CITY OF MENIFEE
SUBJECT: Asset Forfeiture Appropriation of Funds
MEETING DATE: November 15, 2023
TO: Mayor and City Council
PREPARED BY: Christine Booker, Budgets & Grants Analyst REVIEWED BY: Chris Karrer, Police Chief
APPROVED BY: Rebekah Kramer, Acting City Manager
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Approve a budget amendment resolution authorizing the Menifee Police Department to appropriate asset forfeiture funds in the amount of $20,563 for the purchase of a narcotics canine (K9) and applicable training.
DISCUSSION
In August of 2020 the County of Riverside transferred to the City of Menifee $88,653.07 in asset forfeiture funds. These funds were previously overseen by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. These funds are the Menifee Police Department’s portion of multiple state cases resulting in asset forfeiture funds being allocated through the Department of Justice (DOJ) Equitable Sharing Guidelines. These funds have been deposited into the City’s restricted Trust Fund (Account No. 350-2315) until needed for eligible uses. The Menifee Police Department has requested previous appropriations of the asset forfeiture funds as shown below in Table 1 below.
Table 1 – Previous Appropriation Requests
Asset Forfeiture Funds Summary
Initial Funds Transferred from County: $88,653.07 City Council Approval Date Use Amounts
October 7, 2020 Training
Materials & Supplies
Capital Outlays
$(3,504.00)
(1,164.00)
(6,444.00)
November 18, 2020 Material & Supplies
Capital Outlays
(9,559.00)
(441.00)
October 6, 2021 Professional Services
Furniture & Equipment
(24,600.00)
(11,589.00)
April 20, 2022 Professional Services (9,500.00)
November 15, 2023 K9 Supplies
Training
(13,763.00)
(6,800.00)
Remaining Balance Asset Forfeiture Funds: $1,289.07
City of Menifee Staff Report
Asset Forfeiture Appropriation of Funds
November 15, 2023
1 7
6 1
The requested appropriations would be allocated to the K9 supplies account in the amount of $13,763 to fund the purchase of a narcotics K9 and accompanying equipment. The additional $6,800 appropriation would fund the initial and ongoing training for the staff member and canine for a period of twelve months from the Police Department training account.
The K9 would be partnered with the Detective assigned to a Homeland Security Investigation Financial Taskforce (HSI). The goal of this taskforce is to investigate and disrupt criminal organizations involved in the transportation and sales of large quantities of illegal narcotics throughout Southern California. These investigations have led to the seizure of large quantities of narcotics, firearms, and currency which was obtained through this criminal activity. From December 2021 to present, the Menifee Police Department is expected to receive $193,784.14 to be deposited into the Restricted Trust Fund upon disbursement.
When the Menifee Police Department first joined the HSI taskforce, two narcotics detection K9s were assigned to the team provided by other taskforce officers. Due to movement within those specific police departments, there are currently no narcotics detection K9 allocated as available resources. As a contributing agency to the HSI team, Menifee receives a designated percentage of any funds seized for asset forfeiture per the memorandum of understanding. By providing the additional resource of a narcotics detection K9 to the team, Menifee would receive a higher percentage of any funds seized resulting from the use of the Narcotics Detection K9.
Following the recommended appropriation of $20,563 the remaining balance in the Restricted Trust Fund would be $1,289.07.
STRATEGIC PLAN OBJECTIVE
Safe and Vibrant Community
FISCAL IMPACT
The Finance Department would appropriate $20,563 to Account No. 100-3468 (State Asset Forfeiture) by transferring from Account No. 350-2315 (Restricted Trust Fund) and would appropriate corresponding expenditures to the following accounts:
100-4911-52753 K9 Supplies $13,763
100-4911-52211 Training $6,800
The appropriated revenue to Account No. 100-3468 would be fully offset by the planned expenditures in the General Fund.
Future fiscal impacts would be minimal and include the cost for care of the K9. Those costs would be budgeted accordingly in future fiscal years.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Budget Amendment Resolution- Asset Forfeiture