HomeMy WebLinkAboutFS 2011-05-17 Item 2A - Discussion - Community Oriented Policing Services Grant Opportunity City of Tukwila
w Jim Haggerton, Mayor
INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Haggerton
Finance and Safety Committee
FROM: Dennis McOmber, Acting Assistant Chief
DATE: May 12, 2011
SUBJECT: COPS Hiring Program
ISSUE
The Tukwila Police Department would like to apply for a U.S. Department of Justice Community
Oriented Policing Services COPS hiring grant for use in funding three additional police officer
positions. The grant will provide 100% funding for entry level salaries and benefits for three
years. At the conclusion of the federal funding, the city must retain the positions for a minimum
of one year.
BACKGROUND
In April of 2009, the Police Department submitted a request for eight officer positions under this
grant. In August 2009, we received notification of an award for $928,308 to fund three officer
positions for 36 months. Since that time, we have been in the process of hiring and training new
officers to fill those positions.
DISCUSSION
The original grant application requested funding for eight officers, however only three positions
were awarded. In compliance with the guidelines in the grant, we used the funds to create a
Community Oriented Policing team in our urban district. This team currently consists of a
Sergeant and two officers who will work out of office space at Westfield Mall. Right now, the
Sergeant position has been staffed. The other two officer positions are in the hiring /training
process.
Due to economic issues, the Police Department cut three officer positions from its budget in
2011. These positions were a Crime Prevention Officer, a Traffic Enforcement Officer, and a
TAC Team Detective. The goal of the COPS Hiring Grant is to provide funding to law
enforcement agencies to impact community policing capacity and problem solving efforts. The
Police Department would like to apply for three officer positions with the goal of adding to the
existing urban district team and /or replacing the positions lost during the budget cut.
The COP Grant does not fund ancillary costs and further requires the city to retain the positions
for one year after the federal funding concludes. The ancillary costs include, but are not limited
to, professional testing and background fees, police equipment, uniforms, and overtime
expenses.
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INFORMATIONAL MEMO
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Est. Exp 2012 I 201 I 2014
Professional Testing I $16,000 $16,000
Uniforms /Equipment I $17,000 I $3,000 I $3,500
Overtime $41,75 I $43 ,800 I $46,000
TOTAL I $74,750 I $62,800 I $49,500
RECOMMENDATION
The Finance and Safety Committee is being asked to give permission for the Police Department
to apply and compete for funds from the 2011 COPS Hiring Program Grant. If application
submittal is approved, staff will return to Council with a more detailed evaluation of costs, duties,
funding strategy and options prior to requesting Council acceptance of the grant.
ATTACHMENTS
COPS Hiring Program Solicitation
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s 1 +i Street. \F. V (on, l.).(:. 20530
May 2, 2011
RE: COPS Hiring Program (CHP) Solicitation NOW OPEN!
Dear Colleague,
The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) is pleased to announce that the
application period for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 COPS Hiring Program (CHP) is now open. CHP is a
competitive grant program that provides finding directly to law enforcement agencies having primary law
enforcement authority to impact their community policing capacity and problem solving efforts, Subject to
funding availability, just over $200 million in grant funding may be available for the hiring and rehiring of career
law enforcement officers.
FY 2011 CHP grants will provide 100 percent funding for approved entry-level salaries and benefits for
three years (36 months) for newly- hired, full -time sworn officer positions (including tilling existing unfunded
vacancies) or for rehired officers who have been laid off, or are scheduled to be laid off on a specific future date,
as a result of local budget cuts. There is no local snatch requirement or cap on the amount of funding that can be
requested per officer position, but CHP grant funding will be based on your agency's Current entry-level salary
and fi•inge benefits packages. Any additional costs for higher than entry -level salaries and fringe benefits will be
the responsibility of the grantee agency. All agencies' requests will be capped at no more than 5% of their actual
sworn force strength reported at the time of application, up to a maximum of 50 officers. The request of any
agency with a sworn force strength less than or equal to 20 will be capped at one officer.
At the conclusion of federal funding, grantees must retain a] I sworn officer positions awarded under the
CHP grant fora minimum of one year (12 months). The retained CHP- funded position(s) should be added to the
grantee's law enforcement budget with state and /or local funds, over and above the number of locally funded
positions that would have existed in the absence of the grant.
All applicants should thoroughly review the Before Preparing Your Application guidance, which is
attached to this letter, for detailed information on how to begin preparations for submitting your application.
Applications for FY 2011 CHP grants are currently being accepted in a two -part process. Please note that
both parts of the application must be completed by the deadline. First, applicants must apply online via
www.arants.eov to complete the Standard Form 424 (SF -424). The SF -424 is a government -wide standard form
required for competitive grant application packages. Once the SF -424 has been submitted, you will receive an e-
mail from the COPS Office with instructions on completing the second part of the application process through the
COPS Office Online Application System found on the COPS Office website at www.cons.usdoi.aov. The COPS
Office wants to ensure that your agency has sufficient time to complete all required pre application steps, and
therefore encourages you to join the thousands of law enforcement agencies that have already visited the COPS
Office website at wWw.cons.usdoi.�y_ov to establish or update their online account through the "Account Access"
feature. For more information on the two -part process required to apply for the CHP program this year, please
refer to the Stet) -bv -Stet) Instructions for Two -Part ApWication Submission Process by visiting the
following link h6: wWw. cO« s. usdoi .v ov./Default.aso ?Itenr °2 =67). We strongly urge your agency to review this
information prior to applying.
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To access the CHP Application Guide (i.e., application instructions), please visit COPS online at
www.covs.usd.oi.aov/and choose the COPS Hiring Program fi•om the "Grants Funding' link at the top. The
website will also allow you to review important information regarding FY 2011 CHI' eligibility, details on.
application procedures, the COPS nonsupplanting requirement, and other frequently asked questions regarding the
program.
Applications must be submitted by May 25, 2011, at 8:59 PM, EDT. Please note that both parts of the
two -part application process must be completed by this deadline. Any incomplete applications submitted after
this deadline will not be accepted or considered for funding under this program. Also, note that applicants who
do not complete the required pre application steps as outlined on the COPS website in time to submit the
application will not be considered for funding; therefore, if your agency is interested in this funding opportunity,
you are encouraged to begin the necessary steps immediately.
The COPS Office looks forward to working with your agency. If you would like more information or
require technical assistance during the solicitation process, please visit the COPS Office website at
www.coas.usdoi.aov, or call the COPS Office Response Center at 1.800.421.6770.
Sincerely,
Bernard K. Melekian
Director
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