Floyd County police officials were disappointed to learn that they did not receive a grant to establish a two man Highway Enforcement Aggressive Traffic team, but state officials said other agencies needed the money more.

The department applied for $200,100 from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. The grant would have covered the salary, equipment and vehicles for the two officers.

But a GOHS official said there wasn’t enough money to approve the 14 requests from police departments across the state.

“Our requests totaled $2.3 million,” said GOHS Deputy Director Spencer Moore. “We were able to award $450,000.”

Only three agencies out of the 14 that applied received the grant, Moore said.

“They did have a very good application,” Moore said. “If there were additional dollars available, they may have received a grant.”

“I am disappointed that we did not receive the grant, but I am proud of Sgt. Conway’s unit for their hard work and their aggressiveness in putting together the grant to try to help our manpower situation and budget,” said Floyd County Police Chief Bill Shiflett. “Officer Harbin did an outstanding job on his research.”

Sgt. Gary Conway leads three officers in the Special Enforcement Unit, which focuses on drunk drivers, speeders and other traffic offenses.

Floyd County can reapply for the funds next year, Moore said.

“I thought we had a good shot at it,” Conway said. “We’ll keep trying.”