Title
Report regarding a resolution accepting $79,700 from the State of California Office of Traffic Safety for the “Selective Traffic Enforcement Program” to be used for personnel overtime, equipment, and training expenses and amend the Police Department’s Operating Budget for fiscal year 2026-27 by approving Budget Amendment Number 27.012 (Fahmida Murphy, Police Lieutenant)
label
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that City Council adopt the attached resolution accepting $79,700 from the State of California, Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for the “Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP)” to be used for personnel overtime, equipment, and training expenses and amend the Police Department’s operating budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027.
Body
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
In January 2026, the Police Department submitted a grant application to the State of California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for funding personnel overtime, equipment, and training expenses for the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). The grant is administered by OTS with funding provided by the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA). This program will supplement normal police staffing for traffic safety and enforcement efforts.
The goal of the grant is to reduce the number of persons killed or injured in traffic collisions through the use of the specific overtime-funded traffic enforcement directed at the following unsafe driving behaviors: driving under the influence (DUI), speeding, red light running, traffic violations in and around high-collision-rate intersections, traffic violations related to motorcycle safety, seat belt violations, child-seat restraint violations, distracted driving, and repeat DUI offenders with suspended licenses.
The grant application was tentatively approved by OTS in August 2026, and the Police Department was awarded a grant for $79,700. The operating period on the grant is from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027 (federal fiscal year).
This is the Police Department’s nineteenth year partnering with OTS to address traffic safety issues via grant funding. During this nineteen-year period, the Police Department has received over $2 million in grant funding through OTS. As a direct result of this funding, the Police Department has made over 200 DUI arrests, over 200 criminal arrests, issued over 5,000 speeding citations, issued over 260 drivers with suspended drivers licenses, and cited over 800 unlicensed drivers. When comparing the years before receiving OTS grant funding to the years after receiving the funding, the City realized a 38% decrease in fatal traffic collisions, a 21% decrease in alcohol-involved injury traffic collisions, and a 44% decrease in speed-caused injury traffic collisions.
$75,875 of the overall grant funds is to pay for the cost of overtime for Police Officers to conduct specialized traffic safety enforcement throughout the City for the following operations:
• $26,000 for 2 DUI and driver’s license checkpoints
• $19,375 for 5 DUI saturation patrols
• $5,000 for 2 collaborative multi-agency DUI saturation patrols
• $15,500 for 4 Traffic safety enforcement operations (speeding, red lights, etc.)
• $7,500 for 3 Distracted driver enforcement operations
• $2,500 for 1 Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operations
Additional funding in the grant pays for the following:
• $2,000 for travel and/or training expenses that support the goals and objectives of the grant
• $1,825 for DUI Checkpoint supplies
FISCAL IMPACT
Budget Amendment Number 27.012 accepts $79,700 in grant funding for the purpose of personnel overtime, training, and equipment expenses. The funding source is the State of California, Office of Traffic Safety.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES ACTION PLAN
Acceptance of this grant funding is in line with two of the major focus areas:
• Quality of Life: This program will enhance public safety through increased DUI Enforcement, thus improving the quality of life in the community.
• Modern and Sustainable Organization: This program is directly related to the key strategy of ensuring financial sustainability for the City.
CONCLUSION
It is recommended that City Council adopt this resolution accepting $79,700 from the State of California, Office of Traffic Safety “Selective Traffic Enforcement Program” and amend the Police Department’s operating budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 by approving Budget Amendment 27.012.