DATE: April 13, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Margaret Mims, Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator
SUBJECT: Retroactive Grant Application/Award/Agreement and Memoranda of
Understanding (MOUs) for Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Retroactively approve and authorize the Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator to submit grant application and, on behalf of the County, execute grant application from the Executive Office of the President’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) for the Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program in the amount of $845,102;
2. Retroactively approve and authorize the Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator, on behalf of the County, to execute retroactive Grant Agreement Number G21CV0004A and approve Grant Conditions for the Office of National Drug Control Policy effective January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022 ($845,102); and
3. Approve and authorize the Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator, on behalf of the County, to execute retroactive Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) for various Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Resource Agencies effective January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022.
REPORT
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Fresno County is the approved fiduciary for the Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (CV HIDTA). The CV HIDTA received a grant application in the amount of $845,102 for the 2021 grant year. The grant application was submitted on March 15, 2021, contingent upon your Board’s approval. The Sheriff’s Office is requesting approval to sign the application and award letter on behalf of the County as ONDCP protocol requires a Law Enforcement’s Officer’s authorization. Approval of the third recommendation action will allow the Sheriff’s Office to execute MOUs with CV HIDTA resource agencies for the new grant period. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended actions are not approved, Fresno County would not receive funding for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) enforcement activities, which would hinder the Sheriff’s Office impact on drug trafficking.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended Grant Agreement and MOUs are retroactive due to receipt of the grant application from ONDCP on March 1, 2021.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The maximum amount of the CV HIDTA Grant Agreement ($845,102) will be fully offset with CV HIDTA Grant funds. Grant Agreement G21V0004A has a two-year spending period. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Sheriff Office’s FY 2020-21 Adopted Budget Org 3111 for HIDTA activities and will be included in the Department’s FY 2021-22 budget request.
DISCUSSION:
The HIDTA program, created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Act of 1988, provides assistance to Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug trafficking regions of the United States.
Each HIDTA assesses the drug trafficking threat in its defined area for the upcoming year, develops a strategy, proposes funding needed to carry out the initiatives, and prepares an annual report describing its performance from the previous year. A central feature of the HIDTA program is the discretion granted to the Executive Boards to design and implement initiatives that confront drug trafficking threats in each HIDTA.
On November 4, 2014, your Board approved Fresno County as the fiduciary for the CV HIDTA. On April 14, 2020, your Board approved the Sheriff’s Office to submit the CV HIDTA grant application for the period of performance 1/1/2020 to 12/31/2021, and execute the subsequent Grant Agreement Award Number G20CV0004A and MOUs for Resource Agencies of the CV HIDTA. Each HIDTA grant is for a twelve-month period with a two-year spending period for each grant. The MOUs facilitate the transfer of funds between the Sheriff’s Office and CV HIDTA Resource Agencies. As the fiduciary agent for the CV HIDTA, the Sheriff’s Office processes reimbursement requests from CV HIDTA Resource Agencies for expenditures and overtime.
Each year the CV HIDTA submits a budget request to ONDCP. In June 2020, the CV HIDTA submitted a budget request to ONDCP for the 2021 grant year in the amount of $845,102. On March 1, 2021, the Sheriff’s Office received a grant application and award in the amount of $845,102 and a Grant Agreement from ONDCP. Once the Board approves the recommended actions, the Sheriff’s Office will submit the acceptance of the Grant Agreement to the National HIDTA Assistance Center (NHAC).
The MOUs for Resource Agencies in the CV HIDTA implement Federal policies from the Uniform Guidance that require these CV HIDTA Resource Agencies be identified as either Subrecipients or Contractors. Due to the Sheriff’s determination to identify the CV HIDTA Resource Agencies as Contractors, they have also been determined to be Sole Source Contractors. This determination is made because of the jurisdiction differences and inter-city agency differences for each Resource Agency; therefore, Sole Source is the only accurate option. Fresno County Purchasing Division concurs with this decision, and indicated since there are more than fifteen agencies as provided below, it is not necessary to fill out a sole source form for each agency.
The current initiative summary of the award outlines the following allocations for which Fresno County will be the responsible fiduciary:
Initiative Amount % of Total Allocation
Administration $200,000 24%
Fresno Areas Surveillance Team $ 50,000 6%
High Impact Investigation Team $194,000 23%
Merced County Task Force $160,818 19%
Kern- HIDTA $240,284 28%
TOTAL $845,102 100%
Approval of the third recommended action will allow the Sheriff to execute MOUs for the new grant period. Other Law Enforcement Resource Agencies involved in the CV HIDTA, include but are not limited to:
• Atwater Police Department
• California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
• California Department of Justice
• California Highway Patrol
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Fresno County District Attorney
• Fresno Police Department
• Kern County Probation
• Kern County Sheriff’s Department
• Kings County Sheriff’s Department
• Livingston Police Department
• Los Banos Police Department
• Merced Police Department
• Merced Sheriff’s Department
• Tulare Sheriff’s Department
Staff has included in the Board Packet a sample MOU which staff prepared for execution by the County and the State Department of Justice. The form included in the Board Packet will be used for all MOUs with each of the fifteen listed agencies. Staff will change the titles, signature blocks, and other language as necessary to adapt the form to each member Resource Agency.
REFERENCE MATERIAL
BAI # 19, April 14, 2020
BAI # 21, November 4, 2014
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Grant Application
On file with Clerk - HIDTA 2020 Grant Award/ Agreement
On file with Clerk - MOUs with CV HIDTA Agencies
CAO ANALYST:
Yussel Zalapa