JOHNSTOWN - The Fulton County District Attorney's Office has received a federal grant to help buy video recording equipment for three area police agencies, and a county committee recently approved maintenance and service agreements for the equipment.

District Attorney Louise K. Sira recently told the Board of Supervisors' Public Safety Committee that her office received a 2009 Federal Byrne/Jag Video Recording Grant to help buy equipment for the Fulton County Sheriff's Department and the Gloversville and Johnstown police departments.

She said the grant didn't include the purchase price for service agreements for the police agencies benefitting from the grant.

Sira requested and received permission from the committee to use $1,778 in drug forfeiture money to buy the three one-year service agreements.

"I do think this is a good use of forfeited money," the district attorney said.

The Board of Supervisors will consider the committee's action at its meeting today at the County Office Building.

Sira also requested committee action on a budget amendment for 2009 to add $482 in forfeiture of crime proceeds.

She authorized the transfer of forfeiture money into an equipment account to buy equipment such as a laser-jet printer for her office, two digital recorders for the Sheriff's Department, two handheld GPS units for the sheriff's office, one jacket and one fax machine for state police, and toner cartridges for the Johnstown Police Department. She said she has $10,957 in unspent money in her forfeiture account.

Sira said the amount spent represents a "small amount of our forfeiture budget."

The committee approved proposed 2010 contracts for Sira's office. They included $25,000 for investigative services, which she said is down from $29,368 for 2009. The contracts also include an increase in welfare-fraud investigation money through the Department of Social Services, from $26,438 for 2009 to $27,799 proposed for 2010.

The committee also authorized four contracts totaling $46,234 for the county's STOP-DWI program for next year.

Michael Anich covers Johnstown and Fulton County news. He can be reached at johnstown@leaderherald.com.