1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: Ju ly 15, 2025
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Danny Alvarez, Fire Chief
VIA: Christine Alles, Fire Administrator
Viviana Garzon, Police Administrator
BY: Brigitte Le, Administrative Analyst I
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing Acceptance of the 2024 Urban Area Security Initiative Grant, and Any Future Amendments, Accepting $247,041 in Grant Funds, and Amending the Fiscal Year 2025- 26 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 202 4 URBAN AREA
SECURITY INITIATIVE (UASI) SUBAWARD AGREEMENT AND ANY FUTURE AMENDMENTS, ACCEPTING $ 247,041 IN 202 4 UASI GRANT FUNDS, AND AMENDING THE FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2025-26 BUDGET BY APPROPRIATING FUNDS.
BACKGROUND
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, through its Federal Emergency Management Agency Grants Program Directorate (DHS), is offering financial support to selected urban areas in the United States through the 202 4 UASI Grant Program. This program is designed to address the distinctive requirements for equipment, training, planning, exercises, and operational needs of major urban areas. Its primary goal is to aid in the establishment of comprehensive and sustainable strategies to prevent, respond to, and recover from terrorism threats or incidents.
Under this program, states are allocated funds with the stipulation that a minimum of 80% of the total grant is sub-granted to the selected urban areas. Identified as a combined Tier
FIRE DEPARTMENT
2 1 urban area, the Cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach along with surrounding communities, have been awarded grant funding totaling $49,119,978. The administration of these funds will be overseen jointly by the State of California and the City of Los Angeles.
DISCUSSION
In partnership with the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association (LACPCA), the Burbank Police Department (BPD) aims to enhance its preparedness and response capabilities for critical incidents through a focused investment on equipment, software, and training. With a total grant allocation of $13 9,100, BPD’s initiatives are divided as follows:
• $20,000 will be allocated to provide officers with crisis negotiation and tactical training, ensuring they are equipped with the most current best practices in negotiation and crisis management. This amount includes funding for backfill while officers attend training.
• $119,100 will continue the support of software solutions aimed at optimizing data sharing and analytics for investigative purposes.
To address its goal of regional compatibility, the Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs Association (LAAFCA) continues to select projects that will improve the ability of multiple fire departments to work together on large incidents. Thus, the Burbank Fire Department (BFD) will receive grant funds totaling $107,941 to address equipment and training needs to enhance BFD’s capability as a local and regional first responder. BFD operates a Hazardous Materials Response Program to mitigate incidents in Burbank and provide hazardous materials resources to other agencies through local , regional, and state automatic and mutual aid agreements . The program conforms with Firefighting Resources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies Standards and complies with requirements from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to qualify as a Type 1 regional resource. BFD will use grant funds for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) equipment and expenses related to courses for Hazardous Materials Technician and Specialist training, Weapons of Mass Destruction training, and Assistant Safety Officer training.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This grant will provide funds for equipment and training , which 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 Qual ity Act (CEQA) 14 Cal.
Code Regs § 15378.
3 FISCAL IMPACT
This is a reimbursement grant and will not require any matching funds from the City. Staff is requesting Council authority to accept $247,041 in 2024 UASI Grant Program funds and amend the FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget to appropriate the funds as follows:
BPD’s budget will be amended to appropriate $139,100 from revenue account number 001.PD000.48010.1085.25223 (General Fund, Police Department General, Other Intergovernmental Revenue, UASI Urban Area Security Federal, 2024 UASI) to the following expenditure accounts:
• $4,700 to 001.PD01A.60007.0000.25223 (General Fund, Police Department – Patrol Division, Overtime, 2024 UASI).
• $119,100 to 001.PD01A.62300.0000.25223 (General Fund, Police Department – Patrol Division, Special Departmental Supplies, 2024 UASI). • $15,300 to 001.PD01A.62755.0000.25223 (General Fund, Police Department – Patrol Division, Training, 2024 UASI).
BFD’s budget will be amended to appropriate $107,941 from revenue account number 001.FD000.48010.1085.25200.00000 (General Fund, Fire Department General, Other Intergovernmental Revenue, UASI Urban Area Security Federal, UASI 2024 ) to expenditure account 001.FD02A.62300.0000.25200 (General Fund, Fire Department – Fire Suppression, Special Departmental Supplies, UASI 2024).
Funds will initially be drawn from 001.ND000.30010.0000.00000 (General Fund, Non- Departmental Unassigned Fund Balance) until reimbursed. With Council approval, the City Manager or his designee will have the authority to accept additional contingency funding that may be allocated by the City of Los Angeles to the City of Burbank, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the UASI grant agreement. Any supplemental contingency funding allocated would further support equipment and/or training needs aimed at enhancing police response capabilities and the Hazardous Materials Response P rogram. Supplemental contingency funding is typically made available when there are unspent funds across all participating jurisdictions within the 2024 UASI grant period.
CONCLUSION
Approving the 202 4 UASI grant agreement will significantly advance the objective of regional coordination and training, thereby bolstering BPD’s ability to respond to and intercept emerging threats and critical incidents with greater efficacy. These strategic investments represent a concerted effort by BPD to enhance its overall capabilities, ensuring a proactive and efficient response to critical incidents not only within the Burbank community but also in collaboration with regional partners. Additionally, this grant will increase BFD’s capacity to collaborate with other fire departments during larger incidents, thereby strengthening overall response capabilities.
4 ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Resolution
Attachment 2 – 2024 Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Grant Program Subaward Agreement between the City of Los Angeles and the City of Burbank