Some Law Enforcement Planning Commission grants to other agencies have been delayed by changes in federal schedules and procedures, LEPC officials said during budget hearings Monday.
The LEPC is the state administering agency for a number of U.S. Justice Department grants. As such, it is the liaison with the U.S. Department of Justice and the office’s programs. This includes Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office for Victims of Crime and Office on Violence against Women, LEPC Director Victor Browne told the Senate Finance Committee.
Currently LEPC manages the Justice Assistance Grant, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Grants, Victims of Crime Assistance Grant, Violence Against Women Grant, Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Grant and one for the enforcement of the underage drinking laws. Some of the funds have come through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
When the Office of Legal Services presented its budget Aug. 23, its executive director, Richard Austin, told the Finance Committee he needed another $200,000 to make payroll. Austin said the shortfall was largely because funding from the LEPC, which contributed $155,000 to that office’s $1.3 million budget in 2013, had not materialized. (See related links below)
Several senators, including Sens. Myron Jackson and Nereida "Nellie" Rivera-O’Reilly, pressed LEPC officials for information about the funding, which was to come from the federal VAWA and VOCA grants.
"Can Legal Services expect to receive funds from the LEPC in 2014?" O’Reilly asked.
LEPC Director of Victim and Witness Services Angela Campbell said the grants had been applied for, but the federal schedule had changed, so the money is likely to be approved and released later in the year. "As to a time frame, I cannot say right now," she said. When pressed, she ultimately projected the federal funding will likely arrive late this calendar year, but that when and if those grants came depended on the federal government.
Browne discussed the commission’s proposed budget of $590,000, as recommended by the Office of Management and Budget.
Of the commission’s budget, $293,000 is for wages and salaries; $123,000 is for employer contributions to Medicare, Social Security and benefits; $109,000 is for "other services and charges; $15,000 for supplies; and $50,000 for utilities.
LEPC staffs 10 employees, three of whom are paid through federal grants.
No votes were taken at the information-gathering budget hearing.
