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Good Afternoon,
Wanted to make sure you saw this article that ran in today's USA Today on USDA's Rural Community Facilities Programï.
Rural Community Facilities Program is a lifeline
By Kevin Johnson
USA Today
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, known for its drought and disaster assistance to farmers, is providing hundreds of millions of dollars to cash-strapped towns and public safety agencies to buy police patrol cars, equip fire stations and renovate courthouses.
Part of a broad mission directed by the agency's Rural Community Facilities Program, the mix of grants and loans is offering a lifeline to small communities across the country that are struggling in a difficult economy.
Since FY 2006, the program has doled out $770million in public safety funding, including $39million for 1,235 police cars and $120.5million for 1,149 firetrucks, according to department records. Though not widely known outside rural areas served by the program, the funding is drawing new interest from financially stressed communities and as traditional sources of public safety aid — from the U.S. Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security— are being reduced.
"The first time I heard of this program, I was surprised," said Seneca Falls, N.Y., Police Chief Frederick Capozzi, an advocate for the agriculture program. "You have to be broad-minded when you're looking for money. And we're all looking for money for training and equipment."
Capozzi, who heads a 13-person department, said the agriculture funding is providing crucial aid to agencies supported by small community tax bases, where a new firetruck or police car often is a prohibitive expense.
"There are things we just can't afford to buy," said Capozzi, whose own village government will be largely eliminated in December as part of a cost-savings move.
The agriculture aid programs are designed to assist communities with populations of up to 20,000 with a variety of functions specific to rural America. The programs include loans and grants for more traditional agricultural-oriented services involving water, drainage and waste systems.
Assistance also is provided for funding "essential community facilities," such as fire protection and law enforcement services, according to the agency's program documents.
Police Chief Frederick Capozzi says agriculture funding is crucial to smaller communities.
Last month, the department announced an extensive package of aid for 15 Texas communities, including an $8.1 million loan and a $35,000 grant to renovate the Starr County Courthouse in far south Texas' Rio Grande City.
The largest aid recipient in the package, Port Isabel, was awarded a total of $26 million in loans for the construction of a jail and law enforcement complex, along with a visitor and community center.
In addition to "reliable emergency services and equipment," Tammye Trevino, an Agriculture Department rural administrator, said the projects would likely create jobs and attract businesses .
Cheryl May, director of the National Center for Rural Law Enforcement, said the wide range of aid addresses needs specific to rural communities.
May said an agriculture grant helped create the Rural Executive Management Institute, a roving training program that helps prepare police chiefs and sheriffs for their roles in rural communities.
"The challenges facing rural agencies are much different than in urban departments," May said, adding that an estimated 900 officers have cycled through the institute's training sessions. "There is often little money and a majority of the agencies are operating with fewer than 10 officers.
"Having this funding available just does a lot of good," May said.
