FADE FACING FISCAL CRISIS

ASHLAND - The FIVCO Area Drug Enforcement Task Force (FADE) is facing
a financial crisis.

The multi-county drug task force will have its federal grant funding
cut by $80,000, or 34 percent, for the 2005-06 fiscal year. FADE
expects to receive $156,000, compared with $236,000 for the current
year.

As a result, FADE will ask its member cities and counties to shoulder
a larger share of the burden.

The task force's board of directors, meeting in special session, voted
Monday to request that the city councils and fiscal courts that are
over the police and sheriff's departments that have officers in FADE
pick up 75 percent of the cost for those officers' salaries and
benefits, rather than the customary 50 percent.

Overall, the six cities and county governments would pay about $68,000
more for officers' compensation for fiscal 2005-06 than for the
current fiscal year. They would be responsible for a total of $171,995
in matching funds.

FADE's member agencies are the Elliott County and Carter County
sheriff's departments and the Flatwoods, Russell, Grayson and Raceland
police departments. Each department contributes one officer to FADE

Charles Stewart, FADE project director, said reducing the task force's
operating budget - which is $100,000 for the coming year - was not
feasible.

"We've cut ourselves to the quick in this budget already," he
said.

Stewart said FADE's officers simply could not do their jobs without
such items as cell phones and pagers, as well as money for their overtime.

However, he did say he was looking for a cheaper place where the task
force could rent office space, although he said he doubted a better
deal could be found than what FADE is getting for its current location
on Greenup Avenue, next to the Ben Williamson building.

FADE currently pays about $27,000 a year in rent, which includes
utilities and cleaning, he said.

The cut in federal funding also will force FADE to use more funds from
asset forfeitures than it would normally. The proposed budget has the
task force about $54,000 in forfeiture money in 2005-06, compared to
$20,000 for the current fiscal year.

FADE Detective David Smith said he was projecting that the task
force's forfeiture account would have about $73,000 in it at the end
of the fiscal year.

Stewart said the proposed spending plan would allow FADE to scrape by
for a year.

Russell Mayor Don Fraley, chairman of the FADE board, said he thought
it was vitally important that the task force remain intact.

"I'm asking all of you to stay committed to it. Let's keep this fight
up," he said. "If we all tighten up a little bit, we can hang right in
there."

Fraley said he did not think he would have any problem convincing the
Russell City Council of the need for the city to remain in the task
force.

Smith said the dissolution of FADE would virtually guarantee an
increase in illegal drug activity in the task force's member
communities, since their police departments lack the resources to
conduct their own drug investigations.

Overall crime rates would likely increase as well, since drugs are at
the root of so many crimes, Smith said.

Flatwoods City Councilman John Harris, filling in for Mayor Bobby
Crager at the board meeting, said the work of FADE officers had made
"a big difference" in keeping down drug activity in the city.

Fraley said he had a meeting scheduled for next week with U.S. Rep.
Geoff Davis to discuss FADE's funding situation. He said he also is
hoping to get a meeting soon with Sen. Mitch McConnell.