DATE: April 8, 2025
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: John Zanoni, Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator
SUBJECT: Retroactive Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Fresno
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize Chairman to execute a retroactive Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Fresno, which provides that the City will act as a Fiscal Agent for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program FY 2024 Local Solicitation from the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) ($75,640);
2. Approve and authorize Chairman to execute the Certifications and Assurances as Chief Executive of the Applicant Unit of Local Government; and
3. Authorize the Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator or his designee to sign claims for reimbursement and programmatic reports that are necessary to stay in compliance with this grant.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The City of Fresno submitted the joint application before the October 22, 2024, deadline. The U.S. DOJ Edward Byrne Memorial JAG Program awarded the County $75,640 with no required County match on December 5, 2024, for front line law enforcement, including the purchase of equipment, with no required County match. The City of Fresno is the lead agency for the grant application. The award period for this grant is from October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2027. The Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator’s Office is recommending utilizing these funds to purchase less-lethal weapons, such as tasers and taser cartridges to be utilized by Deputy Sheriffs when dealing with violent/potentially violent subjects and for Correctional Officers who are assigned to guard incarcerated people at off-site medical facilities. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended actions, the grant funds would be denied.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended joint application/agreement was announced by U.S. DOJ/OJP/BJA on September 4, 2024, and is retroactive to October 1, 2023, to be in line with the Federal Fiscal Year, as mandated by DOJ/OJP/BJA. The City of Fresno submitted the joint application before the October 22, 2024, deadline and received the award on December 5, 2024. The Sheriff’s Office received the MOU from the City on February 21, 2025. Subsequent time for processing of the application/agreement and MOU delayed this item from being placed on an earlier Board date.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The recommended MOU with the City will complete the process for the County to receive its portion of the joint grant in the amount of $75,640 with no required County match. The Special Revenue Fund for JAG Org 1456 has a balance of $87,792. The appropriations and estimated revenues for the recommended agreement will be included in the Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator’s FY 2025-26 Proposed Budget for Org 3111. This fund was established to account for monies received from the U.S. DOJ, BJA Grant. The monies are drawn down in advance and transferred into the General Fund as JAG grant funds are expended.
DISCUSSION:
The Edward Byrne Memorial JAG program, administered by the BJA, blends the previous Byrne Formula and Local Law Enforcement Block grant programs, and provides States, tribes and local governments with critical funding necessary to support law enforcement programs, including the purchase of equipment. The City of Fresno and the County must submit a joint application specifying the funding distribution to each disparate unit of local government, and the purposes for which the funds will be used. The City has agreed to be the fiscal agent since 2005 to submit the application and administer the joint grant and required the County to sign the MOU first since the City of Fresno is the Fiscal Agent for this grant.
The County has received funding through this program since 1999. The County’s FY 2024 JAG allocation of $75,640 will enable the Sheriff’s Office to utilized these funds to purchase less-lethal weapons, such as tasers and taser cartridges to be utilized by Deputy Sheriff’s when dealing with violent/potentially violent subjects and for Correctional Officers who are assigned to guard incarcerated people at off-site medical facilities.
To complete the JAG application and access award funds, the Chairman must execute the Certification and Assurances that the County will comply with all provisions of the JAG Program statute and all other applicable Federal laws, including that no federal funds will be used to supplant local funds, that the application was submitted to the Board of Supervisors and made public with an opportunity to comment not less than 30 days before the date of the certification, that for each fiscal year of the award the County will maintain and report data, record and information that the Office of Justice programs may reasonably require, and that the Chairman has reviewed 34 USC 10153(a)(5) and makes the certifications required by that section. The Chairman will need to wait 30 days to execute this certification to comply with the certification that the application was submitted to the Board of Supervisors not less than 30 days before the date of the certification.
The recommended MOU contains a mutual indemnification provision, which is typical in the County’s agreements with other governmental agencies.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI# #20, June 18, 2024
BAI#22, April 5, 2005
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - MOU with the City of Fresno
CAO ANALYST:
Fine Nai