Falls county loses $200K in necessary grants

Falls County suffered a prospectively devastating loss this week, as county officials were notified Thursday, Oct. 15, that Governor Greg Abbott’s office would be revoking four criminal justice grants that together total more than $183,000.

According to an email to Falls County Judge Jay Elliott, the county was ruled as ineligible for grant funding due to failure to comply with requirements concerning Uniform Crime Reports (UCRs) from the Falls County Sheriff’s Department. These reports are defined as voluntary under normal circumstances, but the grant stipulates that the reports must be current.

Until Friday, Falls County had not turned in reports since February of 2019.

The grants are used to fund the salary and benefits of a victim services coordinator and a special crimes investigator in the DA’s office, as well as a youth mentoring coordinator in the juvenile justice department. Juvenile counseling is also covered. 

Falls County has received  all for a number of years and was unprepared for the additional budget constrictions. They are required by law to have a victim services coordinator, according to Elliott. 

The DA’s office is “saddened” by this turn of events, according to Assistant Falls County Attorney John Redington. 

“We were ranked number one in the region, even over larger cities like Waco,” he explained. “We were a shoe-in for these grants.” 

When the news broke, blame was immediately thrown from office to office, as the Falls County District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff's Department are both involved in the grants.

“It’s a numbers game strictly kept by the DA’s office,” Sheriff Ricky Scaman told The Waco Tribune-Herald initially. “They are trying to pull this game now because she didn’t fill out the proper documentation on the application and she is trying to lay blame.”

Falls County District Attorney Jody Gilliam called his bluff, stating that his accusations were incorrect. 

Chief Deputy Derrick Johnson and Gilliam both called upon the involved agencies, including the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Office, for further information on where the situation went sour. The two officials came up with conflicting answers, with the Falls County Sheriff’s Department releasing a statement late Thursday night that stated that there was no knowledge of the application or requirements of the grants by the Sheriff’s Office.

“It is my belief that this incident could have been rectified with an internal communication from the County Judge’s Office as well as the District Attorney’s Office by sharing the information they had received from the Office of the Governor in regard to the grant funding,” Scaman said in the release.

Gilliam rebutted immediately upon learning of the claims, alleging that all of the information and accusations were “completely fabricated.” 

Both offices asserted that they were doing their best to research ways to rectify the situation.

A commissioners court meeting was set for Monday afternoon, where three of the four commissioners discussed the fate of the positions that lost funding and possible disciplinary action due to grant loss. 

Chief Johnson came forward, stating that he was the last person to be responsible for the reports and repeated the statement about voluntary reporting under normal circumstances.

Upon attempting to discuss the matter of how the grants were lost, DA Gilliam struggled to speak as numerous male officials continued to speak over here. When she finally was able to get her point across, she stated that she was told a number of correspondences had been sent out discussing the matter and that her office had placed open records requests for the information.

“I want a record of everything they sent and to who,” she proclaimed. “Then we’ll know.”

She recalled a conversation with state officials, informing the commissioners that she still had hope that the grants would be reinstated upon receipt of the required reports.

Johnson stated that all of them had been turned in to DPS the Friday prior by the end of the business day, as promised, though he had not notified the DA’s office yet since he had yet to receive confirmation of official receipt.

Once it was made clear that there was only more waiting left to do to find the true entity at fault, Judge Elliott finally allowed himself to voice his frustrations with the Sheriff’s Department. 

“None of you has taken any responsibility in this situation,” the grant coordinator retorted. “I keep seeing you say it is this or that person’s fault, but when it’s me, if it’s my employee, it’s still my responsibility.”

He referenced the press release from the department, where Scaman lays blame on lack of communication. 

While discussing salaries, commissioners were informed that because the fiscal year began Oct. 1, the county has already begun spending money not budgeted for if the funding is not reinstated. The topic of salary cuts was put on the table by Judge Elliott, but Commissioner F.A. Green was adamant that taking that action was unacceptable. The budget was left as is, with a plan to alter it down the road as needed. If the grants are not received this fiscal year, money may have to come out of the contingency budget.

Assistant DA Reddington said that loss of funding would be a ‘big blow’ to the progress made in the multiple programs funded so far. 

“They’re vital positions,” he said. 

Falls County is one of less than a handful of counties throughout the state who had their grants revoked for the same reason. There is still a small hope that the governor’s office will make an exception due to the small number.