HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 12827 (Grand Jury Response; MCTF)RESOLUTION NO. 12827
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE CITY OF SAN
RAFAEL RESPONSE TO THE 2008-2009 MARIN COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT
ENTITLED "SAVING MARIN'S MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE"
WHEREAS, pursuant to Penal Code section 933, a public agency which receives a
Grand July Report addressing aspects of the public agency's operations, must comment on the
Report's findings and recommendations contained in the Report in writing within ninety (90)
days to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court with a copy to the Foreperson of the Grand
Jury; and
WHEREAS, Penal Code section 933 specifically requires that the "governing body" of
the public agency provide said response and, in order to lawfully comply, the governing body
must consider and adopt the response at a noticed public meeting pursuant to the Brown Act; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of San Rafael has received and reviewed the
2008-2009 Marin County Grand Jury Report, dated June 3, 2009, entitled "Saving Marin's Major
Crimes Task Force" and has agendized it at this meeting for a response.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of San
Rafael hereby:
1. Approves and authorizes the Mayor to execute the City of San Rafael's response
to the 2008-2009 Marin County Grand Jury Report entitled "Saving Marin's Major Crimes Task
Force," a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein.
2. Directs the City Clerk to forward the City's Grand Jury Report response to the
Presiding Judge of the Marin County Superior Court and to the Foreperson of the Marin County
Grand Jury.
I, Esther C. Beirne, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing
Resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the San Rafael
City Council held on the 17`h day of August, 2009, by the following vote to wit:
AYES: Councilmembers: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro
NOES: Councilmembers: None
ABSENT: Councilmembers: None
ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk
18,a
CITY OF
Mayor
aftAlbert J. Boro
Council Members
Greg Brockbank
Damon Connolly
Barbara Heller
Cyr N. Miller
August 25, 2009
The Honorable Verna Adams
Marin County Superior Court
P.O. Box 4988
San Rafael, CA 94913-4988
Honorable Judge Adams
Office of the City Clerk
File No. 269 x 9-3-30
RE: Marin County Grand Jury Report "Saving Marin's Major Crimes Task Force"
We are forwarding to you the following documents:
• A certified copy of Resolution No. 12827, adopted by the San Rafael City Council on
August 17, 2009, approving and authorizing the Mayor to execute the City's response;
• Original of the "Response to Grand Jury Report Form," executed by the Mayor on August 21,
2009, together with Attachments "A" and "B";
• Copy of the City Council Staff report dated August 17, 2009.
Should you need further assistance, please contact me at (415) 485-3065.
Sincerely,
ESTHER C. BEIRNE
City Clerk
cc: Jeff Skov, Foreperson (with enclosures)
Marin County Grand Jury
3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 275
San Rafael, CA 94903
Albert J. Boro, Mayor of the City of San Rafael (with enclosures)
Lisa Goldfien, Deputy City Attorney II (with enclosures)
Matt Odetto, Chief of Police (with enclosures)
W '�,Crty Clerk- WorkFile\Letters & Memos et6Grand Jury Responses\Grand Jury response -Major Crimes Task Force.doe
1400 Fifth Avenue, Room 209; P.O. Box 151560; San Rafael, CA 94915-1560
Phone: (415) 485-3066 / Fax: (415) 485-3133 / TDD: (415) 485-3198
RESOLUTION NO. 12827
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE CITY OF SAN
RAFAEL RESPONSE TO THE 2008-2009 MARIN COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT
ENTITLED "SAVING MARIN'S MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE"
WHEREAS, pursuant to Penal Code section 933, a public agency which receives a
Grand July Report addressing aspects of the public agency's operations, must comment on the
Report's findings and recommendations contained in the Report in writing within ninety (90)
days to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court with a copy to the Foreperson of the Grand
Jury; and
WHEREAS, Penal Code section 933 specifically requires that the "governing body" of
the public agency provide said response and, in order to lawfully comply, the governing body
must consider and adopt the response at a noticed public meeting pursuant to the Brown Act; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of San Rafael has received and reviewed the
2008-2009 Marin County Grand Jury Report, dated June 3, 2009, entitled "Saving Marin's Major
Crimes Task Force" and has agendized it at this meeting for a response.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of San
Rafael hereby:
1. Approves and authorizes the Mayor to execute the City of San Rafael's response
to the 2008-2009 Marin County Grand Jury Report entitled "Saving Marin's Major Crimes Task
Force," a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein.
2. Directs the City Clerk to forward the City's Grand Jury Report response to the
Presiding Judge of the Marin County Superior Court and to the Foreperson of the Marin County
Grand Jury.
1, Esther C. Beirne, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing
Resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the San Rafael
City Council held on the 17`h day of August, 2009, by the following vote to wit:
AYES: Councilmembers: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro
NOES: Councilmembers: None
ABSENT: Councilmembers: None
ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk
: � 1 1 1 � 111 � � � � l� � � � � � I � 1, � 1, i I-JR16 #4V-1
Report Title: Saving Marin's Major Crimes Task Force
Report Date: June 3, 2009
Response By: City Council of the City of San Rafael
Title: Mayor and City Council
FINDINGS:
• We agree with the findings numbered F1, F2, F3, F4
(See Attachment A)
• We disagree wholly or partially with the findings numbered F5, F6, F7, F8
(See Attachment A)
RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Recommendations numbered N/A have been implemented.
(Attach a summary describing the implemented actions.)
• Recommendations numbered N/A have not yet been implemented, but will be
implemented in the future. (Attach a timeframe for the implementation.)
9 Recommendation numbered N/A requires further analysis.
• Recommendations numbered R1, R2, R3 will not be implemented because they
are not warranted or are not reasonable. (Attach an explanation.)
(See Attachment B)
DATED: C C)
ATTEST: &4&C -t .
Esther Beirne, City Clerk
Number of Dapes attached: 4
Signed:
`/ALiT J. 0
iayor
ATTACHMENT "A"
RESPONSE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL TO GRAND JURY REPORT
"SAVING MARIN'S MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE"
Findings:
F2: At first, the Task Force was staffed with investigators supplied by the
participating law enforcement agencies. More recently, the staff has come solely
from the Sheriff's Office, while funding has come from municipalities and the
county.
Response: The City agrees with this finding but believes it is somewhat incomplete.
While the Task Force staff technically has been comprised of Sheriff's Department
employees, the contribution of the City of San Rafael to the County Coordination of
Probation Enforcement ("COPE") team should be acknowledged. The COPE team
works directly with the Task Force by conducting regular probation checks on serious
drug offenders. The COPE team also performs undercover narcotics investigations;
complex investigations are referred to the Task Force for further handling. San Rafael
provides one of the three members of the COPE team and directly funds the full cost for
this officer, with $70,000 of reimbursement funding coming from grant moneys.
Therefore, though the City currently is not a member of the Task Force JPA, the City
continues to make a substantial contribution to the success of the Task Force.
F4: Due to budget constraints, cities are having increasing difficulty funding
the Task Force, with San Rafael having withdrawn its financial support and Novato
announcing its planned withdrawal.
Response: The City agrees with this finding, and notes that the Twin Cities Police
Department recently has given notice of its intention to withdraw from the Task Force.
F5: The withdrawal of Task Force funding by communities would impede drug
enforcement in Marin County.
Response: The City believes that this finding is overbroad given the scope of the Grand
Jury's report. The City readily acknowledges the value of the Task Force in assisting the
Sheriff and local police departments with drug enforcement activities in Marin County,
especially for more complicated drug enforcement operations that cross multiple
jurisdictions, which the City's Police Department may not have the personnel to handle.
However, drug enforcement continues to be a part of the regular operations of the San
Rafael Police Department, notwithstanding the activities of the Task Force. The San
Rafael Police Department provides active and comprehensive drug enforcement at the
"street level" in San Rafael. The Department's Directed Patrol Unit ("DPU") is
particularly focused on crimes related to drugs, gangs and prostitution; moreover the
Department's Patrol operations also provide drug enforcement. From September 2006
through August 2008, the DPU alone was involved in 92 drug related cases, made 85
total arrests, and seized $48,010 in cash along with drugs such as marijuana, cocaine
and methamphetamine. In the calendar years 2007-2008, San Rafael Police
Department personnel as a whole conducted a total of 553 drug-related investigations.
The drug enforcement efforts of San Rafael and other local agencies, not just the Task
Force, must be considered in determining the impact that the loss of the Task Force
would have on the overall success of drug enforcement in the County.
F6: The Task Force is a much-needed unit that benefits the entire county.
Response: The City agrees with the general proposition that the Task Force benefits
the entire County. However, the term "much-needed" is a qualitative assessment by the
Grand Jury with which the City is not in a position to agree or disagree, given the data
provided in the Grand Jury's report or otherwise available to the City.
