Agenda Item: 9
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: June 25, 2024
SUBJECT: RENEWAL OF MUNICIPAL LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
AGREEMENT
DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
PRESENTER: Kenneth W. Striplin
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Approve the renewal of the Municipal Law Enforcement Services Agreement with Los Angeles County for the period of July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2029.
2. Authorize the City Manager to make such budget adjustments that may be necessary to meet the expenses of the law enforcement agreement for the period of July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2029.
3. Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Los Angeles County regarding temporary indemnity and distribution of liability in a form approved by the City Attorney and not to exceed a total term of 12 months.
4. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all documents, subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clarita (City) has contracted for law enforcement services with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) since incorporation. All cities that contract their law enforcement services with LASD must sign an agreement with Los Angeles County (County), known as the Municipal Law Enforcement Services Agreement (MLESA). The MLESA outlines LASD’s scope of services and obligations agreed upon between all contract cities and the County.
The MLESA is a five-year agreement and the current MLESA is set to expire on June 30, 2024.
Over the past year, a subcommittee from the California Contract Cities Association (CCCA), consisting of City Managers, met with the County and LASD to potentially negotiate and revise the MLESA. The subcommittee included City staff. The proposed MLESA for the next term, starting on July 1, 2024, and concluding on June 30, 2029, includes revisions that were mutually agreed upon by the County and the CCCA subcommittee.
Although an agreement has been reached on changes to the MLESA, changes to liability and indemnity language, which is included on separate agreements, have not been reached before the renewal deadline. As cited in Section 5.4 to the MLESA, the subcommittee and County will continue discussions intended to revise liability and indemnity language. The intent is to find language where contract cities share in the financial exposure with the County instead of the current burden falling completely on the Liability Trust Fund, and by extension, the contract cities.
The proposed MLESA includes several changes based on the contract cities negotiations, which are beneficial to contract cities. The changes include:
• Performance will be by Service Unit Rather than Overall - as the MLESA performance is based on service minutes, the number of deputies and civilians procured by a city are translated into available minutes. This allows LASD to mix and match minutes to achieve its 98-102 percent performance target rate but can lead to unintended consequences to underperform in areas like traffic, special assignment, or motor units or results in service levels that may not match a city’s need or demand during a particular time of day or day of week.
The change would set the 98-102 percent performance target rate for each specific unit - patrol, motor, special assignment deputies increasing accountability to cities receiving the level of service expected when procuring specific resources. As an example, overages in patrol minutes cannot be made up by reducing service levels of a motor unit or special assignment deputy and vice versa.
• Retaining Vehicle of Deleted Service Unit - when a city adds a new resource that requires a vehicle (i.e. a new deputy), the city incurs a significant first-year expense for the additional vehicle required for this new deputy. The maintenance and replacement costs of the vehicle are already integrated into the annual charge to the city if the city keeps the new deputy. While LASD has a practice on this, the language of the MLESA was not explicit to protect a city from losing a deputy temporarily and then paying another new vehicle cost when the city restored the deputy. The MLESA adds language that a city can regain access to a vehicle procured with a new deputy service unit when the unit is deleted and restored within 24 months.
• Transfer of City Property to County - this provision requires separate written agreements managed at LASD contract city stations to govern items purchased by the City and temporarily transferred to the County. Additionally, the County must maintain a detailed and regularly updated inventory of all non-vehicle City equipment in its possession, including descriptions, serial numbers (if applicable), condition upon receipt, and
location.
• Equipment Replacement after Extended Maintenance and Repair - this provision requires that the County will make best efforts to provide a temporary replacement if the original equipment takes more than 60 days to be returned.
• Continue Negotiations on Indemnity Agreements - outlined in Section 5.4 of the MLESA, this provision acknowledges the continued negotiations between the County and contract cities related to concerns that cities bear the full cost of liability for contract activities when the County should share in such liability. A Letter of Understanding between the County and the California Contract Cities Association outlines how both parties will work towards addressing concerns in several areas raised by contract cities.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action, as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
The resources required to implement the recommended action are contained within the City of Santa Clarita's adopted FY 2024-25 budget.
ATTACHMENTS
Municipal Law Enforcement Services Agreement (2024-2029)