CITY OF MENIFEE
SUBJECT: Memorandum of Understanding with United States Postal Inspection Service for Criminal Offense Investigation
Coordination Efforts
MEETING DATE: March 4, 2026
TO: Mayor and City Council
PREPARED BY: Christine Booker, Budgets & Grants Analyst REVIEWED BY: David Gutierrez, Acting Police Chief
APPROVED BY: Armando G. Villa, City Manager
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Approve and authorize the City Manager to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) for Inland Empire Financial Crimes.
DISCUSSION
On June 19, 2024 the City Council authorized the City Manager to approve an MOU between the City of Menifee Police Department (MPD) and USPIS to develop a cooperative effort with Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies who are charged with investigating and prosecuting criminal offenses involving financial fraud, identity theft, counterfeit securities, and associated mail theft and violent crimes. This joint task force has worked together to coordinate investigations and cases for criminal prosecution since the signing of this MOU.
Staff are now seeking approval to enter into a new MOU to replace the existing agreement. The proposed MOU would maintain all the same goals and objectives listed below but would update the staffing of the MPD task force officer from part-time to full-time, as well as providing a monthly vehicle stipend of $850. MPD is in the position to fulfill the proposed increased staffing obligation without any additional personnel being requested.
The primary objectives of this MOU are maximizing communication within the participating agency task force members, including the sharing of intelligence, and providing a coordinated response effort to criminal investigations. Additionally, this joint task force seeks to link and associate financial crimes and related complaints with larger schemes and related criminal activity, as well as educating the victims and the public on aspects of identity theft and counterfeit securities to deter future crimes.
City of Menifee Staff Report
USPIS MOU Update
March 4, 2026
3 1
7 3
The proposed MOU would include up to two Postal Investigators provided by the USPIS and up to one Police Detective provided by the MPD. The task force position being allotted in this MOU is an existing Detective position within the MPD organizational structure and no additional bodies are being requested. Any work specific to the task force above and beyond the regular duties of the Detective would be completed in an overtime capacity and reimbursed by USPIS.
Participation in the task force would allow for MPD to request reimbursement for overtime expenses incurred by the assignment Detective. As identified in the Cost Reimbursement Agreement attached to the MOU, for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/2026 the allowable reimbursement amount varies per year and is capped for the current FY at $19,372. Reimbursement totals can fluctuate from year to year, but if future funding was ever reduced, adjustment would be made to ensure there is no negative impact on the City’s General Fund. If the funding were to be eliminated, the overtime expenses would be eliminated or absorbed into the existing MPD overtime budget. Additionally, Attachment C, the Vehicle Use Agreement, of the attached MOU shows a monthly stipend of $850 to be used for the vehicle assigned to the task force officer. This stipend would be used to offset existing Enterprise lease agreements.
STRATEGIC PLAN OBJECTIVE
Safe and Vibrant Community
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no immediate fiscal impact associated with the recommended action. The funding for this position is already included in the FY 2025/2026 adopted budget and there is no additional appropriation needed. Additionally, the City could be reimbursed up to $19,372 from the USPIS for overtime work performed that is directly related to work on the task force and allocated a $850 stipend per month for a task force officer vehicle. This would go towards existing Enterprise leases for police department vehicles.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Proposed USPIS MOU
2. Original USPIS MOU