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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 1h - Budget Appropriation for Inmate Program Trust Account DATE: November 3, 2015 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Robert Guthrie, Chief of Police By: Collen Flores, Lieutenant Jennifer Brutus, Management Analyst SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR BUDGET APPROPRIATION OF INMATE PROGRAM TRUST ACCOUNT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2015-16 Recommendation: Appropriate and Approve SUMMARY It is recommended that the City Council appropriate up to $8,000 from the Inmate Program Trust Account and approve (1) the purchase and installation of two IP cameras for the Arcadia Police Department’s jail CCTV system in the amount of approximately $3,500; and (2) future jail related expenditures, as necessary. BACKGROUND In 2011, the Arcadia Police Department established a new Inmate Telephone Services Agreement with LittleJohn Communications, Inc. after the City cancelled its contract with its former jail phone company, Inmate Communications. Inmate Communications was not paying the City its commission, was behind in payments, and was gouging inmates’ family members by overcharging phone calls. The City conducted a Request for Qualifications and interviewed several inmate telephone service companies. LittleJohn was found to be the most qualified company who had the ability to collect commission from cell phones, record phone calls, alert detectives when necessary, and block phone calls to domestic violence victims. They also offered the highest commission to the City. Under the current cost sharing Agreement, LittleJohn is responsible for furnishing, installing, repairing, and servicing all inmate jail phones in exchange for 50% of proceeds from phone calls made by prisoners after they are booked. Prisoners are allowed to make three or more phone calls while housed in the Arcadia Jail. The City receives the other 50% commission on inmate phone calls and saves the funds in a trust account called Inmate Program Trust. Inmate Program Trust Account November 3, 2015 Page 2 of 3 Since 2011, the City has collected approximately $12,300 in phone call receipts. The accounts receivable for this fund varies widely with deposits ranging from $50 per month to a couple hundred dollars per month. Since the passing of AB109, there have been fewer arrests, which has resulted in less inmates being booked; thus less inmates making telephone calls and less inmate phone call related revenue for the City. Each year the amount of inmate phone call revenue continues to decrease and the largest decreases were notated over the last two fiscal years, a 36% drop in FY13-14 and a 63% drop in FY14-15, in comparison to the previous years’ collections. The Inmate Program Trust account is to be used for jail related expenditures, such as facility maintenance, supplies, equipment purchases and repairs, and audio and visual components associated with the jail’s camera system. The account was established over 12 years ago and, since then, the Department has only used funds from the account on two occasions: once in 2008 for repairs to the jail’s freezer (which stores prisoner meals) in the amount of $1,703.67; and again in 2015 in the amount of $6,736.18, to go towards the purchase of a digital video recorder (DVR) for an upgrade to the jail’s CCTV system. The DVR was needed to bring the City in compliance with its video retention policy, which requires the City to keep 365 days of recordings. Prior to the upgrade, the City’s old DVR was only maintaining 200 days of recordings. DISCUSSION For the Fiscal Year 2015-16, the Department has identified one immediate purchase need using Inmate Program Trust funds. A total of two (2) IP cameras are needed for the jail camera upgrade project explained above, in the amount of approximately $3,500 for product and installation. The Department needs to replace its old analog cameras with IP cameras to improve resolution, video signal, and video compression or ”encoding”. The Department completed the informal bid process by soliciting quotes from three vendors of which two, Johnson Controls, Inc. and Siemens, declined participation in the project. The third vendor, CelPlan Wireless Global Technologies out of Reston, Virginia, submitted a quote and was selected. The City has done business with CelPlan in the past and the company is lead over the Department’s current jail camera system upgrade project. The Department is satisfied with CelPlan’s products and services, and has experienced expeditious response to service calls. Therefore, it is recommended that the City Council approve the purchase and installation of two IP cameras for the Arcadia Jail in the amount of approximately $3,500 using funds from the Inmate Program Trust. In addition, the Department may encounter issues with jail cameras in the future that may warrant replacement or repair; thus, the Department would like to allocate an additional $3,500 for two (2) IP cameras in case these types of issues arise. Furthermore, the jail’s freezer has been malfunctioning over the last year and it is Inmate Program Trust Account November 3, 2015 Page 3 of 3 anticipated that repairs will be needed at some point during the remaining part of this Fiscal Year in the amount of approximately $1,500. Inmate Program Trust Budget Allocation for FY15-16 Identified Purchases Potential Purchases $3,500 - two IP cameras for the jail CCTV $3,500 - camera equipment and system and installation services installation services (in case jail cameras need repairs or new IP replacements) $1,500 - freezer repairs FISCAL IMPACT If approved, up to a total of $8,500 for the purchase and installation of two IP cameras and potential jail related purchases would be spent from the Inmate Program Trust Account during FY 2015-16. Traditionally, it was not necessary for the City Council to allocate and approve the use of minor trust fund accounts such as this one; however, our independent auditing firm recently issued a finding, based on a Governmental Accounting Standards Board (“GASB”) pronouncement, that this is now mandatory. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council appropriate up to $8,000 from the Inmate Program Trust Account, and approve (1) the purchase and installation of two IP cameras for the Arcadia Police Department’s jail CCTV system in the amount of approximately $3,500; and (2) future jail related expenditures, as necessary.