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ACCEPTANCE OF A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $500,000 TO BE DISTRIBUTED OVER THREE YEARS FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE/COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES TO BE USED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO HIRE FOUR SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS, APPROVAL OF CONTRACT K-2021-17, AND BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS FROM THE SPECIAL GRANT FUND BALANCE AND THE GENERAL FUND BALANCE TO BE USED AS MATCHING FUNDS AS REQUIRED BY THE GRANT.
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BACKGROUND: On June 29, 2020, the City of Norman was awarded a grant from the United States Department of Justice/Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) for the purpose of hiring four School Resource Officers. These funds are awarded on a competitive basis and are provided directly to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or re-hire career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts.
Awards under this grant cover up to 75% of the approved entry-level salary and fringe benefits of each newly hired and/or re-hired full-time sworn career law enforcement officer over a three-year award period - with a minimum local cash match requirement of 25% and maximum federal share of $125,000 per officer. Grant recipients are required to retain each officer position awarded for at least 12 months following the conclusion of the three-year award. Absorbing funded officers through attrition does not meet the retention requirement. Funding can be used to:
• Hire new officers, which includes filling existing officer vacancies that are no longer funded in your agency’s budget. The positions must be in addition to the currently budgeted level of sworn officer positions and the officers must be hired on or after the official award start date as listed in the award document.
• Re-hire officers laid off as a result of state, local, or Bureau of Indian Affairs budget reductions (with documentation showing the dates of lay-offs and re-hires)
• Re-hire officers scheduled to be laid off (at the time of application) by the jurisdiction on a specific future date as a result of state, local, or Bureau of Indian Affairs budget reductions (with documentation showing the dates of lay-offs and re-hires)
The COPS Office “non-supplanting” requirement means that an award recipient receiving grant funds to hire a new officer position, including filling an existing officer vacancy that is no longer funded in the recipient’s local budget, must hire the additional position(s) on or after the official award start date, above its current budgeted (funded) level of sworn officer positions.
DISCUSSION: The Norman Police Department submitted an application on March 10, 2020 to the COPS Office requesting $500,000 in grant funding over a three-year period, with a $522,915 local match, for the hiring of four additional sworn career law enforcement officers specifically to fulfill the implementation of the School Resource Officer Program described in the Public Safety Sales Tax of 2014. This grant would allow the assignment of four School Resource Officers (SROs) to rotate between the fifteen elementary schools in Norman with the intent of having a positive impact on elementary school-aged children by working to break the cycles that marginalize youth.
SROs, in accordance with existing Memoranda of Understanding, are specifically limited in the student disciplinary process. Instead, they work in collaboration with the Norman Public School District to seek alternatives to suspension and expulsions through diversion, counseling, and family intervention. The program uses a team-centered process designed to address the impacts of drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, family violence, bullying, and other social harms. It seeks to encourage the active involvement of all students in the school community. SROs pool resources with the Center for Children and Family Services and other local entities, to redirect and refocus energy rather than punishing or sidelining children.
The total award is based on the base annual salary for the first three years of an entry-level police officer (Step 1: $51,705; Step 2: $53,775; and Step 3: $55,924) plus benefits (Year 1: $30,092; Year 2: $30,519; and Year 3: $30,963). The total salary and benefits per officer each year is $81,797 (Year 1), $84,294 (Year 2), and $86,887 (Year 3). The total for each officer for the entire three-year grant period is $252,979. The grant requires a minimum 25% local match each year and a maximum grant share of $125,000 per officer with the first year balance ($127,979) out of the City of Norman General Fund.
The total program salary and benefits costs over three years is $1,011,915 with a decreasing annual federal share. The total Federal share is $500,000, and the total local share required is $511,915 with the local share percentage of 51% of the salary and benefits. The local share is 25% (Year 1), 35% (Year 2), and 40% (Year 3) plus any amount above the $125,000 cap per officer. The Federal share is $199,209 (Year 1), $158,008 (Year 2), and $142,783 (Year 3). The local share is $127,979 (Year 1), $179,170 (Year 2), and $204,766 (Year 3).
RECOMMENDATION NO. 1: That City Council accept the grant and contract.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 2: That City Council appropriate the first year contract amount of $199,209 from the Special Grant Fund balance (account 22-29000) designating $125,923 to Employee Salaries (account 22660139-42001, GP0060), and $73,286 to Benefits account (account 22660139-42901, GP0060). Also, that City Council appropriate the first year amount of $127,979 from the General Fund Unreserved Fund Balance (account 10-29000) designating $80,899 to Employee Salaries (account 10661322-42110, GP0060), and $47,080 to Benefits (account 10661322-42901, GP0060). Appropriations of future contract years’ funds as mandated by the terms of the grant will be done through the City’s normal budgeting process.
RECOMMENDATION NO. 3: That upon receipt of the grant reimbursements, funds be deposited into the COPS Grant Revenue (account 226-333314).