A judge in Garland County, Arkansas, has disclosed that an unnamed benefactor has expressed willingness to donate funds for the acquisition of a new boat for the marine patrol unit of the local sheriff's department.
In a meeting with the Garland County Quorum Court Public Health, Welfare, and Safety Committee on Monday, January 27, county judge Darryl Mahoney said that the benefactor, who has been identified only as a local constituent, would be willing to shoulder the estimated total cost of a new vessel as well as that of refurbishing one of the marine patrol's existing boats.
The sheriff's department said that at least US$100,000 would be needed to purchase a new boat while US$50,000 is the minimum estimated cost of refurbishing an existing one. If approved, the funding would be the private sector's first significant monetary contribution to the marine patrol in six years.
County officials have said that the sheriff's department marine patrol unit has been experiencing funding shortfalls partly due to the rising maintenance costs of its existing vessels, some of which were acquired secondhand and are nearly 20 years old.
