by Doug Lambert
GraniteGrok.com
This year, extra monies have been pumped into the JAG program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) or, as it is more commonly called, the “stimulus” package. This is the same grant that would provide the funds for the Laconia PD that I was critical of here in this post several weeks back, noting that the dough has nothing to do with stimulating the economy and is nothing more than a handout used to maintain certain government spending at artificially inflated levels.
Other than one or two news reports of free goodies and training on the way thanks to the goodness of Uncle Sam’s heart, what does the public really know about this grant? Not much, which isn’t the way it’s supposed to work. According to the US Department of Justice, the
“Recovery Act places great emphasis on accountability and transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars.”
In fact, part of the requirements state that the grant application must be
“available for review by its governing body not fewer than 30 days before the application is submitted.”
Remember this date: May 11th, which is the day Wiggin filed the Belknap County application.
In the May 7th Laconia Daily Sun (PDF, page 8,9), reporter Kinney O’Rourke wrote that at a meeting the day before,
“the commissioners were concerned that they could not read the grant application itself.”
This came on the heels of an April 22nd meeting in which Sheriff Wiggin sought the initial grant approval from the County Commissioners sight unseen, stating he needed their approval
“now to meet the deadline and then once the application is submitted on line, he will bring to the Commissioners to approve so they don’t miss the window of opportunity.”
In other words, according to Sheriff Wiggin, we must violate the law guiding the grant because we have a deadline.