By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



The Morris Police Department has applied for more than $500,000 in grants.

“All of the grant applications have passed the first initial culling phase, completing the first step of three,” wrote Police Chief Brian Cochran in a letter to the city council.

The grants include:

• a $333,081 Community Oriented Police Services (COPS) CHRP grant that would pay for three officer positions for three years

• a $116,430 Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) HIDTA grant that would fund one officer and a vehicle for two years

• a $119,088.64 BJA Byrne grant that would fund two dispatcher positions for two years.

Cochran said grant awards are scheduled to be announced in August or September. All grants are awarded on a competitive basis.

In addition, the Morris Police Department, with the assistance of the State of Alabama 1033 Program and Defense Logistics Agency/Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office (DRMO) was granted access to the DRMO Web site.

“This Web site is an online clearing house for military surplus property available to other government agencies,” said Cochran. “The agencies’ cost to receive the property is only shipping or manpower to receive the items from the DRMO location.”

The police department has received a total of $92,165 worth of property, paying less than $5,000 in shipping and manpower.

The department has also received permission from the Alabama Department of Economic Affairs (ADECA) Surplus Property Division to receive surplus property from the State of Alabama at drastically reduced prices.