COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

DATE:

August 11, 2004

BOARD MEETING DATE:

September 14,2004

 

TO:

Honorable Members of the Board

FROM:

James P. Fox, District Attorney

Don Horsley, Sheriff

SUBJECT:

Approve Spending Plan for FY 2004-05 SLESF Allocations
 

Recommendation

Adopt a Resolution approving a FY 2004-05 Spending Plan for State Law Enforcement Supplemental Fund (SLESF), permitting the District Attorney to receive a 5.15% allocation for criminal prosecution, and the Sheriff to receive a 5.15% allocation for jail operations and a proportional allocation of countywide front-line law enforcement funds for the SHOP Program, pursuant to Government Code §30061 GC, as amended by SB736 (Poochigan) in September, 2001.

 

Background

Section 30061 of the Government Code is the authority for allocation of State Law Enforcement Supplemental Fund (SLESF) monies, also known as “State COPS funds.” These monies come to the County and cities annually, and are distributed among four separate program areas: a) the Sheriff receives 5.15% to support jail construction or operations activities; b) the District Attorney receives 5.15% of the allocation to support criminal prosecution activities; c) 39.7% is allocated for front-line law enforcement activities in all cities and in the county unincorporated area; and d) 50% is allocated to the Juvenile Justice Plan (CPA 2003), administered by the Board through the Chief Probation Officer. The District Attorney receives criminal prosecution funding under “b”, and the Sheriff receives jail support funding (“a”) and a portion of front-line law enforcement funds (“c”), related to the unincorporated area of the County.

 

Current Statute

State law requires that spending plans for all components of the funding be approved by the Board of Supervisors by September of each year, and on file with the County Controller’s Office prior to funds being transferred to a particular jurisdiction. As of this date, we have been advised that the FY 2004-05 State COPS funding allocations in the proposed State Budget now under consideration in the legislature remain intact.

 

Vision Alignment

The SLESF allocations for these services help keep the commitment of Ensuring Basic Health and Safety for All through goal number 7: Maintaining and enhancing the public safety of all residents and visitors.

 

Spending Plan & Fiscal Impact

The District Attorney’s proposed allocation of approximately $211,369 for criminal prosecution is proposed to be used to finance the cost of one DA Inspector and the partial cost of one Deputy District Attorney. The Sheriff’s proposed $211,369 allocation for jail operations will be used to offset the cost of two Deputy Sheriffs and various operating expenses for the Sheriff’s jail facilities. The front-line law enforcement portion is proposed to be distributed to all city jurisdictions for incorporated area services and to the Sheriff for the unincorporated area. Of this portion of the funding, the Sheriff’s allocation is proposed to be approximately $100,000. This allocation has historically been allocated to fund the cost of a detective for the Sexual Habitual Offender Program (SHOP). These annual funding uses and amounts have been quite stable over the last seven years since SLESF was first enacted. The spending allocations are already included within the Sheriff and District Attorney’s FY 2004-05 Recommended budgets, and help reduce the net County cost of these two departments. A separate spending plan for the CPA 2004-05 allocation, which involves a more complex distribution program, will be brought to the Board by the Chief Probation Officer.