The City's withdrawal from the Task Force in 2003 was prompted by budget cuts that
included elimination of six sworn officer positions in the City Police Department. In July
2009, facing a budget deficit of more than $3 million for Fiscal Year 2009-2010, the City
reduced its police force by an additional four sworn officer positions, plus a dispatcher
and a police business office manager. Concurrent with these reductions in force, the
City's police responses have increased. Department records show that in 2003, there
were 40,018 calls for service (563 calls for service per sworn officer), of which 11,658
were investigated. In 2008, there were 43,357 calls for service (656 calls for service per
sworn officer), of which 10,623 were investigated.
In spite of its budgetary challenges, the City's Police Department continues to protect its
citizens, businesses and visitors by investigating drug activity at the "street level" that
contributes to robberies and burglaries, gang activity, and violence within the City, not to
mention providing the many other basic police services required, such as responding to
911 and other calls regarding accidents or crimes in progress, and providing traffic
patrol, criminal investigations, emergency response to disasters and other emergencies,
homeless encampment regulation and cleanup, neighborhood watch, traffic and crowd
control during the downtown Farmers Market, demonstrations, parades, and events, and
more.
It is against the provision of street level drug enforcement and the other services
enumerated above that the San Rafael City Council has had to weigh the benefits of
rejoining the Task Force JPA. The City Council and staff have received little indication
from City residents or businesses that rejoining the Task Force is a high priority for them.
At the same time, the City has received no definitive response from the Task Force to
two separate requests for data regarding Task Force arrests and convictions for crimes
actually generated in or directly connected with San Rafael.
For the City's part then, in the absence of statistically meaningful data from the Task
Force, the City has not been persuaded that its residents, businesses and visitors would
be better served and protected by the City's use of its limited police enforcement dollars
for drug enforcement at the multi -jurisdictional level handled by the Task Force rather
than for street level drug enforcement and the other services needed within the City's
own boundaries. Accordingly, revisiting this issue in connection with the adoption of the
City's 2009-2010 fiscal year budget in July, a majority of the Council again decided
against rejoining the Task Force JPA.
F7: The reduction in the number of sheriffs deputies and the inclusion of
investigators from other agencies, as well as the California Highway Patrol would
provide a sound solution to the funding issue.
Response: The City is not in a position to act on the reduced budget and restructuring
recently approved by the JPA Oversight Committee, or to know whether the proposal will
provide a sound solution to the continued funding and operation of the Task Force.
F8: Since 2003, the City of San Rafael has not financially supported the
operation of the Task Force, even though much of the county's drug crime occurs
within its jurisdiction.
Response: This finding is inaccurate to the extent it fails to acknowledge the City of
San Rafael's contribution of an investigator to the COPE team since 1998, and
assignment of an auto theft detective from 2004 through 2006. In addition, the City
believes that there is insufficient statistically meaningful data available on the crimes
occurring in each of Marin's cities and the County to support the conclusory finding that
"much of the county's drug crime occurs" within San Rafael.
ATTACHMENT "B"
RESPONSE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL TO GRAND JURY REPORT
"SAVING MARIN'S MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE"
Recommendations:
R1: The Task Force continue to function as a cohesive unit, with investigators
being supplied from the ranks of the Sheriffs Department, the California Highway
Patrol, the Novato Police Department, the San Rafael Police Department, and
supplemented by the three-member probation enforcement team.
R2: The County and all municipalities support the Task Force by funding the joint
powers agreement.
R3: The City of San Rafael return to its participation in the Task Force.
Response to R1, R2 and R3: The City respects and appreciates the efforts and
activities of the Task Force. However, the recent economic downturn has required that
the City cut more than $3 million from its budget for 2009-2010. Under these
circumstances, and considering all the many needs and services to be met with this
reduced City budget, the City Council has determined that additional contributions of
funds or personnel to the Task Force would be inadvisable at this time.
As noted in the City's responses to the Grand Jury's findings, the City is managing to
meet the significant challenge of providing basic police services, including drug
enforcement, to its residents, businesses and visitors with a reduced staff; however the
inclusion of additional San Rafael employees on the staff of the Task Force at this time
is simply not advisable. The City Council's considered conclusion after a thorough
analysis of the City's budgetary requirements is that the City's limited law enforcement
funds and personnel are needed to provide the street level drug enforcement that is a
first line of defense for San Rafael residents, businesses and visitors against the drug-
related crimes that affect them.
