(A) There is hereby created a Law Enforcement Fund. The Fund shall consist of deposits in the form of proceeds recovered by the Office of the County Prosecutor, the County Drug Task Force, and/or the County Sheriff’s Department in forfeiture actions filed pursuant to I.C. 32-24-1-4, liquidations of personal or real property obtained from criminal defendants in those actions, and voluntary surrenders of funds and assets from criminal defendants.
(B) The Law Enforcement Fund shall be appropriated for funding law enforcement activities conducted by the County Sheriff’s Department, the County Drug Task Force, other special crime units, and for reimbursement of expenses incurred by the Prosecutor’s Office in pursuing forfeiture and RICO actions.
(C) All monies collected under this section shall be transferred to the County Treasurer, who shall deposit said funds and disburse as the Prosecuting Attorney directs, subject to the appropriation requirement of division (D) below. Monies remaining in the fund at the end of the year shall not revert to any other fund, but shall continue in the Law Enforcement Fund.
(D) Monies from the Fund shall be subject to appropriation by the County Council, in accordance with I.C. 36-2-5-2.
(E) In order to facilitate the expenditure of the appropriated funds by the County Drug Task Force, this section should permit the Prosecuting Attorney to establish a Law Enforcement Fund checking account, which may bear interest, to hold funds for usage by the County Drug Task Force after said funds have been appropriated by the County Council.
(1) The Prosecuting Attorney is hereby authorized to place funds appropriated from the Law Enforcement Fund in a NOW account, or similar account, which may bear interest.
(2) The Prosecuting Attorney shall account to the County Auditor for all interest earned on said account; the interest earned shall be kept and retained in said checking account and used for the purposes set forth for the principal sums.
(3) In establishing said checking account, the signatures of the Prosecuting Attorney, or his or her Chief Deputy, and one of the County Drug Task Force investigators must both be given in order to withdraw funds from the checking account.
(Ord. 1992-17, passed 5-4-1992; Ord. 1992-22, passed 6-8-1992)