they shelled out last year for the same
purpose.

The reason for the increase comes at the hands of the Federal government,
who recently stripped away a large chunk of the funding that had been going
to drug task forces nationwide. That money was redirected to help revamp the
nation's Homeland Security program. In the past, the Federal government has
shelled out funds that forced the task forces to make a 25 percent match in
funds to the 75 percent that the government paid. Now, that matching amount
has jumped to 50 percent. The match could go even higher, forcing even more
counties to shut operations down, if the president has his way.

"President Bush," explained Sanders, "is currently asking Congress to do
away with the funding all together. If that happens, it will make the
municipalities who are served by the task forces to foot the entire bill,
and I have a hard time believing many can do that.

"Too me, however, it makes no sense. I understand that homeland security is
important, but so is the war on drugs. Yes, over 3,000 people lost their
lives on 911, but more than 3,000 in the United States lose their lives
every month because of drugs and problems associated with drugs. As a
nation, unfortunately, we have gotten numb to the problem of drugs. If we
keep ignoring, however, it will only get worse; it won't go away."

The total amount of local funding needed to operate the task force during
fiscal year 2006 is $250,052.91. That money is being paid by: Calhoun County
Commission, $54,925.68; Anniston, $65,129.59; Heflin, $24,313.93;
Jacksonville, $24,313.93; Piedmont, $24,313.93; Weaver, $2,500; the DA's
office, $39,821.13; and CCDTF Condemned Funds, $14,734.72.

If the federal government pulls all funding from this program, then the
price for each of those individual funding sources will double.
Jacksonville's cost will skyrocket to $48,627.83, not taking into account
inflation or other things that could make the total budget climb.

Rather than simply ask them for money based on the fact that they have done
so in the past, the task force presented the municipal leaders with a 2006
status report, showing what they have done, what they are designed to do,
who they are and why they need these requested funds.

According to their report, statistical information from the last 18 months,
shows that the task force has handled 2,112 cases, making 1,708 arrests.
They have closed down 71 meth labs.

Drugs seized by the task force, in the last 18 months, and their estimated
street value, included:

- - 522,975 grams of marijuana, valued at $5,229,750;

- - 1,072 grams of crack, valued at $128,640;

- - 10,632.60 grams of cocaine, valued at $1,275,912;

- - 4,949 dosage units of prescription pills, valued at $37,117.50;

- - 3,907 grams of methamphetamine, valued at $976,750;

- - 1,392 dosage units of opiates, valued at $41,760;

- - 376 dosage units of hallucinogens, valued at $3,760; and

- - 30,131 marijuana plants, valued at $60,262,000.

The total street value for the drugs seized by the task force in the last 18
months alone equals $67,955,689.50.

"The problems the task force was initially formed to address are essentially
the same as they were when we were founded in 1988," explained the report.
"While the types of drugs we have seen most frequently has changed in time,
and the methods of delivery and production have constantly evolved, the same
basic problem exists: the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs and
the corresponding violent and property crimes those drugs cause has had and
continues to have a devastating effect on the families and communities they
affect.

"Methamphetamine continues to be the biggest drug threat in our area. Our
investigators have initiated an intensive intelligence and enforcement
effort to identify drug traffickers involved in Meth importation,
manufacture and distributions. As has been the case throughout our seizure
of meth labs, we continue to see attempts to manufacture Meth by cooks that
have no concept of the danger of the chemicals they are using result in
residential fires and serious injury to the ones attempting to manufacture
the drug. The danger to the community is not only the distribution of this
highly addictive drug but the risk of explosion or chemical exposure to
local residents makes it mandatory that upon report of a possible lab, our
investigators respond immediately and in force."

The report also noted that a new threat has been confirmed in our area that
is related to Meth.

