Nearly $2 Million Allocated To Aid Law Enforcement

CONROE, TX — Montgomery County Commissioners approved the allocation of nearly $2 million in federal funding for various law enforcement agencies at their meeting Tuesday to help curb rising crime in Montgomery County attributed to the Texas-Mexico border crisis.

The money will be distributed from Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office and all five constable’s offices. The sheriff’s office will receive $500,000 with the other entities receiving $200,000 each, totaling $1.9 million.

The money will be used to cover overtime pay for law enforcement officials over a one year period that expires on July 23, 2022. District Attorney Brett Ligon said at the meeting that with Texas sending a portion of the county’s Department of Public Safety troopers to address the border crisis, specifically Val Verde County, Montgomery County law enforcement officers are working more and taking on more responsibility to fill the void.

“The troop strength in Montgomery County is a finite resource,” Ligon said. “It doesn’t mean crime goes away. It doesn’t mean calls for service are reduced.”

The funding will be set up as a project with each agency given a project code to allocate overtime pay from the fund, according to Assistant County Attorney Amy Dunham. The commissioners approved overtime pay for exempt employees under the project. The money will not be used to hire new people or purchase new vehicles or equipment.

This comes after Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 34 counties along the Texas-Mexico border on May 31. That order has since been amended with several counties added and dropped, bringing the total number of counties listed to 35.

In response to the disaster declaration, Montgomery County Commissioners Court passed a motion at its June 29 meeting to gather information from state and border county agencies to determine what resources are needed and to negotiate a mutual aid agreement. Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson also released a statement two weeks ago expressing the agency’s readiness to help at the border.

Henderson added that sending resources to the border is still on the table.

“We’re still working with the state on coordinating that effort,” Henderson. “That still is a go as far as we know.”