Bellefontaine City Council members approved Tuesday several measures to seek grants for more police equipment needs and targeted policing efforts.
A supplemental spending ordinance was approved to set up a fund to use $78,800 in state grant money for purchasing body cameras for officers.
Council members previously accepted the grant which requires no matching funds from the city.
A resolution to apply for the second round of body camera grants was approved by the council. This grant will be around the same as the first grant.
Members also accepted a $78,780 grant for cruiser cameras. Funding comes from federal sources with administration through Ohio. It too requires no local matching funds.
Council members gave Police Chief Brandon Standley permission to seek grant money through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods.
The application window recently opened with a deadline of Monday, Aug. 29.
PSN was established in 2001 with the goal of bringing together multiple entities to “identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions,” according to the DOJ’s website.
Standley said he hopes to land funding for a policing effort focusing on youth. He has been in talks with Bellefontaine City School, the Logan County Family Courts and the Bellefontaine Parks Department.
He would like to land enough funding to cover salary, benefits, equipment and material needs for three years.
City administrators reported the most recent state capital budget approved $135,000 for a project to widen and pave the walking path and add an outdoor exercise area at Blue Jacket Park.
The news clears the way to move ahead with the project.
Council members next meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13.