County grant to minimize police interactions, prevent COVID-19 spread

Amid recurring demonstrations urging officials to reform the criminal justice system, Hays County accepted a grant Tuesday for a program to minimize encounters between law enforcement and residents. 

The Hays County Commissioners Court accepted the $37,094 to launch an online reporting system for nonemergencies with the intention of preventing the spread of COVID-19, however the program will serve as a timely example of what minimized interaction between citizens and police could look like. 

The Black Lives Matter movement nationwide is calling on local officials to rethink how law enforcement responds to incidents, questioning exactly what incidents actually require a response from someone with a police officer’s training.

This grant provided by the Department of Justice will give Hays County a way to test the effect of minimizing law enforcement’s interactions with residents. 

Meanwhile, the county’s Precinct 4 renewed an agreement with the State of Texas to receive certain excess U.S. Department of Defense property, a program that Precinct 4 has participated in since 2012. 

This item brought in several public commentators urging the court to reject the policy of accepting items that would further militarize local law enforcement in light of the times. 

However, Precinct 4 Commissioner Walt Smith explained that most of the transferred property was medical supplies, all nonemergency related, like bandages, gloves, splints, surgical masks, personal protective equipment and medical packs. Of the 61 items received since 2016, only three were not medical related: an emergency generator, a light set and a Kawasaki mule. 

Smith continued to say Dripping Springs is on the lookout for a vehicle that could rescue residents from flooding, a need that was identified in the catastrophic floods of 2015. 

In other business, Hays County will receive a grant of $191,857 from the Help America Vote Act to prepare and respond to the coronavirus for the 2020 federal election cycle. 

The funding will be used for materials and staff in anticipation of a high ballot by mail turnout in November. The court reports there is already a high registration rate for vote by mail for the midterm election and they expect even more qualifying voters to register before November. Voters over the age of 65 and people who have disabilities qualify to request ballot by mail voting. The grant will cover wages for 5 temporary employees, PPE supplies, social media outreach, a virtual training video for staff, signs, office supplies, postage, a scanner, 10 laptops for signature verification and a ballot printer.

This story has been updated since its first publication.