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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 SLESF GRANT - PD 09-01-09Agenda Item ' AGENDA REPORT Reviewed: City Manager Finance Director MEETING DATE: SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 TO: WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER FROM: SCOTT M. JORDAN, CHIEF OF POLICE SUBJECT: SUPPLMENTAL LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES FUND (SLESF) SUMMARY In 1996, AB 3229 established the Citizen's Option for Public Safety (COPS) grant program. Proceeds from the program can only be used for front line law enforcement services that may include the purchase of new equipment, hiring of additional personnel and increasing the opportunity for training of safety personnel. This year, we have been notified that the Police Department is to receive no less than $118,000 and no more than $121,000 in SLESF funding. The allocation for SLESF/COPS grant funds for all law enforcement agencies is being coordinated through the Orange County Sheriff's Department. All agencies have been directed to move forward with expenditure authorization while waiting for the final grant amounts to be determined. We are proposing that this year's allocation be used to staff our Crime Analyst position for a fourth consecutive year. We propose any funds remaining after funding this position be applied to recover shortages from last year's distribution. This bill requires both a public hearing and a special fund established for these monies. Note this program must now be viewed with some skepticism. RECOMMENDATION 1. Open and close a Public Hearing 2. Authorize usage of the funds as recommended by the Police Department 3. Authorize the Chief of Police to sign all documents related to SLESF program FISCAL IMPACT Staff has been contacted by the County Grant Coordinator and advised to expect a distribution equal to last year's expected amount, indicating there will be between $118,000 and $121,000 in funding. Exact amounts have not been determined by the County at this time. The entire account balance will be expended. SLESF September 1, 2009 Page 2 of 3 BACKGROUND Since the inception, SLESF/COPS program funding has been used to fund personnel, provide for anti-crime prevention programs, and to purchase new technology for general law enforcement purposes. It is the intent of the Police Department to continue the funding of the extremely critical position of Crime Analyst. The position of Crime Analyst has been funded by SLESF for the past three years. Any funding over and above the Crime Analyst position was used to purchase equipment. Funding has historically been paid in full in October of the year it is approved. As the State of California suffered severe economic hardships last year, they elected to distribute funding in four installment payments for FY 2008-2009. The first two installments were, in fact, equal to one-half of the amount initially promised. As the months passed, the final two installment payments diminished in size dramatically. It is still unclear to staff and the County Grant Manager how the State redirected this funding; however, the original funding promised was not received. For FY 2008-2009, we were originally granted $118,340 in funding. We actually received $75,842 and have been advised this amount completes the payments for the last funding period. This type of shortage is unprecedented in the history of SLESF and has posed staff with a challenging dilemma and $42,498 shortage in promised funding. The funds have been advanced by the City to pay the Crime Analyst position and to purchase additional pac set radios. The shortage was absorbed in the Police Department's FY 2008-2009 budget salary savings. The SLESF/COPS program was retained unchanged in the State budget for FY 2009- 2010, with the Vehicle License Fee (VLF) revenue as the funding source. This means that the City of Tustin is supposed to receive between $118,000 and $121,000. However, based on last year and the state of the economy, this program must now be viewed with some skepticism. Per Finance Department estimates, the FY 2009-2010 cost to fund the Crime Analyst position will be $94,000. Initial expenditure projections were submitted to the County of Orange to ask that in addition to funding the Crime Analyst, residual funds be applied to the purchase of a second automated license plate reader system for the fleet. Staff now feels this would be an imprudent application and requests that any funds received from the FY 2009-2010 funding over the amount needed to fund the Crime Analyst be applied to recover the shortages suffered in the FY 2008-2009 funding disbursement. Staff will monitor this program closely. It is the intent to take advantage of the program as long as it continues to exist, and to apply the funds to the Crime Analyst position. No funds will be used to purchase additional equipment until such time that the City has been reimbursed for any money it has advanced towards the radios and Crime Analyst position for FY 2008-2009 and FY 2009-2010. If it appears the funding will be SLESF September 1, 2009 Page 3 of 3 permanently lower than promised, staff will address this issue in either the mid-year or new budget cycles. ~l~ ~'l u SCOTT M. JOR AN Chief of Police CHRISTINE SCHWA T Support Services Division Manager OFFICIAL NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given that the City Council, of the City of Tustin, will conduct a public hearing on September 1, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 300 Centennial Way, Tustin, California to consider the following: THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S USE OF CITIZEN'S OPTION FOR PUBLIC SAFETY (COPS) SUPPLEMENTAL LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES FUND (SLESF) STATE GRANT MONIES TO FUND THE POSITION OF CRIME ANALYST AND PURCHASE AN AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION SYSTEM. If you challenge the subject items in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at a public hearing described in the notice or in written correspondence delivered to the City of Tustin at, or prior to, the Public Hearing. If you require special accommodations to attend this meeting, please contact the City Clerk at (714) 573-3025. Information relative to this item is on file with the Tustin Police Department and is available for public inspection at City Hall. Anyone interested in the information above may call the Police Department at (714) 573-3046. Pamela Stoker City Clerk Publish: Tustin News Date: August 6, 2009