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Home My WebLink About1999-09-21 City Council (13)TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: City of Palo Alto C ty Manager’s Report HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: POLICE SEPTEMBER 21, 1999 CMR: 349:99 APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 2.30 OF PALO ALTO MUNICIPALCODE ADDING SECTION 2.30.076 WHICH PROVIDES CITY MANAGER WITH AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE REWARDS FOR ARREST/CONVICTION OF SUSPECTS AND ADDS REWARDS TO THE LIST OF EXCEPTIONS TO COMPETITIVE BIDDING REQUIREMENTS AS OUTLINED IN 2.30.140 9 RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that Chapter 2.30 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) regulating contracts and purchases be amended to add Section 2.30.076 that authorizes the City Manager to offer and pay a reward up to $25,000 for information leading up to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons whose willful conduct causes unlawful injury or death to another person, or whose willful misconduct results in unlawful damage or destruction of real or personal property. Staff also recommends that Section 2.30.140 be amended to include rewards as exceptions to the requirement for competitive bidding. BACKGROUND When the efforts of the Palo Alto Police Department to find a suspect wanted or accused of committing a serious crime have been exhausted, it is sometimes necessary to ask for assistance from the public. Individuals with knowledge of the crime or criminal(s) may not want to provide needed information unless it is of benefit to themselves. The City has previously offered rewards to encourage people with information that could lead to the arrest or conviction of suspects to come forward. In the past ten years, the Police Department has requested approximately eight rewards for major cases. Of those eight, none have been paid. However, in June 1997 the Police Department offered a reward of $25,000 for the arrest and conviction of the CMR:349:99 Page 1 of 3 suspects responsible for the Bert Kay homicide, and it appears that this case will be the first one where a reward will actually be paid to an individual. Staff has used the authority given the City Manager to enter into contracts below prior to this time. However, staff believes it is prudent to include provisions for such rewards in the Municipal Code that give the City Manager specific authority. DISCUSSION A survey of other cities revealed that City Managers are authorized to offer rewards up to $25,000 in Menlo Park, Mountain View and San Mateo. Council approval is required for any reward amount in the cities of Atherton, Redwood City, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and San Carlos. (See attachment A). However, these city representatives could not recall a time in recent years when they have utilized this process. Staff recommends the addition of Section 2.30.076 to the PAMC. Under this proposed section, the City Manager is authorized to approve rewards up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons whose willful conduct causes unlawful injury or death to another person, or whose willful misconduct results in unlawful damage or destruction of real or personal property. The offer will be publicized in local newspapers and reported to the City Council. A reward will not be paid unless the information is received by the Palo Alto Police Department within 90 days of the reward offer. The reward offer will be used in cases of violent crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, robbery or assault with a deadly weapon. The offer will also be utilized for serious property crimes such as high technology computer theft or arson relating to the damage of houses of worship. Additionally, in order for a reward to be paid, the suspect in question must be convicted of a specific crime, unless he/she dies before he/she is convicted. The reward claim must be made in writing and provide the name, address and phone number of the claimant. If more than one person provides information that results in the arrest and conviction of the suspect, the reward will be split evenly between all parties. Each reward offer must be approved in advance by the City Attorney as to form and compliance with this Code section. RESOURCE IMPACT Cost estimates vary depending on the type of crime and the amount requested by the Police Department. A minimum of $2500 has historically been offered for certain violent crimes. For more serious crimes such as homicide, the request for the reward could be up to the authorized amount of $25,000. Funds for rewards CMR:349:99 Page 2 of 3 will either come from Police Department funds or the City Manager’s contingency account. No increase in the number or amount of rewards is anticipated. POLICY IMPLICATIONS These recommendations are consistent with current City policy. