Police recruits in Plano's training academy would carry new duty pistols bought with federal grant money, and a retired city ambulance would go to Plano ISD's emergency medical technician students for $1, under two items on the City Council's Monday, Nov. 9 agenda.
A shared federal grant
The council is set to hold a public hearing and then vote on an interlocal agreement that divides a 2025 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant among four Collin County law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance requires the receiving jurisdiction to hold at least one public hearing on how the money will be spent, according to the Police Department's agenda memo.
The award totals $72,743, with no local cash match. Plano would act as fiscal agent and pass along shares to its partners:
- Plano Police Department: $27,249
- Collin County Sheriff's Office: $18,186
- McKinney Police Department: $14,541
- Frisco Police Department: $12,767
Plano's portion would buy 23 Gen 6 Glock 17 pistols fitted with optics, Surefire X300U weapon lights and Safariland 6360 holsters, to be issued to recruits in the academy, the memo says. It describes the award as the 21st round of the grant since Congress merged the Byrne program with the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program.
The memo does not say how the other three agencies plan to spend their shares.
An ambulance for the classroom
A separate agreement would hand Plano ISD a decommissioned city ambulance for the EMT pathway at the district's new Career and Technical Education Center at 1865 Alma Drive. The memo from the city's policy and government relations office says the center was scheduled to open this fall and that the school board approved the agreement on Aug. 4.
