February 14, 2006

SUBJECT:      Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program-FY 2006/2007 Grant Application 

REPORT IN BRIEF

The County of Santa Clara, Office of the County Executive, is submitting a cooperative Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) application to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) on behalf of the cities of Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa Clara.  Sunnyvale has participated in a similar cooperative grant process since FY1996/1997 under the grant titles of Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG) and the Byrne Formula Grant.  This year, the BJA combined the LLEBG and the Byrne Formula grants into the JAG, with the intention of simplifying the grant process for law enforcement agencies.  If approved by Council, Sunnyvale will be eligible to receive funding in the amount of $10,807 for FY 2006/2007.  As in years past, staff intends to use this grant to partially fund a Patrol Operations Captain.  This grant will augment Supplemental Law Enforcement Services (SLES) grant funds currently utilized for the same purpose.

BACKGROUND

Each year since FY 1996/1997, the County of Santa Clara, Office of the County Executive, has acted as the applicant and fiscal agent in the submission of the LLEBG and the Byrne Formula Grant.  In years past, both of these grants were distributed to local municipalities and were focused on reducing crime and improving public safety.  This year, these two grants were combined into a single grant and retitled as the Justice Assistance Grant.  Since this grant is a cooperative effort of several cities within the county, the City of Sunnyvale, by signature of the City Manager, will enter into an Inter-Local Agreement/  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) governing the application, receipt, and distribution of the Grant (Attachment A).  The Grant requires that Council be notified at least 30 days prior to entering into the MOU and submitting the grant application.  This report satisfies that requirement.

EXISTING POLICY

Law Enforcement Sub-Element

4.1D.1:  Coordinate Law Enforcement planning with Local, Regional, State and Federal level plans.

DISCUSSION

The methodology for calculating a city’s share of funding under the JAG guidelines remains the same as was specified in the LLEBG and Byrne Formula Grants.  Funding eligibility considers population and reported violent crime, both for the state and for the municipality.  The BJA calculations are based on the most recent census data, and violent crimes reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the most recent calendar year.  One-half of the available grant funding is calculated based on population, and one-half by the number of violent crimes reported.  Each year the BJA sets a “threshold dollar amount” for the final calculation.  Cities not meeting that threshold amount are excluded from consideration for that year.  As an example, calculations for the cities of Campbell, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, and Palo Alto were below the “threshold amount” of $10,000, and those cities were excluded from consideration for this year.  The “threshold amount” varies from year to year, based on available funding, and consequently projections for future funding are difficult. 

If the grant application submitted by the County Executive on behalf of the cities is accepted and approved by the BJA, aggregated funding in the amount of $396,632 will be distributed as follows:

Staff believes that, if approved, JAG funds should continue to be used to augment the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services (SLES) Grant Funds that are currently used to partially fund a Patrol Operations Captain. 

FISCAL IMPACT

Conclusion

The City has the opportunity to apply for the Justice Assistance Grant in the amount of $10,807 as part of a county wide application. This funding will partially fund one Patrol Captain.  In order to participate in the application process, City Council must authorize the City Manager to sign the Inter-Local Agreement/MOU.  Should the City Council choose not to participate in the application process, Sunnyvale’s funding allocation would be redistributed among other eligible municipalities. 

PUBLIC CONTACT

Public contact was made through posting of the Council agenda on the City's official notice bulletin board, posting of the agenda and report on the City's web page, and the availability of the report in the Library and the City Clerk's Office.

ALTERNATIVES

1.  Authorize the City Manager to sign the Inter-Local Agreement/MOU to participate in the application and administration of the Justice Assistance Grant for FY 2006.

2.  Do not authorize the City Manager to sign the Inter-

     Local Agreement/MOU.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends Alternative #1; authorize the City Manager to sign the Inter-Local Agreement/MOU to participate in the application and administration of the Justice Assistance Grant for FY 2006/2007.  

Reviewed by:

Don Johnson, Director, Public Safety

Prepared by: Heather Tannehill, Manager

Approved by:

Amy Chan

City Manager

Attachments

A.      Inter-Local Agreement: “Agreement Between Cities and the County of Santa Clara 2006 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program Award”