By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – We reported in August that the federal grant funding that supports OPNET, our local drug task force, will be running out next summer. The agency that distributes those funds, which are known as Byrne-JAG funds, is the Washington State Department of Commerce. Commerce decided this year to use that money for other programs, leaving local law enforcement scrambling to figure out how to keep OPNET afloat.
The prospects for finding a new funding source have not been looking good. But on Wednesday of this week, Gov. Jay Inslee released his proposed budget for next year, which includes the following: ”In support of local law enforcement efforts, Inslee proposes $2.7 million for grants to support the work of multijurisdictional drug task forces that previously received federal Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funding.”
That $2.7 million, if approved by legislators next year, would put OPNET and similar agencies throughout the state right back to current levels.
Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith calls it a good start, but it’s still not the long-term commitment that they need.
“It is progress, and it’s a long journey towards success in something like this. What we started out with was essentially an advisory in the spring of 2023 that we were going to be cut off in the summer of 2024. We simply were going to be on our own to have to figure it out. So, it’s greatly appreciated that it’s in there. It only gets us through one year, and it’s only the amount roughly that we have right now, but we will need to find sustained, long-term funding that doesn’t ride on the backs of the counties and the cities.”
We also reached out to Clallam County Sheriff Brian King for comment on the news, and he sent us the following via email. “We are very pleased as the dollar amount closely represents what we suspected we would be losing from the dedicated Byrne JAG dollars. I would have liked to have seen double that amount based upon the Fentanyl crisis we are combating, but at least we could maintain our current operations. We are optimistic but guarded that this will pass.”
(PAPD photo: Chief Brian Smith)