A.G. Gancarski
A priority of the city of Jacksonville during the Lenny Curry era: increasing police presence on its most dangerous streets.
One vehicle to do just that: COPS Grants.
The city is pursuing state money for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Matching Grant. The vehicle in the 2017 session of the Florida Legislature: HB 2781, filed by Rep. Cord Byrd.
Jacksonville seeks $250,000, a number it has gotten previously, to match $625,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice, and $294,211 in local monies.
The appropriations request speaks to the success of the program, which Jacksonville uses to quell gun violence — a recurrent concern of policy makers as homicide rates have climbed in recent years.
Jacksonville “received seven letters of support from apartment complexes that are receiving services that the COPS program provides. The complexes have seen great progress in a short time: strengthened relations with local housing communities and tenants receive safety inspections to make their homes meet the standards of the Jacksonville Crime Free Multi-Housing Program.”
The lobbyist working on this bill on behalf of the city: Brian Ballard of Ballard Partners.
The city broke with the previous administration by enlisting a three-headed monster of lobbying firms to advocate for its interest.
In addition to Ballard, the Fiorentino Group and Southern Strategies Group carry the city’s water in Tallahassee.
With Mayor Curry in the state capital this week, chances are good that more local appropriations bills may be rolled out by the Duval Delegation.
