Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza has said time and time again there’s a great need for new vehicles for the Sheriff’s Office — but funding could be on the way in the coming years.
The Houston County Commission voted to begin negotiating a contract with Waggoner Engineering with the hope of securing funding for the Sheriff’s Office.
Waggoner Engineering, represented at a previous meeting by former Secretary of State John Merrill, is a civil engineering company which aims to lobby within Congress to secure funding for local projects.
Some of Waggoner’s past projects include park design and development, sewer work, long range planning, roads and bridges, city development, and storm shelter work. They’ve also worked with law enforcement agencies around the country.
Waggoner works with members of Congress — in our case, that would be Rep. Barry Moore, Sen. Katie Britt and Sen. Tommy Tuberville — to find opportunities for funding. Waggoner helps localities put in applications and bids for resources to be submitted to legislators in Washington, D.C.
“When you have the members support an endorsement, it enhances your opportunity, and then they will work with their colleagues to have them embrace it and endorse it,” Merrill said.
Chairman Brandon Shoupe said the opportunity was exciting, as the commission hadn’t engaged with lobbyists outside of those in the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama.
He said the entirety of the commission’s ask would be for the Sheriff’s Office — namely, new vehicles.
“We have a very aged fleet,” he said.
That’s true — Major Bill Rafferty confirmed multiple vehicles had over 200 thousand miles, even after Valenza managed to bring in over $2 million worth of new vehicles.
Shoupe also said having Merrill in particular was helpful thanks to his knowledge.
“He knows what gets funded and how it all works up there (in Washington),” he said. “We need not only help opening doors, but we need help crafting a pitch, because this is not something we’ve ever done before, so we’re definitely new with this.”
Entering the contract would require pulling around $50,000 from the general fund, but Shoupe said he and the commission were ready to take the risk, as there is huge possibility for return on investment.
“We think the risk is worth the reward,” he said.
Furthermore, if Houston County does not receive the funding in the first year they submit their applications, Merrill and his team indicated he would help the next year for free.
Merrill said Waggoner helping secure resources for Houston County Sheriffs could be incredibly helpful.
“One of the things that we want to always remind our clients of is that the people in Washington and the people in Montgomery, just like the people in Dothan and the people in all municipalities in Houston County, they work for the people that elected them,” Merrill said. “So when we can be an advocate for our elected officials, to help them identify a project… it’s helpful, because we can do it in a structured and organized fashion that helps them have a concise message that is direct to that person.”
