COPS stands for Community Oriented Policing Services, and it provides national tax dollars to help local law enforcement.
In Wausau, the police department has used the funds to set up collaborative efforts with other departments including The Arson Task Force and Joint Narcotics Program with Marathon County. They've also added officers to their staff.
"We'll be looking at an additional burden on the Wausau and Marathon County taxpayers for the two officers that have been funded through the federal government," Wausau police chief Bill Brandimore says about the proposed cuts.
If Congress approves the cuts, Brandimore says it would not mean cutting any officers from the force. He says they would have to make changes in preventative programs like DARE and neighborhood policing.
Police departments in Merrill and Stevens Point have not used money from the federal COPS funds, but they say taking it away could affect them in the future.
