SR-08-26-2014-3CCity of
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: August 26, 2014
Agenda Item: 3 °O
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Jacqueline A. Seabrooks, Chief of Police
Subject: California Office of Traffic Safety Grant
Recommended Actions
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to accept a grant awarded in the amount of $330,000
from the California Office of Traffic Safety for the Selective Traffic Enforcement
Program, and to accept all grant renewals.
2. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
section of this report.
Executive Summary
The City of Santa Monica Police Department has been awarded a one year grant of
$330,000 from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). No local match is required.
The grant funds would support the City's efforts to reduce occurrences of injury and
fatal collisions and to improve Santa Monica's positioning in the state -wide OTS
rankings through a Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). STEP
implementation uses several best practice strategies to impact traffic safety including
training, community education, strategic operations, and equipment to support those
operations. Strategic operations would include the following: bicycle and pedestrian
enforcement operations, DUI saturation patrols, DUI check points, distracted driving
operations, traffic enforcement operations, and motorcycle safety operations.
Discussion
The Police Department is committed to reduce the incidences of injury and fatal
collisions in Santa Monica. The annual STEP grant supports and enhances the Police
Department's efforts to address and further reduce occurrences of collisions and to
generally improve traffic safety. OTS grant funding is specifically directed towards law
enforcement traffic safety operations. The Police Department has received such grants
for over ten years.
1
The STEP grant program would be implemented by the Police Department's Traffic
Enforcement Unit in three main phases. During Phase One, training is conducted,
operational plans are designed, and an initial press release announcing the grant kick
off is distributed. In Phase Two, the Police Department's Traffic Enforcement Unit would
roll out the program's operations. The 2014 grant would fund the following overtime
operations during the term of October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015:
® 6 DUI Checkpoints
® 10 DUI Saturation. Patrols
® 2 Warrant Service Operations
® 8 Distracted Driving Enforcement Operations
® 14 Traffic Enforcement Operations
® 4 Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operations
® 30 Bicycle and Pedestrian Enforcement Operations
Additionally the STEP program would include participation in the Pacific Coast Highway
Task Force meetings and enforcement along the PCH corridor within the Santa Monica
jurisdiction, collaboration with the County's Avoid campaign to catch DUI offenders,
participation in National Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April and participation in
the Click It or Ticket mobilization period in May.
These strategies are designed to earn media attention, thus enhancing the overall
deterrent effect. The Police Department would work to create media opportunities
throughout the grant period to call attention to the innovative program strategies and
outcomes. The final piece, Phase 3, is the data collection and reporting phase which
occurs throughout the grant program. Quarterly Performance Reports would compare
actual grant accomplishments with the planned accomplishments. The Department's
aim is to provide education and enforcement to reduce the number of persons killed or
injured in all categories of traffic collision, including hit - and -run collisions, collisions
involving bicyclists or pedestrians, and alcohol - involved collisions.
2
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
Award of a $330,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety requires the
following FY 2014 -15 budget changes:
1. Establish a revenue budget at account 20306.406856 in the amount of $330,000.
2. Appropriate the following expenditures to reflect receipt of the Selective Traffic
Enforcement Program grant:
$15,000 expenditure cost at account number 20306.576514.
$315,000 personnel cost at account number 20306.511490 89005 W
Prepared by: Nicole Dibling- Moore, Senior Administrative Analyst
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
ne A. Seabrooks &J-411f Rod Gould
Police City Manager
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