With a sentence of court-ordered supervision often comes a supervision fee of up to $45 a month paid to the Adult Parole and Probation Department, but what is that money used for? In a time of limited fiscal availability for Crawford County, that money is standing out as a highlight as it is paying for the department to receive 22 new handguns and holsters.
As a person pays they fees, the president judge monitors the account and decides what is spent out of it. Currently, according to Crawford County commissioners, the account has about $800,000, which is exclusively for department expenses.
Department Chief Trevor Oates explained that the opportunity arose for a good deal on guns, and thanks to the President Supervision Fees account, they’re able to pull the trigger on that purchase.
The new guns are $595 apiece, bringing the total to $13,090, but the trade-in value for their current guns is $250 each, bringing the price down to $7,590.
In the past, Oates explained, they’ve had to purchase two holsters for each gun — one for duty gear and one for plain clothes carry — but holster have evolved over the years, so they’re now buying one holster that has an interchangeable system. That price will be $3,885.
County commissioners ratified the quote approval Wednesday as the department awaits an actual invoice. Since it comes from the President Supervision Fees account, commissioners wouldn’t normally have to approve the purchase, but the guns will fall under the county’s liability and insurance, so they have to OK it.
Another standout when it comes purchase approvals this week was work at the Greiser Road tower site as the Crawford County Department of Public Safety looks to build a tower that has better reception and coverage in the county for 911 services.
The work includes transportation and off-loading costs, building an ice bridge, installing fencing and gates, and relocating Government West and Police West channels to the new tower.
Public Safety Director Greg Beveridge said he’s hopeful all this work will occur before the end of the year, but weather conditions will be one of the deciding factors.
This work is able to move forward amid a fiscal cutback thanks to wireless funds. Wireless funds in a county are primarily generated by surcharges on wireless phone services and are used to support the local 911 emergency response system.
Commissioner Chairman Eric Henry noted that wireless companies may soon increase those fees, but he pointed to the necessary work it enables the county to do.
“Now, if only you were covered by wireless money,” Henry joked to Crawford County Human Services Director Sue Watkins.
With the state budget impasse, the department hit hardest is human services. It’s estimated that the county is nearing an estimated $10 million in missed payments from the state for Human Services alone.
Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with Joseph Barnhart as the crisis intervention team coordinator with the contract running from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. That means he’s not been compensated thus far.
“I’d just like to say Mr. Barnhart has gone a long time without being paid for us to do this,” Henry said. “We really appreciate him continuing to do this, and he’s done a great job.”
The county has been awaiting money since that July 1 date when the budget was supposed to be passed. Wednesday marked the 100th day of the budget impasse as the situation worsens for Crawford and other counties in the state.
Commissioners have begun meeting at 9 a.m. each day with the financial staff and chief clerk to review each purchase and decide if it’s necessary. They are trying to find out currently where their backstop is, where the county runs out of money. Although they have reserves and money set aside, Henry emphasized the urgency of the issue.
“Still a very serious crisis, still a very serious issue,” he said. “We don’t want you to forget about it.”
He encouraged residents to speak with county legislators to see where they’re at in terms of negotiations in the state.
“That doesn’t mean I lay blame on any one particular person, but I think it’s important we keep talking about it because we will find that backstop,” he said. “It is coming, and that backstop does require us to do some pretty hefty things — reduce services and make cuts — and we don’t want to do either of those two things. So that’s what we’re facing if we don’t have any change very soon.”