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Report regarding a resolution accepting $100,000 from the State of California, Office of Traffic Safety 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 2025-26 by approving Budget Amendment Number 26.016 (Fahmida Murphy, Police Lieutenant and Jim Portolan, Police Sergeant)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached resolution accepting $100,000 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 2025-26.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
In January 2025, 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 Traffic 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 July 2025, and the Police Department was awarded a grant for $100,000. The operating period on the grant is from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026 (federal fiscal year).
This is the Police Department’s eighteenth year partnering with OTS to address traffic safety issues via grant funding. During this eighteen-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 citations to 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.
$100,000 of the overall grant funds is to pay for overtime for Police Officers to conduct specialized traffic safety enforcement throughout the City for the following operations:
• $31,000 for 8 DUI saturation patrols
• $26,000 for 2 DUI and driver’s license checkpoints
• $15,500 for 5 Traffic safety enforcement operations (speeding, red lights, etc.)
• $14,000 for 4 Distracted driver saturation patrols
• $2,500 for 1 Bicycle / pedestrian safety enforcement operation
• $2,500 for 1 Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operations
• $5,000 for 2 collaborative multi-agency DUI saturation patrols
Additional funding in the grant pays for the following:
• $2,500 for travel and/or training expenses that support the goals and objectives of the grant
• $1,000 for DUI Checkpoint supplies
FISCAL IMPACT
This program will require Council appropriation of $100,000 for Fiscal Year 2025-26 per Budget Amendment Number 26.016. This grant will support personnel overtime, training, and equipment expenses. The funding source of $100,000 is granted by the State of California Office of Traffic Safety.
RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN
Acceptance of this grant meets Strategic Goals #2 and #3 by rendering skilled police, fire, and emergency service management and providing a high quality of life for residents.
CONCLUSION
Adoption of this resolution will allow the City to accept $100,000 from the State of California Office of Traffic Safety “Selective Traffic Enforcement Program” and amend the Police Department’s operating budget for Fiscal Year 2025-26 by approving Budget Amendment Number 26.016.