DATE:
October 17, 2023
TO:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
FROM:
Jeff Jennings, Police Chief
SUBJECT:
Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Authorizing The City Manager To Accept And Appropriate A Grant Award On Behalf Of The Police Department From The State Of California’s Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC), Via The Office Of Traffic Safety, In The Amount Of $40,000 Related To Reducing Youth Access To Alcohol And Other Purposes Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution accepting a grant from California Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC), via the California Office of Traffic Safety, in the amount of $40,000 to reimburse for Emeryville Police Department staff time related to reducing youth access to alcohol, investigating alcohol retail sale violations, conducting bar compliance audits, and participating in community education/outreach.
Background
The goal of this grant is to allow the Emeryville Police Department to identify and reduce problems associated with licensed alcohol beverage establishments in the City. There are 80 ABC licenses, both on-sale and off-sale premises, issued within the City of Emeryville. 65 of these licenses are issued to retail establishments, and 15 to non-retail establishments.
Within a .5-mile radius of ECCL, there are numerous bars, alcohol retail establishments and several on-sale restaurants. The concentration of alcoholic beverage service establishments in such close proximity to a school can lead to incidents where alcohol is sold to underage individuals. EPD responds to numerous calls for service involving intoxicated persons who are unable to care for themselves, physical fights involving impaired individuals, and other offenses involving individuals who have been consuming alcohol. The high density of bars and liquor stores in the City can contribute to an increase in the sale of alcoholic beverages, resulting in higher calls for service and safety concerns by the community.
The Emeryville Police Department has established partnerships with many of the ABC licensed establishments in the City but the lack of ABC funding in recent years has led to a reduction in compliance checks and community outreach by the department. The goal of the police department will be to work with these businesses through education, targeted enforcement, and reducing recidivism given the potential for youth to obtain and/or abuse alcohol within the City.
The following grant goals and objectives have been identified:
Conduct 3 community outreach events within the City
Conduct 6 IMPACT Inspections to inspect 30 ABC-licensed establishments Conduct 4 Minor Decoy operations
Conduct 4 Shoulder Tap operations
Conduct 4 Holiday Enforcement operations
Issue press releases outlining the grant operations and issue post-operation press releases to inform the public of the results of each operation Send 3 personnel to the 2024 GAP Conference
This funding will allow targeted prevention, education outreach, and enforcement efforts at identified ABC licensed establishments. Most of these funds will go towards overtime for the officers/sergeant to conduct training and work enforcement operations.
Additionally, staff will have the opportunity to attend training, specific to alcohol offenses, thus increasing the overall training and professionalism of the staff.
The grant period is October 1, 2023, through August 1, 2024.
Discussion
The benefit of accepting this grant is that the Police Department will use the grant resources to enhance the efforts in curbing youth access to alcohol, reduce the number of impaired drivers, conduct compliance checks, and work with ABC licensees on improving training and awareness. The high number of hotels in Emeryville tends to attract youth, especially during annual high school events such as proms, graduations, and other occasions. We believe that increased and continued proactive enforcement of underage alcohol violations will have a positive impact on increasing safety within our community. Additionally, we hope that this proactive program will help to reduce the number of alcohol-related offenses in the City.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact to the City will be the initial expenditure of overtime costs to conduct the various operations. However, since the ABC grant operates through a quarterly reimbursement process, there will be no real impact to the budget. Some police staff time will be required to administer the grant since this staff time is considered part of their normal duties. Because this ABC grant funding is based on the federal fiscal year calendar, which begins on October 1 and ends on September 30, the City of Emeryville expenditures will come from FY23/24 and FY24/25 budgets. The personnel costs will be submitted to ABC on a quarterly basis. Depending on the specific dates of the overtime operations, reimbursements are anticipated to occur primarily during the City FY23/24 fiscal year.
The Police Department is requesting to increase both the revenues (254-51400) and expenditures (254-71050) in the amount of $40,000 to accommodate the initial expense and the reimbursement of funds from the state.
Staff Communication with the Public
As of this time there has been no communication with the public as the grant award funding is unknown. However, if this funding is awarded there will be a targeted media campaign.
Conflict of Interest
None.
Conclusion
This program offers a great opportunity for the City of Emeryville, the Emeryville Police Department, and the Emeryville community. Staff recommends accepting the grant to compensate for staff time related to reducing youth access to alcohol, investigating alcohol retail sale violations, conducting bar compliance audits, and participating in community education/outreach.
PREPARED BY: Oliver Collins, Captain
Jeff Jennings, Chief of Police
APPROVED AND FORWARDED TO THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EMERYVILLE:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
Grant Agreement
ABC Grant Proposal
| October 17, 2023
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM