DATE: 09/17/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Police Department
2025-361
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR REIMBURSING OFF-DUTY
PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT AT SPECIAL EVENTS FOR CORONA NORCO
UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks Council to authorize the City Manager, or their designee, to approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Corona Police Department and the Corona-Norco Unified School District (CNUSD) for the reimbursement of off-duty personnel and equipment utilized during special events. The agreement establishes standardized rates and clear terms for providing law enforcement services, security, traffic control, and crowd management at district-sponsored events, with full cost recovery to the City for personnel and equipment expenses.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Authorize the City Manager, or their designee, to approve the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the reimbursement of off-duty personnel and equipment at special events between the City of Corona Police Department and the CoronaNorco Unified School District, effective July 2, 2025, through July 1, 2026. b. Authorize the Police Department to provide off-duty police personnel to assist with security, public safety, traffic control, and crowd management services at district special events, subject to departmental availability and operational needs. c. Authorize the Police Chief or designee to review and approve individual requests for services based on departmental capacity and operational requirements, with no obligation to fulfill requests that would create undue hardship or material impact regular public safety services within the City’s jurisdiction. d. Implement the mutual indemnification provisions outlined in Section 6 of the agreement.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The City of Corona Police Department historically provided off-duty personnel and equipment support for various community events and organizations on an ad hoc basis.
The Corona-Norco Unified School District (CNUSD) periodically hosts special events, including sporting events and similar gatherings, that require additional security and public safety support beyond its standard resources. In exchange, CNUSD paid 50% of the City’s related costs incurred.
The police department has developed this standardized MOU framework to ensure consistency in service delivery, appropriate 100% cost recovery, and clear operational procedures. This approach provides predictable service availability for the district while ensuring the City recovers all associated costs and maintains operational flexibility to prioritize core public safety responsibilities.
ANALYSIS:
This MOU establishes a formal framework for providing off-duty law enforcement services to CNUSD while ensuring full cost recovery and operational flexibility. The agreement provides that services are offered at the sole discretion of the Police Chief or designee to ensure that regular public safety operations are not compromised, and that voluntary offduty personnel participation is consistent with labor relations. The rate schedule ensures full cost recovery by billing actual overtime rates for personnel (varying by rank), The administrative procedures require written service requests and provide for timely invoicing and payment with clear dispute resolution mechanisms. The mutual indemnification provisions protect both parties under applicable Government Code provisions, and the one-year term allows for evaluation and adjustment based on operational experience.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended actions will result in the MOU being structured to achieve full cost recovery for all personnel expenses, resulting in revenue neutrality for the City's General Fund. Over the last three years, these special events' average annual overtime costs were $117,000. All services provided under this agreement will be reimbursed at actual cost, ensuring no subsidy for district events from City resources.
The rate schedule is outlined as follows:
Rank Hourly OT Cost Until 12/31/25 Hourly OT Cost Starting 1/1/26 Police Officer $99.38 $105.02
Corporal $104.71 $110.32
Detective $107.00 $113.06
Sergeant $134.58 $141.80
Lieutenant $165.98 $179.17
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This is merely an agreement and there is no possibility this will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: JASON PEREZ, LIEUTENANT
REVIEWED BY: ROBERT NEWMAN, CHIEF OF POLICE
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – CNUSD MOU FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF OFF-DUTY PERSONNEL
FOR SPECIAL EVENTS