During the County Manager’s Report portion of Monday’s Vance County Board of Commissioners meeting, County Manager Jerry Ayscue revealed in an inventory of grants report that Vance has $6.43 million in active grants.

He went on to reveal that the county is waiting for responses on $13.26 million in grant applications already submitted, and is working on applications for an additional $1.6 million.

“I think that’s astronomical,” Ayscue commented.

Ayscue went on to say that the board has “taken a strong postion on grants” and that it funded a grant manager position.

Commissioner Scott Hughes asked Ayscue about a COPS (Community-Oriented Police Service) grant for which the county is awaiting a response. According to the terms of the grant, the five law enforcement officer it funds for three years must be retained by the county after the grant ends. Hughes asked if the officers would be kept.

Ayscue replied that he believes that the county can handle it so that all five positions “don’t fall on the county at the end of the three years”.