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HomeMy WebLinkAbout- - COPS Hiring Program Grant Report - 11/16/2010CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: November 16, 2010 ITEM NUMBER: Item Number SUBJECT: RECOMMENDED ACCEPTANCE AND ALLOCATION OF THE 2010 COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES (COPS) HIRING PROGRAM (CHP) GRANT DATE: NOVEMBER 5, 2010 FROM: POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION CHRISTOPHER SHAWKEY, CHIEF OF POLICE BY: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: BRYAN GLASS, LIEUTENANT 714.754.5603 RECOMMENDATION: 1. Approve staffs recommendation to accept the 2010 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program (CHP) grant award. 2. Authorize the City Manager and Chief of Police to sign and execute the 2010 CHP Award Document. BACKGROUND: In 2009, the US Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), created the COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP) grant as part of the 2009 Recovery Act. CHIRP solicited applications nationwide from agencies suffering fiscal hardships and requiring federal assistance with the hiring of police officers in three primary categories: new officers, rehires of officers laid off pre -application, and rehires of officers laid off or scheduled to be laid off post -application. Grantees receive federal funding for a predetermined number of officer positions for three (3) years at the applying agency's officer entry level salary and fringe benefits. Grantees are also required to incur any salary and benefit increases over the first three (3) years and completely fund the CHIRP positions for a fourth year. Due to the City of Costa Mesa's fiscal challenges at the time, the City applied for the CHRP grant and considered the grant as one of the ten points in the City's strategy to balance the FY 09/10 budget. Unfortunately, the City was not selected to receive the grant. In 2010, the US Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, created the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) grant. CHP mirrored the CHRP grant and was only open to agencies who originally applied for the CHIRP grant. The City of Costa Mesa resubmitted its application and was notified in September 2010 that it had been awarded $1,761,595 to fund five (5) officer positions over three (3) years. The five (5) positions were designated for the hiring of new officers. ANALYSIS: The City's CHP grant award is for $1,761,595, which is designated to fund the entry level salary and fringe benefits of five (5) new full-time officer positions over three (3) years. After the CHP positions have been filled, the City will be obligated to incur any salary and benefit increases entitled to the officers hired under the CHP grant and completely fund the positions for a fourth year. The City has 90 days from the date of the award letter (September 30, 2010) to accept the grant, which only requires the signatures of the City Manager and Chief of Police. The Police Department has suffered a significant loss of sworn personnel over the last two years with positions being frozen due to the City's fiscal constraints. Currently, the Police Department has seventeen (17) sworn position vacancies with the potential of perceivable layoffs due to the City's fiscal challenges. If the City Council was to approve the acceptance of the CHP grant, the funds could be utilized to hire five (5) new officers to supplement the Police Department's staffing levels and ability to provide policing services to the community of Costa Mesa. ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED: Allowable costs under the CHP grant are for the hiring of new officers, rehiring of officers who have been laid off, or the rehiring of officers scheduled to be laid off. If the City was to pursue layoffs to balance the City's FY 10/11 budget, the CHP grant could be modified to prevent the layoff of five (5) sworn positions. The City would be required to provide evidence that layoffs were actually to occur and the decision was not made to supplant the City's budget with the CHP funds. Any salary and benefit difference between the rehired officers' and an entry level officer's salary and benefits would have to be absorbed by the City during the first three (3) years. On the fourth year of the grant the complete salary and benefits of the CHP positions would have to be incurred by the City. FISCAL REVIEW: Acceptance of the CHP grant will bind the City to the parameters of the grant. Any salary and benefit difference between the hired/rehired officers and an entry level officer's salary and benefits (provided by the grant) would have to be absorbed by the City during the first three (3) years of the grant. On the fourth year of the grant, the complete salary and benefits of the CHP positions will have to be incurred by the City. Since both the implementation details and timing of the grant are unknown, the exact financial benefits to the City for the current fiscal year are also unknown. Therefore no budget adjustment is proposed at this time. Once the implementation details have been determined, Finance staff can estimate the financial impacts and prepared the necessary budget adjustment for approval. LEGAL REVIEW: The City Attorney's office has reviewed and approved the 2010 CHP grant agreement to form. CONCLUSION: Based upon the City's fiscal condition, it is recommended that the City Council accept the 2010 CHP grant award and authorize the City Manager and Chief of Police to sign and execute the 2010 CHP Award Document. ALLEN ROEDER CHRISTOPHER SHAWKEY City Manager Chief of Police KIMBERLY BARLOW City Attorney COLLEEN O'DONOGHUE Assistant Finance Director E DISTRIBUTION: 1. Finance Department 2. Lt. Bryan Glass, Police Department ATTACHMENTS: 1. Award Letter 2. Award Document 3. Grant Terms & Conditions 4. Financial Clearance Memo 5. Final Funding Memo 6. Frequently Asked Questions 2010 CHP GRANT Date Time