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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-121APRIL 14, 2009 09 -121 RESOLUTION (CARRIED 6 -0 LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN ) PURPOSE: AUTHORIZE POLICE DEPARTMENT GRANT / RECOVERY ACT: EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT THROUGH U.S. DEPTARTMENT OF JUSTICE INITIATED BY: OSHKOSH POLICE DEPARTMENT BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council for the City of Oshkosh that the proper City officials are hereby authorized and directed to approve a grant agreement with U.S. Department of Justice under: Recovery Act: Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant to assist local law enforcement to combat violence against women, to fight internet crimes against children, to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system, to assist victims of crime, and to support youth mentoring. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the proper City officials are hereby authorized and directed to execute any and all documents required by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance for purposes of the same, and are further authorized and directed, if said grant is awarded, to accept such funds, pursuant to the terms of the grant application. 420 Jackson Street P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, WI 54903 -1130 City of Oshkosh Police Department Tel: 920/236 -5700 Fax: 920/236 -5087 www.oshkoshpd.com 0 O.fHKO -fH ON THE WATER MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Scott D. Greuel, Chief of Police DATE: April 9, 2009 RE: Acceptance of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant BACKGROUND The Oshkosh Police Department has been notified that we are eligible to receive grant funds through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Byrne JAG program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. JAG funded projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and /or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes or procedures. The JAG Program allows local governments to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on their local needs and conditions. The grant fund is expected to be used in a manner that maximizes job creation, and is a one -time award. The application deadline is May 18, 2009. ANALYSIS Specific funds to local governments are based on a formula that calculates direct allocations based on their share of total violent crime reported within the state as indicated on the annual Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR). The specific allocation is based on the UCR index from 1998 -2007. The city of Oshkosh realized an increase in serious violent crimes such as homicides and robberies during the period 2005 -2007. The eligible allocation to the city of Oshkosh under the Byrne JAG is $156,669. However, a disparate allocation occurs when a municipality is scheduled to receive one and one -half times (150 %) more than a county with concurrent jurisdiction. The allocation for Winnebago County is $20,215, thereby designating us as a disparate county. Jurisdictions certified as disparate must identify a fiscal agent that will submit a joint application for the total eligible allocation for the county. The City of Oshkosh has agreed to act as the fiscal agent for this grant, which will be administered by the Oshkosh Police Department. Total eligible joint allocation for this grant is $256,948 and awards are made in the first fiscal year of the appropriation and may be expended during the following three (3) years, for a total of four (4) grant period years. After learning of this grant eligibility, a meeting was held with the Police Chief's of the various law enforcement agencies in the county, as well as the Winnebago County Sheriff to decide how to use the allocated funds from this grant. The eligible entities include the City of Oshkosh, Town of Menasha, City of Menasha, City of Neenah and Winnebago County. It was agreed that the city of Oshkosh would take the lead in administering the grant. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed by all entities before the May 18, 2009 grant application deadline. The city of Menasha has decided to use their eligible portion of the grant ($37,505) for equipment. The Town of Menasha has decided to use their portion ($10,906) for equipment as well. The cities of Oshkosh and Neenah, and the county of Winnebago have decided to fund a shared or regional full -time civilian Crime Analyst with the remaining $208,537 of the grant over a period of three to four years. In order for law enforcement to be most effective and efficient in the allocation of our resources, we need to have specific information about what, where, when and why crimes are occurring in our communities, as well as who is committing them. We need a skilled and dedicated individual with a statistical /GIS background that can analyze our data sources and provide us with useful information and conduct crime mapping of where our top problem locations are at any given time and what crimes or types of incidents are our priority problems. None of our agencies currently have an employee that has the needed skills, knowledge or abilities to perform a comprehensive crime analysis function, or the ability to provide daily crime mapping trends. This information will enable us to drill down to specific locations or neighborhoods that we need to proactively engage our team policing officers in problem solving and preventive efforts. The three agencies have agreed to share their allocations in order to share the benefits of a crime analyst as the most effective way to improve our community policing efforts in our respective jurisdictions. FISCAL IMPACT The Crime Analyst would be a Limited Term Employee (LTE) on the city of Oshkosh payroll with wages and benefits paid from an account established with the grant allocation, and managed by the Oshkosh Police Department. The position would be funded for the three — four year period of the grant, or until the funds have been expended. Research is being conducted from other law enforcement agencies that currently have a crime analyst on staff into the appropriate annual wages and benefits of the position. Our research to date has found a range of $35,000 - $50,000 for annual wages, excluding benefits. A committee of the agencies sharing the position would develop a Job Description and hiring process for the Crime Analyst, as well as the performance measures and goals for evaluating the effectiveness of the position with our Team Policing strategies. Performance measures could include crime reduction statistics, increased uncommitted time through more effective utilization of manpower, citizen feedback of their perception of safety in their neighborhoods, reduction of the fear of crime through surveys, as well as other quantifiable measures. Any needed equipment or software would be purchased with the grant. The Oshkosh Police Department already has available a computer, printer and office space for use by the Crime Analyst during the course of the grant period. No budget funds from any of the agencies sharing the crime analyst would be used for the position during the term of the grant. The grant does not require sustainability of the position beyond the term of the grant and there are no matching funds required. The Crime Analyst could help us measure the successes of our Team Policing efforts, and help us allocate our officers where they are needed most and on types of incidents that are having the most adverse impact on our citizens. Crime knows no boundaries, and we certainly do not live in an isolated community. Crime analysis done on a regional basis would give all the agencies within our county a more global view of what is occurring so we can develop strategies to make all our communities safer places to live, work and visit. SUMMARY If approved, we intent to apply for and accept the eligible Byrne JAG funds allocated to Winnebago County law enforcement agencies to be used to hire a limited term Crime Analyst that will be shared with the Oshkosh Police Department, Neenah Police Department and the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department. The Town of Menasha Police Department and the City of Menasha Police Department will use their eligible allocation for equipment to be outlined in the agreement. The Oshkosh Police Department will act as the fiscal agent, and specifics of the use of the grant will be outlined in an MOU agreement to be developed and included with the application that will be submitted by the grant deadline of May 18, 2009. Respectfully submitted, �;� h Scott D. Greuel Chief of Police Approved, r Mark Rohloff City Manager