Nonetheless, the City is committed to continued funding and staffing of the COPE officer
for the grant period, and this action is reflected in the City's current year budget. In
addition, the San Rafael Police Department will continue to provide assistance with Task
Force arrests and investigations, execution of search warrants, and other high risk
events.
The City will continue to look for opportunities to increase its contributions to the work of
the Task Force. There continues to be a debate among the members of the City
Council on the question of rejoining the Task Force JPA, therefore it is likely that the
Council will continue to revisit the issue, especially in view of changes recently proposed
to the governing JPA. Ultimately, however, any decision to rejoin the Task Force would
need to be evaluated on a cost -benefit basis, and absent the requested data from the
Task Force, the City would not have the information needed to make this determination
in the future.
c►rr of Agenda Item No: 18
Meeting Date: August 17, 2009
no
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Department: Police Department
City Attorney's Office
Prepared by: Matthew Odetto, Police Chief
Lisa Goldfien, Deputy City Attorney City Manager Approval.
SUBJECT: Consideration of A Resolution Approving and Authorizing the Mayor to Execute the
City Of San Rafael's Response to the Marin County Grand Jury Report entitled "Saving
Marin's Major Crimes Task Force."
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the Resolution approving the
response to the Grand Jury report, authorizing the Mayor to execute it and directing the City Clerk to
forward the response to the Presiding Judge of the Marin County Superior Court and Foreperson of the
Grand Jury.
BACKGROUND: Until 2003, the City was a member of the Marin Major Crimes Task Force JPA, and
contributed to the Task Force by funding a police department investigator in a full time position. In 2003,
the City withdrew from the JPA due to severe budget constraints; nevertheless the Police Department has
continued to contribute to the work of the Task Force in a direct and significant way, primarily by providing
an officer to the Coordination of Probation Enforcement (COPE) team which works cooperatively with the
Task Force.
On June 3, 2009 the Marin County Grand Jury issued its report entitled "Saving Marin's Major Crimes
Task Force". The Grand Jury recommends that the City rejoin the Task Force JPA.
ANALYSIS: The Grand Jury interviewed law enforcement personnel in the County, mayors and
members of the JPA Oversight Committee, researched Task Force operations, and considered statistics
provided by local law enforcement agencies. The report, which is attached for your review, discusses the
purpose of the Task Force and, briefly stated, concludes that it is "a much needed unit that benefits the
entire county." The Grand Jury more specifically concludes that the City of San Rafael benefits from the
Task Force's drug enforcement efforts, and therefore should rejoin the JPA and contribute funds and
personnel to the Task Force.
The City has been asked to respond to all of the Grand Jury's findings and recommendations which are
set out on pages 7 and S of the report. The attached proposed response notes the substantial drug
enforcement activities the Police Department provides to the City's residents, businesses and visitors,
and points out the lack of statistically meaningful Task Force data that demonstrates how the Task
Force's activities impact crime and crime enforcement in San Rafael. Therefore, while there is still debate
FOR CITY CLERK ONLY
File No.: �Lq q- `7,3 "-1yD
Council Meeting: n/11 -fog
Disposition: L, 0 .1Io4J Ii 1,19"14
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 2
among members of the City Council on the question of rejoining the Task Force JPA, on the information
available to it, the majority of the Council has been unable to justify further cuts to the City's budget that
would be required to rejoin the JPA.
ACTION REQUIRED: The City is required to respond to the findings and recommendations in the Grand
Jury report by action of the City Council within 90 days of the issuance of the report. (Penal Code section
933(c).) To comply with this statute, the City's response to the Grand Jury report must be approved by
Resolution of the City Council and submitted to the Presiding Judge of the Marin County Superior Court
and the Foreperson of the Grand Jury on or before September 1, 2009. A proposed Resolution is
attached that would approve the City's response.
FISCAL IMPACT: The City's response to the Grand Jury's report does not commit the City with respect
to rejoining the Task Force; therefore it has no fiscal impact.
OPTIONS:
1. Adopt resolution and Grand Jury response as presented.
2. Adopt resolution with specific modifications of Grand Jury response.
3. Do not adopt resolution and Grand Jury response, and provide direction to Staff for further
revisions of the response. Under this option, a special meeting of the Council will be required
prior to September I to ensure that the City's response will be timely.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution with attached Response
2. Grand Jury Report dated June 3, 2009