A partnership between the Fort Dodge Community Foundation, the Webster County Sheriff’s Department and the Webster County Board of Health has created an out-of-the-box funding opportunity intended to drive down crime rates while not taxing Webster County citizens.

The multi-organizational partnership proposal presented Tuesday at the Webster County Board of Supervisors meeting would utilize opioid settlement funds from the State of Iowa along with matching funds from the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and additional grant funding to bring on a new officer to the county’s drug task force.

Sheriff Luke Fleener said the proposal is the result of several months of conversations between himself; Randy Kuhlman, chief executive officer of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation; and the Board of Health, with each organization providing funding and support for the new officer.

Fleener said the funding goal is $90,000 annually for the span of five years which would cover the officer’s salary and benefits.

In this role, the officer would be responsible for drug and opioid education as well as enforcement.

The Board of Health last week approved providing funding from the opioid settlement, while the Fort Dodge Community Foundation Board has committed to providing $30,000 a year for the position.

“One of our main missions at the Fort Dodge Community Foundation is to enhance the quality of life in Fort Dodge,” said Kuhlman. “But if our community isn’t safe, our quality of life goes right down the tubes. Public safety is a huge issue in our communities, and when Sheriff Fleener approached me about this opportunity, we were very interested.”

Kuhlman said the board is enthusiastic and supportive of matching $30,000 to hire a new drug task force officer. “Our board is 100-percent supportive,” said Kuhlman. “Normally we don’t do five-year commitments, but I can tell you that our board is so supportive of this and of our law enforcement, that we are excited to support this important position.”

According to Fleener, the Sheriff’s Department would provide quarterly reports to both the Board of Health and the Fort Dodge Community Foundation on the results of the task force’s efforts, including the number of drugs seized and number of warrants served.

“Our crime rate is driven by the influx and availability of illegal narcotics in our community,” said Fleener. “Five years ago when I worked on the drug task force, we had seven investigators and we put a lot of pressure on drug dealers and people that were using illegal narcotics in our community in an attempt to drive them from here. The numbers that we are seeing in Fort Dodge and in Webster County are increasing at an alarming rate.”

According to Fleener, the remaining funding for the officer’s salary and benefits will come from a rural violent crimes grant. Webster County was one of 11 counties nationwide to receive funding from the grant last year.

“We have to be creative with our thinking in the ways that we can do things to reduce our crime rate,” said Fleener. “This is just one creative way of doing that. I am confident that with our partnership with the Community Foundation, the grants that will be available in the next two years, I think that $30,000 is an achievable goal for us to fund the final three years of that position.”

The proposal was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning.

“I just want to thank you and your department and the Fort Dodge Community Foundation for your out-of-box thinking and support for tackling one of our biggest issues here in Webster County at minimal if not any cost to the taxpayer,” said Niki Conrad, Webster County Board of Supervisors chairwoman.

Following the board’s approval, the Sheriff’s Department will now begin working to fill the new position.