COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

District Attorney/Sheriff

 

DATE:

August 25, 2005

BOARD MEETING DATE:

Sept. 20, 2005

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

James P. Fox, District Attorney

Don Horsley, Sheriff

   

SUBJECT:

Approve Spending Plan for FY 2005-06 State Law Enforcement Supplemental Fund (SLESF) Allocations

 

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a Resolution approving a FY 2005-06 Spending Plan for monies received through the 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 Sexual Habitual Offender Program (SHOP), pursuant to Government Code §30061 GC, as amended by SB736 (Poochigan) in September, 2001.

 

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Ensuring Basic Health and Safety for All.

 

Goal 7: Maintaining and enhancing the public safety of all residents and visitors.

 

SLESF funding supports jail operation activities for the Sheriff’s Office and criminal investigation and prosecution of adult and juvenile offenders for the District Attorney’s Office.

 

BACKGROUND:

Section 30061 of the Government Code authorizes the allocation of State Law Enforcement Supplemental Fund (SLESF) monies, also known as “State COPS funds.” These monies are allocated 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 under (“a”) and a portion of front-line law enforcement funds under (“c”), related to the unincorporated area of the County.

 

DISCUSSION:

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 2005-06 State COPS funding allocations in the proposed State Budget now under consideration in the legislature remain intact.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

The District Attorney’s proposed allocation of approximately $207,409 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 $206,950 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. 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 2005-06 Recommended budgets, and help reduce the net County cost of these two departments. A separate spending plan for the CPA 2005-06 allocation, which involves a more complex distribution program, will be brought to the Board by the Chief Probation Officer.