A funding mistake from a yearly federal grant has opened the door for a local public safety agency to upgrade its vehicle. 

At last week's DeWitt County Public Safety Committee meeting, Emergency Management Agency Coordinator Will Paveleck expressed that the department's current vehicle is not suitable for emergency response. He notes the Emergency Management Performance Grant reimburses the County for 50% of the cost for specific line items, which should go back to the general fund.

For at least eight years, there has been a mistake that put those funds in the EMA's grant fund rather than the reimbursement money going back to the County's general fund. Paveleck and County Administrator Dee Dee Rentmeister have the issue fixed going forward and have reimbursed the county for 2024.

All that being said, it is not as simple as transferring over $200,000 from EMA's grant fund to the County's general fund. Paveleck thought that a new vehicle for the department would be a good use for some of these funds, and he received a quote for a new Ram 1500 truck for about $43,000. This would be much more capable of navigating tough terrain or off-road situations for emergency response than the current Chevy Malibu. 

The Committee briefly discussed what to do with the current EMA vehicle and decided that it would be best utilized by other County departments, including Zoning. 

The Committee decided they would recommend the purchase of the new Ram 1500 truck to be voted on at this week's Full Board Meeting, adding the recommendation of repurposing the current vehicle for other departments.