County approves K9 vehicle for FMPD

CAR FOR K9

This car isn’t just for the PD, it is assigned to that dog. The handler takes it home and is subject to call out all the time. It’s not sitting at the PD and able to be used by other officers. The other thing to look at is this outfitted with pop doors, water, heat, cooling. Everything is for this dog.”

Cody Potthast, FM Police Chief

LEE COUNTY – A request for help paying for a K9 dedicated cruiser from Lee County opioid funds was approved by Lee County Supervisors Tuesday morning, but with a raised eyebrow.
The Board of Supervisors approved up to $65,000 for a Fort Madison Police Department SUV outfitted to support K9 operations. The funds would come from the county’s ongoing opioid settlement funds. The funding will purchase and outfit a new cruiser dedicated to a trained and certified narcotics K9 team.
However, Supervisor Chuck Holmes who chairs the county’s opioid panel, said he couldn’t support the expenditure because he believes the current vehicle is still viable at 90,000 miles. The opioid panel recommended approving the expenditure if it received a favorable opinion from the Lee County Attorney Ross Braden and the Iowa State Auditor’s office.
Braden had concerns about the spend, saying he didn’t think it applied well enough to a memorandum of understanding outlining how the funds can be spent. Seventy-five percent of the funds must be spent on direct assistance to those suffering with opioid and other co-occuring substance abuse disorders, while up to 25% can be spent on more peripheral mitigation efforts.
However, Braden said he would defer to the Iowa State Auditor’s office, who is the county’s auditor. An opinion from one of the county’s auditors at the state level said the application would fit the MOU’s abatement strategy as presented. That opinion triggered the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.
“I’ve had a change of heart about this,” Holmes said Tuesday.
“I’ve thought about it this these past several weeks a bit harder now. That vehicle has 90,000 miles on it. It's five years old and I think it has another three to five years in it, so for that reason I can't support this application at this time.”
Supervisor Gary Seyb said he’s had some calls from residents on the purchase and said the application got through the panel’s tests, but “squeaked by” one of them.
“The state auditor, in one person’s opinion, came back and said it meets the guidelines of the 25% of the funds that can be spent. We squeaked by that and, since then, I’ve had some calls from citizens that were struggling with the idea of it being spent on the total package of the car,” he said.
“I personally have some struggles when we look at one time purchases vs. things that should be a budgeted year over year purchase. In other words, this should be in an operational budget, arguably.”
Seyb said he wouldn’t have a problem with outfitting the vehicle, but he said it’s a stretch to purchase the whole vehicle.
The county has received close to a million dollars in opioid settlement funds to date and is projected to receive an additional $1.3 million over the next 13 years.
A recent settlement analysis from the county opioid panel showed the county is participating in nine current settlements with payments ranging from one-time payments to payments spread out through 2038.
Fort Madison Police Chief Cody Potthast said K9s are 34% effective in detecting illegal narcotics and that is part of the nationwide effort to help mitigate abuse.
“One of the struggles we see is not just the excessive prescriptions of opioids, but the illegal distribution. A K9 is the most effective way to stop illegal distribution of opioids on the street,” he said
The board has already approved $31,000 for the Keokuk Police Department to purchase and implement a trained K9 officer and handler certified in narcotics detection, human tracking, and suspect apprehension.
The board has also approved funds for support at the Talbot House for Sober Living, and the Lydia House, both in Keokuk. They’ve approved funding for counseling services and coordination of services through Alcohol and Drug Dependency Services at the new Meller Family Health Center, as well as $130,000 to offset construction costs associated with shared space at MFHC. They also spent $120,000 to help finish the Keokuk Homeless Alliance shelter in Keokuk.
Potthast said the K9 vehicle is the house of the dog and is its transportation call to call. He said 90,000 miles on a police vehicle isn’t highway miles, but street miles regulary with sirens at high speeds so they try to replace those vehicles at 100,000.
“This is using those allocated resources to reduce the illegal distribution of opioids in this community,” he said.
He said the city has five years of duty left with the current K9 unit and it’s already pulled 268 prescription pills off the street in its 2.5 years on the force.
“This dog is a very successful dog. This car isn’t just for the PD, it is assigned to that dog. The handler takes it home and is subject to call out all the time. It’s not sitting at the PD and able to be used by other officers. The other thing to look at is this outfitted with pop doors, water, heat, cooling. Everything is for this dog.”
Potthast said the dog has been shared throughout the county over the past 2.5 years including Lee County Sheriff’s office, Keokuk PD, and Lee County Narcotics task force.
Supervisors Denise Fraise and Tim Wondra voted in support of the purchase, as did Seyb after hearing Potthast’s advocacy for the spend. Board Chair Ginger Knisley also voted in favor of the purchase.
Seyb said it was important to note that the board is aware that these types of purchases should be budgeted in house, but Potthast made a good argument that this will likely be a one-time ask.
The agreement with the county requires an annual report from the FMPD on the performance of the K9 program specific to opioid and co-occurring drug seizures and allows for a recoupment of funds should a state or federal authority determine the expenditure is outside the core abatement strategies outlined in the memorandum of understanding.