Council accepts $77,854 governor’s office grant for DUI task-force overtime and equipment

Sierra Vista city council voted to accept a grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to support DUI task-force deployments, primarily funding overtime patrols and a small equipment purchase.

Chief Heizer presented the grant and said the total award is $77,854. "The breakdown is $54,643 for overtime expense to include an additional $21,857 for employee related expenses," he said, and added a materials line of $1,354 to purchase one preliminary breath test device and mouthpieces. He said the overtime supports targeted deployments during holiday weekends and special events to increase impaired-driving enforcement.

At the council work session earlier in the week, the chief said statistics showed the task force’s 2024 activity across southeastern Arizona. He shared figures during tonight’s meeting including 295 misdemeanor DUI arrests, 250 DUI drug arrests, 91 aggravated DUI arrests, 34 extreme DUI arrests and 155 vehicle impounds, among other enforcement actions.

Councilmembers commended the work and the officers who volunteer for overtime deployments. One member clarified that any fines or fees from citations go to the county because the city does not operate a municipal court. The council approved acceptance of the grant by voice vote.