REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on the Approval of FY 19 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Funding and Related Budget Amendment [Council Pillar: Deliver and Enhance High Quality Efficient Services and Infrastructure]
Report
BACKGROUND
In early 2005, the Bureau of Justice Administration (BJA) made the decision to combine the Byrne Formula Grant and the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG) Programs into the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. JAG is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to states and units of local government.
The JAG Program allows states and units of local government, including tribes, to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on their own state and local needs and conditions. Grant funds can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice, including for any one or more of the following program areas:
• law enforcement programs;
• prosecution and court programs;
• prevention and education programs;
• corrections and community corrections programs;
• drug treatment and enforcement programs;
• planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs;
• crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation); and,
• mental health programs and related law enforcement and corrections programs.
The Police Department has had the good fortune to be awarded $85,179 in JAG funds the past six years (FY 12, $14,855; FY 13, $13,373; FY 14, $15,847; FY 15, $14,044; FY 16, $14,806; FY 17, $12,254). The Department did not apply for a FY 18 grant.
According to the FY 19 Solicitation, the Police Department was eligible to receive up to $12,391. If funded, the Department will have until September 30, 2020, to expend these dollars.
DISCUSSION
In FY 16, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) formally announced its intention to sunset the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s traditional Summary Reporting System (SRS) and replace it with the UCR Program’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). By January 1, 2021, the FBI intends for NIBRS to be the law enforcement crime data reporting standard for the nation.
In preparation for the NIBRS compliance deadline, JAG applicants must dedicate a minimum of 3% of their JAG award toward achieving full compliance with the FBI’s NIBRS data submission requirements. The following are examples of costs and projects that relate to NIBRS implementation at the state or local level that could be funded under the JAG Program:
• software, hardware, and labor that directly support or enhance a state or agency’s technical capacity for collecting, processing, and analyzing data reported by local law enforcement (LE) agencies and then submitting NIBRS data to the FBI;
• training personnel responsible for the state’s Incident Based Reporting (IBR) program on receiving, processing, analyzing, and validating incident-based data from local LE agencies in their state;
• training local agencies in how to collect and submit NIBRS data; and,
• technical assistance for LE agency personnel responsible for (1) managing the agency’s crime incident data, (2) processing and validating the data, and (3) extracting and submitting IBR data to the state UCR Program, according to the states, and/or directly to the FBI, according to the NIBRS standard.
The Police Department currently relies on a Tiburon Records Management System (RMS) to file police reports, maintain accurate records of law enforcement documents and submit required data to the Department of Justice. This critical system is antiquated and will not meet pending State and Federal hardware, software, network and security requirements.
The Police Department submitted a JAG application to help fund software, hardware, training and / or labor to directly support our organization’s technical capacity to collect, process, analyze and validate data to become NIBRS compliant. In its’ application, the Police Department recommended dedicating the entire amount available to the RMS / NIBRS project.
The delay in bringing the 2019 grant award to Council for approval was the result of two complicating factors. First, as we saw with the 2017 and 2018 grant years, the State of California’s passage of SB 54 (the California Values Act) created a conflict between state and federal law, which had to be resolved through litigation between the State and Federal governments. Eventually, as a result of that litigation, it was determined that the federal grant language would be altered for California jurisdictions such that local law enforcement could comply with both the State law and the federal grant conditions. Eventually, the Department of Justice issued a legal notice for California, referencing award conditions #31-41, with the following exception:
DOJ’s authority to require compliance with the above-listed award requirement(s) is subject of pending litigation. Accordingly (and consonant with award condition #1), DOJ has determined that, at this time, it will not implement or enforce those award requirement(s), unless and until the status of the litigation changes, such that DOJ determines that it may and will implement or enforce one or more of them, whether in whole or in part. If and when that occurs, DOJ will provide advance written notice of each such determination to each affected recipient, including an indication of the effective date9s) for implementation thereof.
Second, during this period for reasons previously explained to Council, the City was forced to amend its contract with Hexagon (the original vendor of the new NIBRS compliant records management system) and engage in an entirely new procurement process for the records management system. Because these grant funds are meant to be used in connection with the NIBRS compliance requirement, staff could not bring forward the grant for approval until that new procurement had progressed to the point where it was clear that the grant funds could in fact be used for this purpose in the given time frame.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The 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)(5) in that it is a governmental organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
Acceptance and appropriation of this Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funding will support the Department’s efforts to become NIBRS compliant.
Budget Amendment
FY 2020/21
|
|
Current |
Increase/ (Decrease) |
Revised |
|
Police Department Operating Grant Trust Fund |
|
|
|
|
Revenue |
|
|
|
|
Grant Funding |
$0 |
$12,391 |
$12,391 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenditure |
|
|
|
|
FY 19 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant |
$0 |
$12,391 |
$12,391 |
|
|
|
|
|
COORDINATION
This report was coordinated with the Finance Department and the City Attorney’s Office.
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>.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Accept and approve the FY 19 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funding of $12,391 to support the Police Department’s efforts to become NIBRS compliant;
2. Approve the related FY 2020/21 budget amendment in the Police Operating Grant Trust Fund to recognize grant revenue in the amount of $12,391 and establish an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program 2019 appropriation in the amount of $12,391;
3. Authorize the City Manager to sign grant-related documents; and
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute purchase order(s), subject to the appropriation of funds, to directly support the Police Department’s technical capacity for collecting, processing, analyzing and validating data to become NIBRS compliant.
Staff
Reviewed by: Patrick Nikolai, Chief of Police
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. FY 19 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Funding Allocation
2. FY 19 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Award