craigdailypress.com

Moffat County commissioners voted Tuesday to increase the county's funding to a local narcotics task force.

The decision means the Greater Routt and Moffat Narcotics Enforcement Team will receive about $83,000 from Moffat County in 2007, up from about $81,000 this year.

GRAMNET supervisor Dusty Schulze attended Tuesday's meeting on behalf of the task force to ask the county to increase its funding.

In recent years, GRAMNET has lost out on federal grants that the task force used to rely on.

Schulze said last week that when GRAMNET started 10 years ago, the task force could count on grants from the federal government for about 80 percent of its funding.

But many of the grants that were designed to help GRAMNET get its start are drying up.

Without grants, GRAMNET has been turning to local governments to foot more of the bill.

"We're going to end up funding it ourselves," Commissioner Saed Tayyara said.

The county's original contribution to GRAMNET this year was about $70,000, including contributions from the Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's Office.

But when GRAMNET lost out on a $45,000 High Intensity Drug Activity grant from the federal government late last year, the agency had to ask for increased funding.

The city of Craig, Moffat County, city of Steamboat Springs and Routt County each pitched in $11,000 for GRAMNET to offset the grant.

Commissioner Darryl Steele said he felt the task force does good work in the county.

In December, the task force rounded up 20 people on methamphetamine charges during a two-day sweep. The sweep was the result of a six-month investigation.

The task force works with law enforcement agencies in Routt and Moffat counties.

Brandon Johansson can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 213, or bjohansson@craigdailypress.com.

Commissioners also:

• signed off on a grant for electronic recording equipment at the Moffat County Clerk and Recorder's Office.

• approved personnel requisitions for the Road and Bridge Department and Sheriff's Office.
• approved the cooperative agencies recommendations for the Bureau of Land Management resource
  
  management plan. The recommendations are based on meetings with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, among other agencies.