WILLMAR -- The city of Willmar will receive federal funding of $141,000 for the city's gang enforcement team and $23,500 for methamphetamine education programs.
The funds were approved in the omnibus appropriations bill that passed both the Senate and the House this week, according to information from Sen. Norm Coleman's office.
The gang enforcement team funding will insure that the city's police will continue to target criminal gang behavior, according to Police Chief Jim Kulset.
Kulset expects that the funds will be used for salaries and overtime for officers, as well as for training on gang activities and equipment. The gang enforcement team, formed in 1998, has no separate budget within the overall police budget, he added. Therefore, it is a proactive policing effort that is sometimes scaled back to meet the budgeting and staffing needs for the department's required activities.
The meth education money will allow the department and numerous regional partners to continue to host speakers and pay for advertising and public education efforts. Kulset expects the education effort to branch out from meth to include other chemical and drug dependency issues.
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The gang enforcement team and meth education were two of three proposals the city made to Coleman's office, Kulset said. And, while the city didn't receive federal funding for the third project, digital video cameras for squad cars, state funds were secured for that this year.
"Each of these projects is difficult to fund with our operating funds," he said. "We need to thank Sen. Coleman for his hard work on this."
Coleman's office released this statement from the senator: "Earlier this year, I spoke with Mayor (Les) Heitke about the positive impact this funding will have, which is why I made it one of my top priorities.
"I know firsthand from talking to victims across Minnesota that methamphetamine abuse brings devastating consequences not only to individual abusers, but also to families, friends and the community.
" ... It is equally important that we outfit our local law enforcement with the necessary resources and tools that will help them win in the fight against gang violence," he said.
Mayor Heitke also expressed personal thanks to Coleman for his constant support for Willmar, including the $15 million in federal funding for the city's new wastewater treatment plant. "He is an extremely supportive senator for Willmar," Heitke said.
