To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Permit Sonoma
Staff Name and Phone Number: Tyra Harrington (707) 565-1280
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Staffing Request to Support Proposition 64 Public Health and Safety Grant
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution amending the Department Allocation list of Permit Sonoma (Permit and Resource Management Department) to add 1.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) time-limited Code Enforcement Inspector II and 1.0 FTE time-limited Senior Office Assistant to support and administer Proposition 64 Grant funding, effective May 1, 2023, through April 30, 2028.
end
Executive Summary:
Permit Sonoma requests the Board to authorize the use of California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) (<https://www.bscc.ca.gov/proposition-64-public-health-safety-grant-program/>) Proposition 64 Public Health and Safety Grant funding to hire an additional Code Enforcement Inspector II and a Senior Office Assistant pursuant to Resolution 23-0053, adopted on January 24, 2023. This resolution authorized Permit Sonoma to apply for and accept a grant agreement, if awarded and required Board authorization of expenditures necessary to complete the grant. These requested time-limited positions are critical for successful participation in the BSCC Proposition 64 Grant Program that focus on reducing the effects of unpermitted cannabis cultivation operations on the permitted market and reducing environmental degradation on those unpermitted cultivation sites.
Discussion:
Board of State and Community Corrections Proposition 64 Grant Program
In 2020, the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) first began making grant funding available in periodic phased funding groups called cohorts to local governments to assist with law enforcement, fire protection, or other local programs addressing public health and safety associated with the implementation of the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act. Sonoma County was one of ten jurisdictions receiving first cohort grant funding in 2020, of $1 million over a three-year grant period from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2023.
On October 19, 2022, the BSCC announced availability of third cohort of Proposition 64 Public Health and Safety Grant Program funding of $150 million. The funding is available through a competitive process for projects that address local impacts due to the legalization of cannabis in California. Activities and strategies must fall within four Project Purpose Areas (PPAs): 1) Youth Development/Youth Prevention and Intervention; 2) Public Health; 3) Public Safety; and 4) Environmental Impacts.
Permit Sonoma has been awarded a grant in the amount of $2,993,420 to be disbursed over a five-year funding cycle beginning in 2023.
Permit Sonoma Code Enforcement Enhancements
Additional grant activities will ameliorate environmental impacts from cannabis cultivation. Specifically, proactive educational support to cannabis cultivators will be provided by the creation and distribution of educational materials to both permitted and unpermitted cannabis cultivation sites. These will address Best Management Practices (BMPs) to mitigate potential environmental hazards, such as erosion control, site maintenance of crop areas, and proper chemical storage This grant will also promote the work of CES with allied agencies such as the State of California Fish and Wildlife Departments, Sonoma County District Attorney's Environmental Crime Unit, Sonoma County Water Board to identify and enforce environmental violations and crimes that result in the degradation of the environment.
A fundamental part of the enforcement effort will be through the use of aerial imagery. The County will contract with a non-governmental organization (NGO) to produce high-resolution aerial imagery to assist in identifying possible cannabis cultivation sites for additional investigation. This investigation includes the approved use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) pursuant to Permit Sonoma Policy 7-0-20.
Agency capacity will be enhanced by hiring one full-time time-limited Code Enforcement Inspector and one full-time time-limited Code Enforcement Senior Office Assistant for the duration of the five-year grant. Their primary duties will be to respond to complaints regarding unpermitted cannabis cultivation and/or other unpermitted cannabis-related activities and pro-active enforcement required to enforce local cannabis regulations.
In addition, the Code Enforcement Section (CES) will enhance inspector safety through the purchase of two-way radios to maintain communications between field staff and other agencies while inspecting both permitted and unpermitted cannabis cultivation sites. Normal field communication methods like cellular phones are unreliable in remote areas where many cultivation sites are located. In Sonoma County, these "dead zones" include vast areas along the coast and other remote inland areas. In an emergency situation, the use of radios with emergency responder communication systems built in will provide efficient, reliable, and potentially life-saving communications between inspection staff and emergency responders. A 4-wheel drive truck will further inspector safety by providing a vehicle suitable for travelling to very remote and difficult to access cultivation sites.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
1/24/2023 - Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution 23-0053 <https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5995997&GUID=60C411E9-618F-47E8-89F6-5B43EDE42F68&Options=&Search=> authorizing Permit Sonoma to apply for and receive a Board of State and Community Corrections Proposition 64 Public Health & Safety Grant.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 23-24 Adopted Year 1 |
FY 24-27 Projected Years 2-4 |
FY 27-28 Projected Year 5 |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$ 222,600 |
$ 667,800 |
$ 222,600 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$ 222,600 |
$ 667,800 |
$ 222,600 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
$ 596,184 |
$ 1,788,552 |
$ 596,184 |
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$ 222,600 |
$ 667,800 |
$ 222,600 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
This staffing request is funded by a grant in the amount of $2,993,420 received from the California Board of State and Community Corrections Proposition 64 Public Health & Safety Grant Program to fully fund these positions for the duration of the five-year grant. No additional general fund is requested to fund the time-limited positions. At the time of budget hearings for FY 2023-24, the final grant award was not yet received from the Board of State and Community Corrections. The grant agreement was signed by the state representative on June 23, 2023, so no Program Change Request was included during the FY 2023-24 budget process.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Time-Limited Code Enforcement Inspector II |
$ 7,842 - $ 9,533 |
1.0 |
|
|
Time-Limited Senior Office Assistant |
$ 4,635 - $ 5,633 |
1.0 |
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
The addition of a full-time time-limited Code Enforcement Inspector II would allow for existing cannabis inspection staff to balance their workload as they respond to complaints regarding unpermitted cannabis operations and proactively seek out unpermitted cultivation violations through the use of high-definition aerial imagery. This means that there will be increased staff time available to perform the generally more complex and litigious unpermitted cannabis land use and cultivation enforcement.
The time-limited Senior Office Assistant position will allow for existing clerical staff to continue to provide a high level of paperless enforcement processing and to avoid a backlog of complaint intake and violation notice issuance. This also means that clerical staff will have adequate capacity to participate in the Proposition 64 grant opportunity.
Attachments:
Att A Resolution 23-0053 Proposition 64 Public Health and Safety Grant Application.
Att B Personnel Resolution
Att C Grant Agreement
Att D Proposition 64 Budget Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None