REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Approval of the Spending Plan for Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund and related budget amendment
Report
BACKGROUND
In 1996, Assembly Bill 3229 established the Citizen’s Option for Public Safety (COPS) programs Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund (SLESF). The Legislature determined that there was a compelling need for additional resources at the local level for the purpose of ensuring public safety, and established the COPS program to advance community policing in all counties. The COPS program awards non-competitive and non-matching grants to law enforcement agencies to fund frontline municipal police services. The City has used these funds in prior years to purchase officer safety and duty equipment, communications equipment, and vehicles, among other things, that are all used directly and solely in the provision of frontline police services to the community.
Per Government Code §§ 30061-30063, cities are allocated a proportionate share of COPS funds by the California Department of Finance, through Santa Clara County. Proportionate shares are based on population estimates determined by the California Department of Finance.
This is not a fixed amount grant. Under the standard grant program allocation, the City of Santa Clara is eligible to receive a minimum of $100,000 annually. Each fall, Santa Clara County estimates the allocation for each law enforcement agency in the county; the actual amount paid varies from the projection and is unknown until the payment cycle is complete. Monthly distributions are received via wire transfer and the City’s Finance Department deposits these funds into a separate grant account. These periodic distributions are not steady from month-to-month; therefore, the total actual amount to be received over the course of the full payment cycle is unpredictable.
In recent years, the City of Santa Clara has received COPS funding as follows:
|
Funding Cycle |
Minimum Amount to be Allocated |
Projected Allocation* |
Actual Amount Received |
|
COP 11-12 |
$100,000 |
$224,246 |
$169,674 |
|
COP 12-13 |
$100,000 |
$191,055 |
$200,160 |
|
COP 13-14 |
$100,000 |
$191,913 |
$205,650 |
|
COP 14-15 |
$100,000 |
$191,446 |
$219,432 |
|
COP 15-16 |
$100,000 |
$189,093 |
$244,542 |
|
COP 16-17 |
$100,000 |
$190,585 |
$270,027 |
|
COP 17-18 |
$100,000 |
$196,976 |
$282,165 |
*The Projected Allocation column shows the California Department of Finance’s initial estimated grant allocation compared with what has been received by the City of Santa Clara over the years.
The COPS/SLESF grant does not have any application or other requirements; the monies are transferred to local entities through the County by operation of law (Government Code §§30061-30063) and are to expended in accordance with the requirements of those code sections. The Government Code contains the following requirements for a recipient agency:
• The funds shall be used exclusively for front line law enforcement services
• The funds cannot be used to supplant other existing funding sources for general law enforcement services
• The City Council shall appropriate existing and anticipated moneys exclusively to fund frontline municipal police services, in accordance with written requests submitted by the Chief of Police
• Moneys in the fund shall not be transferred to, or intermingled with, the moneys in any other fund in the City treasury, except to the extent necessary to facilitate the appropriation and expenditure of those transferred moneys
• Once the appropriation of the grant funds is made, it cannot be subsequently altered by the City Council
• Administrative overhead costs cannot exceed of 0.5% of the City’s allocation
• The funds cannot be used for a capital or construction project that does not directly support front line law enforcement services
DISCUSSION
Santa Clara County’s estimated allocation for front-line law enforcement equipment for Fiscal Year 2018/19 is $3,404,810. Based on the January 2018 population estimate of 129,604, the City of Santa Clara expects to receive $196,976 in COPS funding, as presented in Attachment 1.
In accordance with grant requirements, the Chief of Police hereby requests that the City Council appropriate existing and anticipated grant moneys for the 18-19 fiscal year to fund front line municipal police services, as described below. In the preparation of this spending plan, Police Department Command Staff has prioritized specific purchases based on current need and the anticipated amount to be received.
As shown in the table, the projected grant allocation has historically varied with the actual amount received. SCPD requests approval to procure some or all, depending on the actual amounts received, of the following categories of services and equipment with appropriated grant monies. Given the current expected allocation of approximately $197,000, the funds will be used on the top two priorities supplemented with savings in the Police Department’s budget. However, conversations with the County of Santa Clara have just begun and an agreement with the County may not be completed within the funding cycle. Therefore, staff may use the grant funds to purchase lower priority items. If additional grant funds become available staff will recommend appropriating them as part of the FY 2019/20 Proposed Budget.
|
Current Priority* |
Equipment, Program or Service |
Estimated Amount** |
|
1 |
Agreement for services with Santa Clara County mental health provider |
$180,000 |
|
2 |
De-escalation of force simulator |
$75,000 |
|
3 |
Equipment to support advances in technology |
$10,000 |
|
4 |
Communication devices |
$20,000 |
|
5 |
Surveillance/recording equipment |
$25,000 |
|
6 |
Protective equipment |
$40,000 |
|
7 |
Duty equipment (e.g. radios, body worn cameras, iPhone, duty weapon, conducted electrical weapons, personal protective/safety gear, training, etc.) |
$15,000 |
|
8 |
Crime scene/investigation equipment |
$10,000 |
*Priorities may change over the course of the grant cycle and/or alternate funding sources may become available
**Estimates to be fleshed out (e.g. vendor, number of items, promotions, etc.) as funding becomes available over the two-year grant cycle
These tools and resources have the ability to support improved front line law enforcement services to the community. Mental health support and de-escalation simulations are directly related to contacts with community members and support the Department’s community-oriented policing approach. New technologies aid in effectiveness and quickness, safety and communications gear directly helps officers in the field.
Staff will continue to evaluate priorities based on needs and the actual funding amount received as not all items may be funded.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(4) in that it is a fiscal activity that does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potential significant impact on the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
In September 2018, the City of Santa Clara received official notice from the California Department of Finance that its expected COPS allocation for Fiscal Year 2018/19 is $196,976. Revenues and expenditures of the total COPS funding amount are recommended to be appropriated in the City’s Police Operating Grant Fund.
Budget Amendment
FY 2018/19
|
|
Current |
Increase/ (Decrease) |
Revised |
|
Fund 177 - Police Operating Grant Fund |
|
|
|
|
Funding Source Category |
|
|
|
|
Grant Funding (55580) - COPS19 |
$0 |
$196,976 |
$196,976 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Funding Use Category |
|
|
|
|
Operating Supplies (87500) - COPS19 |
$0 |
$196,976 |
$196,976 |
Although equipment purchased with the grant funds will not initially create any additional cost for the City, it is possible that future repair or other servicing, or replacement costs, for such equipment would create an expense. The department will absorb such costs within future budget allocations.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the Finance Department, City Attorney’s Office, and Police Department.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Approve the spending plan for funds received from the Citizen’s Option for Public Safety programs Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund; and
2. Approve a budget amendment in the amount of $196,976 for the anticipated revenue and expenditure for the COPS program.
Staff
Reviewed by: Michael J. Sellers, Chief of Police
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Letter from California Department of Finance with Citizens’ Option for Public Safety percentages and allocation