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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 14253 City of Palo Alto (ID # 14253) City Council Staff Report Meeting Date: 5/23/2022 Report Type: Consent Calendar City of Palo Alto Page 1 Title: Approval of the Acceptance of State of California Citizens Options for Public Safety (COPS) Funds of $103,648 and a Budget Amendment in the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund From: City Manager Lead Department: Police Recommendation Staff recommends that the City Council: 1. Approve the acceptance and expenditure of Citizens Options for Public Safety (COPS) funds of $103,648 from the State of California; and 2. Amend the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Appropriation Ordinance (requires 2/3 approval) for the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund (SLESF) by: a. Increasing the estimate for Revenue from the State of California in the amount of $103,648; and, b. Increasing the Police Department Facilities and Equipment expense appropriation in the amount of $103,648. Background Since 1997, the California State Legislature has allocated funds to counties and cities for the Citizens Options for Public Safety (COPS) program. This funding is intended to fill the need for additional resources at the local level to ensure public safety. Under the provisions of Government Code Section 30061, a percentage of funds are allocated to counties and cities, based upon population, for law enforcement services. Funds must supplement existing services and are prohibited from supplanting (replacing) state, local, or funds that otherwise would be made available. Supplanting occurs when a local government reduces local funds for an activity, specifically because state funds are available (or expected to be available) to fund that same activity. An example of supplanting could be if Council discontinued Department funding for existing police vehicle maintenance with the intention of a grant supporting the need to continue the service. Alternatively, if Council discontinued and eliminated a program or service due to resource constraints, with no intention of continuing the service, but the program or service were to be re-started at a later date using grant funds (such as was the case with the Community Service Officers in FY 2019 after being discontinued earlier in the decade) then staff would consider the re-start to be City of Palo Alto Page 2 additive and not anticipated at the time the de-funding occurred. The use of the grant will be directed toward goods or services not budgeted, nor anticipated, but additive to the goods and services already encumbered through the city budget process for the purposes of enhancing the mission of the Department. For tracking purposes, each recipient is also required to deposit funding into a separate fund so that these funds are not co-mingled with General Fund dollars. The funds must be used to benefit front-line law enforcement efforts. Finally, as with the acquisition of any goods or services by the City, the purchasing process will be subject to City purchasing policy as established in the municipal code under the direction of the Chief Procurement Officer and as required by the grant funds. Previous uses of COPS funds have included restarting the Community Service Officer (CSO) program, purchasing an electronic traffic citation system, rifle magnifiers, range safety equipment, police training, staff wellness testing, upgrades to patrol vehicles, and upgraded tools and technology. Discussion Staff recommends use of the expected COPS funds in the total amount of $103,648 in the following manners which are compliant with the restrictions of these funds: Police Officer Training ($20,000) Training police officers is divided between mandatory and non-mandatory training. Mandatory training is established by the State Board and currently is approximately 12 hours annually per officer, in subjects including firearms, arrest control and driving. Mandatory training is funded through the general fund. Non-mandatory training funding is for categories such as critical incident training (CIT), de-escalation tactics, interpersonal skills, and implicit bias. This funding will support non-mandatory training in these areas, adding (not replacing) to the existing mandatory training provided. Officer Wellness ($30,000) Police Officers experience stress in several ways due to the extreme emotional and physical demands of the profession, irregular shift work, and regular exposure to vicarious trauma. As a result, officers' relationships with their friends, families, agencies, and the public they serve can be adversely affected. Funding of this category will enable the Department to add resources, including wellness testing and therapies, during a difficult period in law enforcement. If the grant is approved, testing may include voluntary annual wellness testing and programs to enhance physical and mental wellness such as a part-time contracted Wellness Coordinator to provide programing or using services by service providers such as a wellness app. Law Enforcement Recruiting ($20,000) The City does not budget funding for recruiting of Police personnel. Instead, in years when staff vacancies are on the rise, a portion of vacancy savings may be used to fund recruiting City of Palo Alto Page 3 operations, or adhoc one-time funding is requested and allocated for a specific recruitment process. For this year, staff believes the effort to keep up with staffing levels in the Department will outstrip the vacancy savings available to fund these efforts in the coming months, along with overtime to staff general operational vacancies. This funding will enable the Department to enhance the recruiting operation for Police Officers, but not replace current operations. If the funding is approved, enhancements to recruiting could include adding more recruiting events such as at educational institutions to the current inventory of events funded by the general fund. The operational activity around recruiting includes event registration and supplies, travel, lodging (at times) and overtime to send staff. Small police departments, like PAPD, do not have dedicated staff for recruiting; instead existing staff re-assigned from other duties perform the recruiting activity, which results in the use of overtime that is not budgeted to deploy staff to recruiting events. Tools and Equipment ($33,648) Various tools and equipment in need of update or upgrade, beyond what is allocated in the general fund include interview room upgrades such as recording equipment, in-field recording upgrades, two-way radios, firearm cases/locks for new employees, updated firearm optics and lighting, range equipment, and ballistic shields. Due to constrained funding, the city is behind on equipment replacement, and these grant funds will provide for new equipment that would otherwise continue aging. Resource Impact The Department has received funds each year under this program since its inception. Annual allocations have averaged approximately $100,000 over the last few years. The City received the official notice from the California Department of Finance in September 2021 that the City's COPS allocation for Fiscal Year 2022 is $103,648. No further action is required, beyond Council’s approval, to receive the funds. Revenues of $103,648 are recommended to be recognized in the City's Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund (SLESF). A total of $103,648 of expenditures are anticipated as described previously in the memorandum, which will be funded by the COPS grant funding appropriated in Fiscal Year 2022 ($103,648). There will be no impact to the General Fund as ongoing maintenance costs, if any, for the items purchased by the SLESF will be absorbed in the Department's existing non-salary budget, otherwise the activities will stop when the SLESF funds are spent in full. Policy Implications Expenditures of funds associated with COPS funds are consistent with City policy. Environmental Assessment Acceptance of COPS funding and the proposed expenditures for public safety equipment are not projects subject to CEQA review.