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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 09-17-2002 - 7a 1 _f 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: September 17, 2002 Action Agenda Item No. _- Q SUBJECT: Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Public Hearin DEPARTMENT: Sheriff PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) Yes ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: A. Lindy Pendergrass, Sheriff TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968.4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031- PURPOSE: To conduct a public hearing for written and oral comments on the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant. BACKGROUND: Since 1996, the Orange County Sheriffs Department has received proceeds from the U.S. Department of Justice Local Law Enforcement Block Grant. The awards provide units of local government with funds to offset costs of reducing crime and improving public safety. According to guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Justice, these funds are awarded to local law enforcement agencies using a formula based on Part I Violent Crimes as reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports. Examples of Part I crimes include murder, robbery and aggravated assault. Two law enforcement agencies in Orange County are due to receive proceeds related to this award during this fiscal year -- the Town of Chapel Hill Police Department will receive $44,510 and the Orange County Sheriffs Department will receive $10,893. The Sheriffs Department will use the grant proceeds to offset departmental operating costs. There are two requirements that the County must fulfill prior to receiving the monies: • The County must conduct at least one public hearing regarding the proposed uses of the grant funds. This provides citizens the opportunity to provide written and oral comments regarding the County's plans to use the funds to offset overtime costs of the departments. • The County must designate a previously designated or newly established advisory board to discuss the proposed uses of the grant funds. Membership on the advisory board must include a representative from: a. the local sheriffs office; b. the local prosecutor's office; 2 t c. the local court system; d. the local public school system; and e. a local nonprofit, educational, religious or community group active in crime prevention or drug use prevention or treatment. Members of the Sheriffs Department's Community Watch Advisory Board reflect the representation outlined. The Sheriff recommends.that the Community Watch Advisory Board be the advisory board for the Local Law Enforcement Block grant also. It is important to note that the significant difference in funding between the Town and the County has existed consistently since the grant program began and equates to what federal statutes consider a "funding disparity". By statute, a potential funding disparity exists when one municipality's eligible funding amount is greater than two hundred percent of the funding amount for the adjacent county. Guidelines also stipulate that, in order to qualify for the disparity, the County must bear more than fifty percent of prosecution or incarceration costs for violators. In such instances, statutes require the State Attorney General to "certify" whether or not a funding disparity exists among the jurisdictions. If the disparity does exist, jurisdictions must reach a mutual agreement, before the end of the grant application period, on whether they will share funds and in what proportion the sharing will occur. The Bureau of Justice Assistance and the State Attorney General do not have a role in the agreement between the jurisdictions. If an agreement cannot be reached between the parties, none of the jurisdictions in that particular disparate situation may apply for funding. The grant application process begins in early spring of each year with the State Attorney General's disparate certification process closing in mid-May. In cases where funding disparities are certified, the jurisdictions must come to agreement before the grant application closes in July. For this particular grant period, fiscal year 2002-03, the North Carolina Attorney General's Office did certify a funding disparity between Orange County and the Town; however, timing was such that that an agreement could not be reached between the two parties before the grant application process ended in mid-July. Therefore, Orange County accepted the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant funds as originally awarded - $10,893 for the County and $44,510 for the Town. Over the next few months, budget staff will work with the Sheriff to gather statistical data related to prosecution and incarceration costs of violators and then work with the County and Town Managers to reach an agreement related to fiscal year 2003-04 funding allocation should the funding disparity continue. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Since the Sheriffs Department had applied for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant last spring, the Budget Office included the revenue in the original 2002-03 approved budget. There is no further financial impact for the County related to this grant. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board: 1) conduct the required public hearing; 2) approve the Sheriff's recommendation to designate the Community Watch Advisory Board to advise the Sheriff on the use of the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant I 3 funds; (3) accept the Local Law Enforcement Grant of$10,893; and (4) request the Manager and Budget Office to work with the Sheriff regarding an agreement with the Town of Chapel Hill for Fiscal Year 2003-04.