MISSISSIPPI COUNTY PHASING OUT ROLE IN SEMO DRUG TASK FORCE

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The SEMO Drug Task Force is seeking a new home for its
money now that Mississippi County has released itself from the role of
banker, said task force head Kevin Glaser.

Earlier this month, Mississippi County Clerk Junior DeLay asked the
commission to end the county's role as a pass-through agent for the $375,000
in federal grant money the task force has on account.

The task force's investigators come from about 25 law enforcement agencies
across Southeast Missouri. For the last eight years, Mississippi County has
held the funds, made up of several grants the task force uses to combat the
region's illicit drug problem.

On Tuesday, Delay said the commission decided this month that the task
force's money will be phased out of the budget by the end of the calendar
year.

"It just inflates our budget," he said. "The liability of our insurance
premiums is based on the size of our budget. There are several counties the
task force serves and we felt it was time for someone else to fill this
role."

Discussing situation

Glaser is actively searching for a replacement to hold the task force's
dollars.

"We're going to meet with the task force board members toward the end of
this month to see if another city or county can take up that role for us,"
he said.

He already has discussed the situation with Cape Girardeau County Sheriff
John Jordan. But there are several factors to consider before any service
agreement on funds could be reached, he said. Those include the how checks
are issued to the task force and the timeliness of payments.

"How things are handled in Cape Girardeau County may not be conducive to how
we operate, so we'll just have to see," Glaser said.

The task force is grateful to Mississippi County for voluntarily being a
"safety valve" for so many years, Glaser said.

"As a task force, we're not a separate government entity, and that puts us
in a unique situation," he said. "Most of our funds come from federal
grants. And the federal government believes it's better to funnel these
grants through a legitimate agency, like a city or county, because it
provides a system of checks and balances."

Increased budget

The task force's budget exceeds $300,000 annually. It may have increased a
little over the last few years due to some of the grants, he said.

Glaser is optimistic that another county or city will assume the caretaker
role of the task force's money, perhaps even as soon as the task force
board's upcoming meeting.

"It's going to be a necessity at some point because we need someone to step
up to the plate as the new pass-through agency or there will be no task
force," Glaser said.