Pinal County Sheriff, Highway Safety Office Set Meeting on DUI Task Force
Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb has made the accusation that the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety has failed to provide the funding that they had previously allocated to the Holiday DUI task force in Pinal County.
“We submitted a request this year, for $150,000. We were approved,” Lamb said. “However, when the time came to receive that, we had never gotten any of the paperwork or the contracts.”
Pinal County’s Grant Announcement and Governor’s Response
Pinal County made the announcement that they had become the recipient of grant funding for the holiday DUI task force on their website in the month of July.
Those assertions were refuted by Governor Hobbs the previous week.
“I think he might be confused,” Hobbs told reporters. “He’s responding to a letter that came from the director around some new standards, but we haven’t made any grant announcements.”
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Maricopa County’s Successful Grant and Pinal County’s Concerns
On the other hand, Maricopa County announced in October that they had been awarded a grant “in the amount of $187,385 and will help deputies with overtime pay and impaired driving training for this next fiscal year while working and supporting valley-wide dui task forces.”
Lamb is concerned that Pinal County would suffer a reduction in its state budget.
“I’m a fiscal conservative,” Lamb said. ”But cutting out of things that have been allocated for a DUI task force for keeping our streets safe? I think the majority of Arizonans would agree, this is not the place we want to cut.”
Sheriff Lamb’s Struggles Amidst Tragic Loss
This program, according to Lamb, is very personal to him. On December 16, 2022, a driver who was under the influence of alcohol or drugs collided with a vehicle that included the Lambs’ son, daughter-in-law, and their small daughter. All three were killed in the collision.
“It’s been a hard year for us,” Lamb told ABC15. “When we get towards this time, It’s especially difficult.”
A meeting between Lamb and the director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is set to take place on Monday in order to discuss the financial plans.