"Through our close affiliation with the Birmingham DEA office," the report
indicated, "we had been made aware of a new trend across the US of Mexican
Cartels becoming involved in distributing large quantities of meth to areas
heavily populated with persons addicted to meth. Due to the quantities at
their disposal, these Cartels are able to sell their product much cheaper
than local manufactures.

"We gained first hand experience in this trend this fiscal year when we
discovered a local Meth dealer was receiving his product from such a source.
With the assistance of the Birmingham DEA Field Office, one of our
investigators was able to purchase Meth from this subject and his source of
supply. The source of supply was a Hispanic male in Cedartown, Georgia that
is believed to have supplying up to 100 pounds of Meth a time to the North
West Georgia, North East Alabama Region."

According to the report, other drugs that continue to be problems in this
area include marijuana, cocaine and pharmaceuticals.

"Jacksonville is only paying about nine percent of the total program cost
for this service," said Mayor Smith. "Personally, I believe we are getting a
very valuable service at a relatively small cost, especially when you
consider the alternative. I hate we need their help, but as long as we do, I
am glad that they are here."

After some intense debate over the last few weeks, the council approved job
descriptions for the finance department and requested the civil service
board approve this action. The positions approved included a finance/revenue
specialist (Range 33), a revenue administrator (Range 35), and a finance
accountant (Range 38). Mayor Smith acknowledged that he was not complete
convinced of the need for these positions but sided with the majority on the
issue, bowing to their view on the matter. Councilman George Areno, however,
cast a no vote. He insisted he wanted the record to show that this was not
something the council had come into easily and that the debate continued to
rage concerning the necessity of this move at this time and place.

"My no vote," said Areno, "is just to say that we had a lot of discussion
and disagreement on this matter and that they should not come back to us
anytime soon asking us to change things again."

In conjunction with this approval, the council place Serita Abbott
(finance/revenue specialist), Sandy Salisbury (finance/revenue specialist),
Karen Tierce (revenue administrator), and Sandra Marion (finance accountant)
into these positions.

Additionally, the council approved job description of account
clerk/multi-functional, account clerk I/revenue administrator, revenue
director and chief account clerk for the finance department; and street and
sanitation assistant superintendent, street and sanitation records clerk,
equipment operator II, equipment operator I and animal control officer, for
the street and sanitation department. They placed Clois Boozer, Constance
Nation, John Wayne Andrews, Lamar Bas, Paul Turner, Greg Morgan, Albert
Jarmon, Boyd Hodges, Donald Clark, Jimmy Harrell, Gregory Harrell, Roy
Watson, William Wells, and Chester Edwards into these positions.

In other actions, the council voted unanimously to:

- - amend the minutes of their May 9 meeting to correct the step in which
firefighter/paramedic/EMS coordinator Randall Childs was placed from Range
35-B, Step 12 to Range 35-B, Step 11;

- - award the bid for police department records software to Southern Software,
Inc., of Southern Pines, NC, for $25,845;

- - award the bid for a zero turning radius mower for PARD to Talladega
International Tractor of Talladega, for $10,085.10;

- - award the bid for the 2005 street improvements project to Logan
Construction of Jacksonville, for $45.33 per ton;

- - authorize the mayor to sign a contract with Metro Mail Services or
Anniston to provide for the printing and distribution of the Alabama
Department of Environmental Management required 2005 Annual Water Report to
all Jacksonville water customers, for $1,085;

- - authorize the mayor to sign a contract with B.R. Kennedy to set up the
file conversions for the new computer system in the city clerk's office, for
$1,500;

- - approve purchases over $2,000, including $5,00 to Auburn University for
payment due on Small Town Design Initiative; $3,413.25 to Glass & Son
Flooring, Inc., for installing vinyl tile on the first floor of the police
department; $3,025 to S.J. Patterson Company for gas fittings; $2,678.70 to
S.J. Patterson Company for gas fittings and a tap; and $3,284.17 to Siberton
Fence Sales, Inc. for chain link fencing; and

- - approve $4,822.01 in travel expenses.