CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: June 17, 2015
PREPARED BY: Hilary Holeman, Administrative Analyst/City Manager Department
APPROVED BY: City Manager
Title
CITY POSITION ON PENDING FY 2016 COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND SCIENCE APPROPRIATIONS BILL
END
RECOMMENDATION(S)
RECOMMENDATION
Receive and accept report on legislative correspondence in opposition of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) funding allocations.
BODY
COUNCIL PRIORITIES, GOALS & STRATEGIES:
Ongoing Priorities
Enhancing public safety
Preserving and cultivating public trust
REPORT NARRATIVE:
Per Resolution No. 6851, the City Council recognizes occasional situations arise where communication indicating support or opposition on pending State legislation is timely and may occur prior to the next scheduled City Council meeting. Under these circumstances, the Mayor or City Manager is delegated the authority to prepare, execute and transmit written or verbal communications indicating a City's position on pending legislation as long as the following criteria are met: a) the League of California Cities has requested the City to comment or take a position, b) the timing to express a position occurs prior to the next scheduled Council meeting, and c) the pending State legislation clearly supports or clearly hinders the implementation or fulfillment of an adopted City Council Priority, Goal or Strategy. When this occurs, a written report to the City Council for comment and acceptance is required at the next possible meeting.
On June 2, 2015, the League of California Cities (League) announced that the House of Representatives Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee stripped all funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program from the Appropriations Bill. In 1994 the COPS program was designed to provide funding to local law enforcement agencies to develop and implement strategic and tactical efforts that build trust and mutual respect between the police and the communities they serve. The primary foundation of the COPS program is the philosophy of community policing which calls for police and community stakeholders to work as partners in solving crime. Through the COPS Hiring Program as well as training, resources and technical assistance, additional officers have been hired and retained and problem-solving has been successfully implemented throughout the country. COPS funding provides communities with solutions to advance public safety through effective police/community partnerships.
The CJS House Appropriations Bill eliminates funding for the COPS Hiring Program and shifts all other COPS-related programs out of the COPS office and into other Department Of Justice Office -- essentially shutting down the COPS program. Due to the current climate of uncertainty regarding police/community relations, it is critical that funding for the COPS hiring program continue and funding levels be maintained. Over the past two decades, the COPS program has helped numerous communities solve challenging crime and quality of life issues that would not have been resolved without COPS funding.
In order to express the City's position in a timely manner, staff obtained written permission from the Mayor and City Manager and sent a letter in opposition (Attachment 1) via fax and mail to the appropriate representatives on June 3, 2015.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Not Applicable
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS:
None
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL AND COMMISSION ACTIONS:
None
FISCAL AND RESOURCE IMPACT:
No fiscal impact at this time. Tracking legislation is a responsibility of the Administrative Analyst in the City Manager's Office.
CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act):
Not a Project
LINKS/ATTACHMENTS:
COPS Letter of Opposition