MISSOURI SHERIFF'S ASSOCIATION FUNDRAISING QUESTIONED

The Missouri Sheriff's Association spends a lot of cash trying to raise money, a situation that Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Norman Copeland said Thursday needs to be changed.

The association, which asks the public for donations, spent 46 percent, or $157,917 of its contributions last fiscal year, on fund raising, the Better Business Bureau reported.

"I am surprised that the cost of fund raising is 46 percent; that seems extremely high to me," said Copeland, a member of the association. "There are some changes that need to be made on that."

Better Business Bureau standards call for fund-raising costs to be limited to 35 percent of contributions.

Copeland said he believes even that limit is on the high side.

The association spends less than 15 percent of its income on programs for members, the Better Business Bureau said.

Sheriffs from throughout the state are members of the tax-exempt association. The association spends most of its money on staff salaries and professional fund-raising fees, according to papers filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

For the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1991, the association received $343,341 in contributions and had total revenues of $432,858.

According to the IRS filing, the association, based in Jefferson City, spent $104,574 on salaries and benefits in the past fiscal year.

Another $53,435, or about 15 percent of the group's income, was spent on program services. Better Business Bureau guidelines call for at least 50 percent of total income to be spent on programs.

According to the bureau, the association spent another $19,327 on consultant fees, $19,783 in legal fees, $11,311 for travel and $21,219 for conferences, conventions and meetings.

Perry Winget, the association's director, said: "Anybody in the fund-raising business knows you have to spend a lot of money getting membership and keeping membership. That's a big cost.

"We're very proud of what we're doing now," he said of the association's programs. The association administers federal anti-drug grants and provides law enforcement training for sheriffs and deputies.

In addition, the association lobbies the legislature on issues affecting sheriffs and sheriffs' departments, and provides some legal advice.

"It's almost mandatory to have a lobbyist anymore," said Copeland.

He said sheriffs pay individual membership fees of $40 to $45 a year.

But much of the association's funding comes from money solicited in contributions from the general public.

Copeland said the sheriff's association has not actively solicited funds in Cape Girardeau County because he discourages it.

The sheriff said he doesn't condone soliciting of funds by the sheriff's association or any other such group in the county. "I do not like solicitations and I don't believe in them," he said.

Copeland said the contributions raised by the association do not directly benefit local law enforcement officers.

Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell, who is also a member of the association, defended the group.

"It is a very beneficial organization for the sheriffs and their employees," he said Thursday.

"They raise their money through mailings; they don't do any direct solicitations," said Ferrell.

The association offers honorary memberships to the public, which includes decals for their vehicles and the group's magazine, Ferrell said.

He said the association provides law enforcement training to departments either at no cost or at a lower cost than that offered by the Missouri Highway Patrol.

"It is a savings to go the association route," Ferrell said.

Copeland said he attends the annual state-mandated, 20 hours of training for sheriffs. Other than that, he said, he is not active in the association.

Copeland said the Cape County Sheriff's Department doesn't make use of the association's other training sessions. Instead, the department holds local training sessions, using instructors from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, he said.

"We can bring in these experts for nothing," he said.

In contrast, the association's training sessions are generally held in Columbia or Jefferson City.

As a result, said Copeland, his department could only afford to send one officer at best to such sessions, whereas a number of its officers and those of other area law enforcement agencies can attend the training sessions in Jackson.

(Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press.)