By Marie McCain
The Cincinnati Enquirer

BATAVIA - Clermont County commissioners learned Tuesday that a federal grant that helps operate the county sheriff's narcotics unit might not be available in 2004.

If the county loses the more than $170,000 it receives annually from the Byrne State and Local Law Enforcement grant, county officials could be forced either to find other funding sources or to cut personnel and expenses.

"This is the only agency in the county that investigates street-level drug crimes," said Clermont County Sheriff A.J. "Tim" Rodenberg Jr. "Over the past 10 years, 90 percent of the drug cases prosecuted in the county have been made through this narcotics unit. Without it these investigations would have to be done piecemeal."

Funding for this year is not a concern, though.

During Tuesday's board meeting, commissioners accepted this year's grant appropriation of $173,014, and added $57,671 from the general fund as part of the required local match.

Commissioners were told Tuesday that the $500 million federal grant is not being included in the congressional appropriations budget for next year. The U.S. Senate, according to a memo from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS), voted to eliminate Byrne funding for 2004.

Sheriff Rodenberg speculated that fiscal belt-tightening and increased concern about homeland security might have prompted federal officials to shift the money elsewhere.

The Byrne grant helps state and local governments finance various initiatives, including community policing and crime prevention, victim services, drug treatment programs and multijurisdictional law enforcement task forces.

According to the OCJS, the Byrne grant is Ohio's largest single funding source for law enforcement and criminal justice programs.

For 2003, Ohio received about $18 million, officials said, adding that residents are being asked to contact their federal representatives to urge them to restore the funding.

E-mails may be sent via two Web sites: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

E-mail mmccain@enquirer.com