TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town
Manager
SUBJECT: Law Enforcement Block Grant Public Hearing
DATE: February
14, 2000
The purpose of this public hearing is to provide the
opportunity for citizens to comment on the expenditures proposed for the
1999-2000 Law Enforcement Block Grant currently under consideration.
On June 17, 1999 the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the Chapel Hill Police Department was eligible to receive $65,737 in block grant funds. A local match of ten percent would be required from the Town.
Grant funds are distributed by the Department of
Justice only after three pre-requisites have been met. They are:
Ø An advisory board consisting
of representatives from the local school system, the District Attorney’s
office, the local court system and a community crime prevention group must
review the grant application and make non-binding recommendations about the
proposed uses of the grant funds.
Ø A public hearing must be
held to provide citizens the opportunity to express their views on the proposed
expenditures.
Ø The Town Council must
authorize the acceptance of the grant.
This is the third consecutive year that the Department has been eligible for Block Grant funds. In both 1997 and 1998 the Department received approximately $68,000 to purchase equipment and supplies not available through the Department general operating budget. Among the items purchased were: surveillance equipment for narcotics investigators, protective equipment for officers, audio/visual equipment for the training unit, computer software programs for the crisis unit, and desktop computers.
This year we propose spending the Block Grant funds on technology upgrades that would allow the department to enhance its computer information network. The Department’s records information system is scheduled to undergo a significant expansion this year. A large portion of the expansion will be funded through previously approved grants from the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission. If the 1999-2000 Law Enforcement Block Grant proposal is approved those funds would be used to help defray a portion of the additional project costs not covered by the Governor’s Crime Commission.
The advisory board that reviewed the 1997 and 1998 grant applications has reviewed this year’s application and unanimously supported the proposed expenditures. The advisory board members are: Community Watch and Crimestoppers member Sandy Brownstein, East Chapel Hill High principal Dave Thaden, Assistant District Attorney James Woodall and Chief District Court Judge Joe Buckner.
Any comments received from citizens tonight will be considered in preparing our final grant proposal for the Department of Justice. That proposal will be presented to the Council on February 28.
RECOMMENDATION
That the comments offered by citizens regarding the proposed expenditures in the 1999-2000 Law Enforcement Block Grant program be referred to the Manager for further review and consideration.