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Item C22 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 6/20/01 Bulk Item: Yes [8] No D Division: Administrative Services Department: Grants Administration AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Authorization for County Administrator or his designee to complete and submit the online application for Local Law Enforcement Block Grant funds via Internet as required by U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. ITEM BACKGROUND: Monroe County has accepted LLEBG grant awards since 1997. The funds were used the first year to enhance courthouse security and the fOllowing years for Juvenile Drug Court. Information regarding eligibHity, purpose areas, and program requirements is attached. If funds are awarded, the Substance Abuse Policy Advisory Board will make a recommendation to the BOCC concerning the use of these funds. PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: Approval of grant applications and SAPAB recommendations in prior years. CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES: n/a STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval TOTAL COST: to be announced BUDGETED: Yes D No D n/a at this point (Federal FY2000 award is 96,827.00, with County match of 10,759.00) COST TO COUNTY: to be announced REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes D No [8] AMOUNT PER MONTH YEAR APPROVED BY: COUNTY ATTY D OMB/PURCHASIN~ RISK MANAGEMENT D DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROV~ ~ s.ci;/l. ".d James L. Roberts DOCUMENTATION: INCLUDED: [8] TO FOLLOW: D NOT REQUIRED: D AGENDA ITEM #: 1-l~2 DISPOSITION: u.s. DepartDlentofJustice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance FY 2001 Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program For fiscal year (FY) 2001, Congress has appropriated $523 million for the continuation of the Local Law En- forcement Block Grants (LLEBG) Program, to be ad- ministered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice. The purpose of the LLEBG Program is to provide funds to units of local govern- ment to underwrite projects to reduce crime and im- prove public safety. Program Eligibility and Distribution of Funds To be considered eligible for the LLEBG Program, a jurisdiction must be a general purpose unit of local gov- ernment. I The unit of local government must report, via its law enforcement agencies, to the Uniform Crime Re- ports (UCR) Program of the Federal Bureau of Investi- gation (FBI). . The LLEBG Program is a formula program based on a jurisdiction's number ofUCR Part I violent crimes re- ported to the FBI. The formula is computed in two stages. In the first stage, state allocations are proportionate to each state's average annual amount ofUCR Part I violent crimes compared with that for all other states for the 3 most recent calendar years of data from the FBI. Each state, however, must receive a minimum award of 0.25 per- cent of the total amount avflalfo ~ fo~ula distribution under the LLEBG Prog:r.qt!:'JIl fb~!foRd stage, local awards are proportionate to~ach"ocal j1frisdiction's aver- age annual amount of UCR Part I violent crimes compared with that for all other local jurisdictions in the state for the 3 most recent calendar years. Jurisdictions reporting crime rates above the formula-based threshold of $10,000 are eligible for direct awards. The difference remaining between the state allocation and the local allocation total is awarded to a state ad- ministrative agency (SAA) designated by the Governor. The SAA has the option of distributing award funds to state police departments or units of local government not meeting the formula-based threshold of $10,000. Additional information about this portion of the funds is available from each state's respective SAA. Program Purpose Areas LLEBG Program funds must be spent in accordance with one or more of the following seven purpose areas: a Supporting law enforcement: . Hiring, training, arid employing on a continuing basis new, additional law enforcement officers and necessary support personnel. . Paying overtime to currently employed law enforcement officers and necessary support personnel to increase the number of hours worked by such personnel. . Procuring equipment, technology, and other material directly related to basic law enforce- ment functions. a Enhancing security measures in and around schools and in and around other facilities or locations that the unit of local government considers special risks for incidents of crime. a Establishing or supporting drug courts. a Enhancing the adjudication of cases involving violent offenders, including cases involving violent juvenile offenders. '. a Establishing a multijurisdictional task force, particularly in rural areas, composed of law en- forcement officials representing units of local government. This task force must work with federal law enforcement officials to prevent and control crime. a Establishing crime prevention programs involving cooperation between community residents and law enforcement personnel to control, detect, or investi- gate crime or to prosecute criminals. a Defraying the cost of indemnification insurance for law enforcement officers. Program Requirements The following requirements must be met prior to the obligation of LLEBG Program funds and prior to the Request for Drawdown (RFD) of funds. The RFD must be completed within 90 days of the posting of awards, or the funds will be redistributed in the following fiscal year. a Advisory Board Each jurisdiction must establish or designate an advisory board to review the application. The board must be designated to make nonbinding recommendations for the proposed use of funds received under this program. The advisory board must include a member from each of the following local organizations: law enforcement agency, prosecutor's office, court system, school system, and a nonprofit group (e.g., educational, religious, community) active in crime prevention or drug-use prevention or treatment. a Public Hearing Each jurisdiction must hold at least one public hearing regarding the proposed use of funds prior to the obligation of funds. Jurisdictions should encour- age public attendance and participation. Q Matching Funds . In each jurisdiction, LLEBG funds may not exceed 90 percent of total program costs. Program partici- pation requires a cash match that will not be waived. All recipients must maintain records clearly showing the source, amount, and timing of all matching contributions. a Trust Fund Each jurisdiction must establish a trust fund that may accrue interest in which to deposit program funds. a Expenditure Period All federal funds, including interest, revenue, divi- dend. and match, must be spent within the 2-year expenditure period. Unspent funds must be returned to BJA within 90 days of program termination. a Public Safety Officers' Health Benefits Provision Section 615 of the FY 1998 Appropriations Act requires a unit of local government to afford a public safety officer who retires or is separated fro~ duty due to a personalline-of-duty injury, suffered as a direct and proximate result of re- sponding to a hot pursuit or an emergency situa- tion, health benefits at the time of separation that are the same as or better than those he or she received while on duty. To be eligible to receive the entire amount of award under the LLEBG Program, a unit of local govern- ment must be in compliance with this provision. If not in compliance, the unit will forfeit 10 percent of the eligible amount. Further information about this provision is provided on the LLEBG Internet-based application system, which may be accessed at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJAlhtmllllebgl.htm. Prohibition on Use of Funds LLEBG funds are not to be used to purchase, lease, rent, or acquire tanks or armored vehicles, fixed-wing aircraft, limousines, real estate, yachts, or any vehicle not used primarily for law enforcement. Nor are funds to be used to retain individual consultants or construct new facilities. Likewise, federal funds are not to be used to supplant state or local funds. Rather, they are to be used to increase the amount of funds that would oth- erwise be available from state and local sources. Resolution of Funding Disparities The LLEBG Program provides resolution to potential funding disparities within jurisdictions. A state attorney general may certify that a disparity exists between or among jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions are then re- quired by statute to develop and submit joint applica- tions. BJA's role is limited to accepting state attorney general certifications and reviewing jointly submitted applications. If the state attorney general chooses not to become involved in the disparate allocation certification process, there is no mechanism for BJA to intervene. All certifications must be submitted within given dead- lines, prior to BJA determination of annual award amounts. 2 The LLEBG Program employs two criteria for deter- mining eligibility for disparity certification. First, an associated municipality's eligible funding amount must be greater (by set percentages) than the funding amount of the county. Second, the county must bear more than 50 percent of prosecution or incarceration costs arising from Part I violent crimes reported by an associated municipality. If there are multiple associated munici- palities, the county must also show that the funding al- locations to those municipalities is likely to threaten the efficient administration of justice. FY 2001 Application Process The FY 200 I application and award processes will be administered via the Internet-based Grants Management System. Application deadlines and other LLEBG Pro- gram dates will be established in accordance with sys- tem development efforts and will be posted on the BJA Web site. The application process will consist of the following steps: 1. BJA will notify units of government of their eligibility and provide information on the Internet- based application system for the FY 2001 LLEBG Program. 2. State attorneys general will submit disparity certifications to BJA, if applicable. 3. As required by statute, chief executive officers (CEOs) will submit a copy of the application to the Governor or designated representative. 4. CEOs will submit FY 2001 LLEBG applications via the Internet. Visit the BJA Web site for addi- tional guidance regarding the online submission of applications. 5. BJA will make awards on a rolling basis, with all FY 2001 awards completed by September 28,2001. Technical Assistance For a complete listing of technical assistance available under the LLEBG Program, visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ BJAlhtmJJ11ta.htm. For Further Information To find out more about the Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program or BJA's technical assistance ini- tiatives, contact the following offices: Bureau of Justice Assistance State and Local Assistance Division 810 Seventh Street NW. Washington, DC 20531 202-305-2088 Fax: 202-514-5956 World Wide Web: www.ojp.usdoj.govIBJA Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse P.O. Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849-6000 1-800-688-4252 World Wide Web: www.ncjrs.org Clearinghouse staff are available Monday through Fri- day, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. eastern time. Ask to be placed on the BJA mailing list. U.S. Department of Justice Response Center 1-800-421-6770 or 202-307-1480 Response Center staff are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time. Notes 1. Units of local government are counties, towns and townships, villages, cities, parishes, Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and parish sheriffs (in the state of Louisiana) that carry out substantial governmental duties. FS 000268 May 200 I '. 3