By Greg Grisolano

ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com

Offsetting the high cost of gasoline was one of the topics on which local law-enforcement officers sounded off during a meeting Wednesday with U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

Fighting drugs and improving communication also came up during the gathering at the Joplin police station.

“I think the three have sort of an equitable importance to them,” Joplin police Chief Lane Roberts said after the meeting.

Blunt, the Republican House whip, has been conducting a series of districtwide meetings with law enforcement, something he has done annually.

Blunt said he believes high energy prices are affecting both the budgets of law-enforcement agencies, and the operating revenues generated for cities and counties.

“At a time when income is going down because so much of people’s income is going to gasoline, there’s no sales tax on gasoline,” he said. “That $30 extra that went into your gas tank might have gone to a restaurant bill, or a clothing bill or something else with a sales tax.”

Roberts said high energy costs are having “unanticipated effects” on local law enforcement, particularly with jail overcrowding.

“People who can’t afford to get to work economically ... or people who can’t afford to pay their fines and opt for jail time seem to be resulting in reduced revenues and increased jail populations,” he said.

“It’s not just reduced revenue, it’s increased output,” added Jeff Merriman, a lieutenant with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department. “When those guys are in jail, we’re paying for them to be there. It’s a double whammy.”

Jasper County Sheriff Archie Dunn asked Blunt to look into whether the federal government could take funds out of the Social Security or disability checks of inmates to reimburse agencies for the cost of their incarceration.

“First of all, it would help our county coffers to pay and upkeep these folks,” he said. “Secondly, it might serve as a deterrent for those people not to want to come back to jail.”

Dunn said the per diem allowance for inmates at the Jasper County Jail is between $40 and $45.

“It’s encouraging to me that he would take the time,” Roberts said of Blunt. “He seems to be listening, and his history is that he’s responsive. So this is a big deal.”