Josephine County approves $2.19 million biennial grant to fund marijuana enforcement team

At its Jan. 6 administrative workshop, the Josephine County Board of Commissioners voted to accept a biennial grant to maintain the county’s Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team (JMET).

The packet lists the grant amount as $2,188,756. Sheriff (name not specified in the transcript) told the board the award would cover a mix of personnel — including a half-time lieutenant, a detective sergeant, three detectives, a financial crimes analyst, property-control support and partial deputy district attorney positions — plus operating expenses, training and travel for the two-year grant period. “This is a grant that's on the biennium,” the sheriff said, adding the funding will keep JMET “fully functional.”

County counsel confirmed the agreement is in form and requires no general-fund match. Commissioners moved to authorize acceptance and DocuSign execution of the grant agreement; Commissioner Smith made the motion and Commissioner Chris Barnett seconded it. A roll-call vote was recorded as 2–0 in favor.

The sheriff characterized the application process as “contentious” and noted multiple rounds of testimony were required during the competitive application process. Commissioners and staff thanked the sheriff’s office and its support staff for securing the award.

What happens next: the board authorized county staff to complete signature and acceptance formalities. The transcript does not include a formal program name beyond the packet identifier (transcribed as INE-27-05/IMF-27-05); the county clerk or sheriff’s office should be contacted for the official grant program name and agreement document number.

Funding provenance and limits: county counsel stated the grant has been reviewed for form; transcript discussion clarified there is “no cost to the general fund” for accepting the award.