The Grayson County Sheriff's Office has been awarded a $16,000 state grant for license plate reader cameras, and the award went to county commissioners for acceptance on Tuesday, the morning after the Sherman City Council voted to stop using the city's own plate readers. The award document also carries a warning: the state agency behind the grant has paused reimbursement for that kind of equipment.
The grant comes from the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, a state agency that funds local efforts against vehicle theft and related crimes. It was awarded under the authority's fiscal 2027 catalytic converter theft prevention program, according to the statement of grant award included in the county's agenda materials.
What the award covers
The document lists the project as the "Grayson County Motorola LPR Camera Project." The full $16,000 is budgeted for equipment, and the county is expected to add a $4,000 cash match, for a $20,000 total. The state would cover 80% of the cost through reimbursement. The grant period runs from Sept. 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2027.
The award does not say how many cameras the money would buy or where they would go.
Capt. Mark Kosemund of the sheriff's office asked commissioners to formally accept the grant, according to an agenda request form dated Oct. 12. The item was listed on the consent agenda for the Commissioners Court's meeting Tuesday morning.
A condition on plate readers
Among the special conditions listed in the award is one that addresses automated license plate readers directly. It says the grantee "acknowledges and understands that reimbursement for expenditures related to ALPR technology is currently paused," and that the pause could last indefinitely. Reimbursement for the technology "may or may not resume in the future," the condition says.
The grant is paid on a reimbursement basis, according to the award. The document does not say why the pause was put in place or how it would apply to this project.
Other conditions require that the money add to, rather than replace, local spending, and that officers funded by the grant take part in the authority's intelligence-sharing sessions on vehicle crime.