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ATTACHMENTS Attachment A - List of other Cities Policies Attachment B - Draft ordinance PREPARED BY: REVIEWED BY: APPROVED BY: ALANA FORREST_Police Lieutenant Police i ~Manager CMR:349:99 Page 3 of 3 ATTACHMENT A - REWARDS Atherton Needs approval for any amount (has never done rewards and does not have a program) Menlo Park No approval up to $25,000, Council approval required for any amount exceeding $25,000 (same for any contract) Mountain View No approval up to $32,500, Council approval required for any amount exceeding $32,500 (Police Chief can approve up to $10,000 but has to absorb amount in Police Department budget) Redwood City No approval required up to $10,000 Los Altos City Manager could probably approve $200, anything else ($5,000) would require Council approval San Marco No approval up to $25,000 Santa Clara Requires City Council approval for any amount (does not have a program and cannot remember giving out any rewards) Sunnyvale Requires City Council approval for any amount (does not have a program and cannot remember giving out rewards) San Jose Has a program called "Crime Stoppers" where people can leave anonymous information about criminal activity or wanted individuals. It offers $1000 maximum for each tip which is paid for from a fund supported by a non-profit "Crimestoppers" organization. San Carlos Need City Council approval for any amount (no program in place) ORDINANCE NO. ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THECITY OF PALO ALTO ADDING SECTION 2.30.076 AND AMENDING SECTION 2.30.140 OF CHAPTER 2.30 (CONTRACTS AND PURCHASING) OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO OFFER REWARDS UP TO $25,000 The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as fol!ows: .SECTION !. Section 2.30.076 of Chapter 2.30 of the Palo Alto Munic’ipal Code is hereby added to read as fol!ows: 2.30.076 Rewards for Information Leading to the Arrest and Conviction of Criminals. (a) The city manager is authorized to offer and pay a reward of up to $25,000.00 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons whose wilful conduct causes unlawful injury or death to another person, or whose wilful misconduct results in unlawful damage or destruction of real or personal property or the theft of personal property. The city manager shall cause the reward offer to be publicized and reported to the City Council. (b) A reward shall not be paid unless the information is received by the Palo Alto Police Department within 90 days of the reward offer. (c) Conviction of the person or persons responsible for the crime shal! be required for payment of a reward unless the city manager makes a written finding that conviction was impossible due to the death of the criminal. (d) Reward claims shall be in writing and shall provide the name, address and telephone number of the claimant. Unless disclosure is authorized by the claimant, this information shal! be deemed confidential and protected from public disclosure to maximum extent permitted by law. (e) Each reward offer shall be in writing and shall be valid only if approved in advance as to form and compliance with this section by the city attorney. 990901 sdl 0052328 1 .SECTION 2. Section 2.30.140 of Chapter 2.30 of the Palo Alto Municipa! Code is hereby amended to read as fol!ows: 2.30.140 Exceptions to competitive bidding. (a) The restrictions and provisions of Section 2.30.130 requiring competitive bidding shall not apply to the fol!owing contracts, purchases or transactions: (I) To contracts involving the obtaining of professional or specialized services such as, but not limited to, services rendered by architects, attorneys, accountants, auditors, engineers, information technology consultants, and other specialized or professional consultants; (2) Where calling for bids on a competitive basis is, in the opinion of the city manager, impracticable, unavailing or impossible; (3) Where the city’s requirements can be met solely by a single patented article or process; (4) Placement of insurance coverage; (5) When the public work is performed by the City with its own employees; (6)Purchase of utility commodities for resale. 71_7J_Rewards offered pursuant to .$.ection 2.30.076. .SECTION 3. The Council finds that the provisions of this ordinance do not constitute a project under the California Environmenta! Quality Act because it can be seen with certainty that no significant environmenta! impact wil! occur as a result of the ordinance. // // // // // 990901 sdl 0052328 2 SECTION 4. This ordinance shall become effective upon the commencement of the thirty-first day after the day of its adoption. INTRODUCED: PASSED: AYES: NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENT: ATTEST:APPROVED: City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: City Attorney Mayor City Manager Police Chief 990901 sdl 0052328 3