1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: July 30, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Michael Albanese, Chief of Police
VIA: Viviana Garzon, Police Administrator
John Pfrommer, Lieutenant
BY: Gina Kozai, Administrative Analyst II
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing Acceptance of the Department of California Highway Patrol Cannabis Tax Fund Grant for $147,922 and Amending the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget by Appropriating Funds
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER OR HIS DESIGNEE TO EXECUTE THE DEPARTMENT OF
CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL CANNABIS TAX FUND GRANT PROGRAM AGREEMENT AND ANY FUTURE AMENDMENTS, ACCEPTING $147,922 IN GRANT FUNDS, AND AMENDING THE FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2024 -25 BUDGET BY APPROPRIATING FUNDS.
BACKGROUND
In 2016, California voters approved Proposition 64, the Control, Regulate, and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act. This act mandated that the State allocate funding for the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to award grants to local governments and qualified nonprofit organizations. The Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program (CTFGP) aims to reduce impaired driving crashes, increase public awareness of the dangers of impaired driving, and enhance the safety of California's roadways. The Burbank Police Department (Department) has been awarded $147,922 in competitive grant funding through the CTFGP.
POLICE
DEPARTMENT
2 DISCUSSION
The Department is committed to improving traffic safety within the City by reducing the number of traffic collisions and subsequent injuries and fatalities. A primary collision factor nationwide is impaired driving, including driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs such as cannabis. The Department conducts specialized enforcement details, such as driving under the influence (DUI) saturation patrols, to identify and remove impaired drivers from city roadways, enforce all traffic laws, provide police visibility, and educate the public to deter impaired driving and prevent related collisions and injuries. In 2023, the Department made a total of 322 DUI -related arrests. Additionally, the Department conducts multiple annual DUI checkpoints at locations with a history of DUI crashes and arrests, screening an average of over 400 vehicles at these checkpoints. The goal of these checkpoints is to deter impaired driving through high-visibility enforcement and well- publicized DUI operations.
With a total grant allocation of $147,922, the Department ’s initiatives will be divided as follows:
• $107,098 for the purchase of two DUI/traffic enforcement vehicles. This will allow DUI/traffic enforcement officers to have designated vehicles for this assignment, ensuring there is no delay in deployment. These vehicles will be strictly designated for DUI and traffic enforcement, enabling officers to continue reducing DUI-related traffic collisions by enforcing DUI and traffic violations, including driving under the influence of controlled substances. The addition of these vehicles will help the Department’s Traffic Bureau increase public safety by identifying and removing impaired drivers from Burbank’s streets.
• $32,844 will be allocated towards vehicle outfitting costs, including emergency lights, sirens, radio, and transport partitions.
• $7,980 will be allocated to pay for personnel costs during specialized DUI/traffic enforcement saturation details.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Approval of the CHP CTFGP has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
This is a reimbursement grant and will not require any matching funds from the City. Staff requests Council authority to amend the FY 2024- 25 Budget by accepting CHP CTFGP grant funds and appropriating $147,922 from revenue account 001.PD000.48010.0000.25047.000000 (General Fund, Police Department, Other Intergovernmental, None, CHP Cannabis Tax Fund Grant ) to expenditure account 3 001.PD01A.62300.0000.25047 (General Fund, Police Department, Special Department Supplies, CHP Cannabis Tax Fund Grant) . Initially, funds will be drawn from 001.ND000.30010.0000.00000 (General Fund, Non- Departmental Unassigned Fund Balance) until reimbursed.
CONCLUSION
Approval of the CHP CTFGP grant agreement will assist the Department in mitigating the impacts of impaired driving in the C ity through education, enforcement, and prevention.
The grant aligns with the Department’s goal of improving traffic safety within the C ity by reducing traffic collisions and injuries/fatalities related to drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled substances.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 – Resolution
Attachment 2 – California Highway Patrol Fiscal Year 2024-25 Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program Grant Agreement