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` TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS -'��,,
FROM: PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE �; r-- T
s Costa
DATE: DECEMBER 3, 2008 County
SUBJECT: FINAL YEAR-END REPORT ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND DISPOSITION OF
REMAINING REFERRALS TO THE PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. ACKNOWLEDGE that the Board of Supervisors referred ten issues to the Public Protection
Committee(PPC)for its review and consideration during 2008.
2. FIND that the 2008.PPC met nine times and made eight reports to the Board of Supervisors.
3. RECOGNIZE the excellent work of the County department staff who provided the requisite
information to the PPC.in a timely and professional manner,and members of the Contra Costa
community and other public agencies who,through their interest in improving the quality of life in
Contra.Costa County,provided valuable insight into our discussions,and feedback that helped us to
formulate our policy recommendations.
4. APPROVE recommended disposition of PPC referrals described on Page 6 of this report.
5. REFER to the 2009 PPC'a review of the proposed Community Wildlife Protection Plan, developed
by the Diablo Fire Safe Council.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: ®YES D NO SIGNATURE:
OMMENDATION OF^QOUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMEN A ON OF BOARD COMEE
APPROVE �n X
OT
SIGNATURE(S):
JOHN GIOIA, Chair FE ERAL D. GLOVER, Member
ACTION OF BOARD 4141 61 Q,00 ' APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OT Fi R
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT uAV^,. ^ ' ) AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE
AYES: NOES: SHOWN.
ABSENT: ABSTAIN:
ATTESTED: DECEMBER 9,2008
CONTACT: JULIE ENEA (925)335-1077
DAVID J.TWA,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
CC: PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE STAFF
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY DEPUTY
FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 3,2008
2008 PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE PAGE 2
BACKGROUND:
The Public Protection Committee(PPC), established on January 8,2008, is the newest of the Board of
Supervisors subcommittees. During 2008,the PPC studied and made recommendations to the Board of
Supervisors on the following ten issues:
1. Opportunities to Improve Coordination of Reponse to Disasters and Other Public Emergencies.
Approximately three weeks following the November 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill,the Sheriffs
Office of Emergency Services(OES)presented to the Board of Supervisors its assessment of the
emergency response efforts,including what worked well and didn't work well,and what lessons
were learned through those experiences. At the conclusion of the Board discussion, Supervisor
Gioia introduced five recommendations that were approved by the Board. Supervisor Gioia also
convened meetings within his District to discuss the implementation of the recommendations.
On February 5,the Board of Supervisors referred this matter to the PPC for continuing development
and oversight. Following a briefing to the PPC by the Office of the Sheriff on February 11,the PPC
reported out to the Board of Supervisors on May 6 with recommendations for follow-up by the
Sheriff and Human Resources departments. As County staff is still working on the recommended
actions,we recommend that this matter be referred to the 2009 PPC for continuing oversight.
REFER
2. Establishing Standards for Public Warning Systems and Community Incident Reporting. In January
2008,the Board of Supervisors referred to the PPC the matter of establishing standards for public
warning systems and community incident reporting, which had previously been on referral to the
Internal Operations Committee(IOC). The referral stemmed from information indicating that
various governmental and non-governmental entities are presently developing local community
warning systems that,if not properly coordinated with the County's Community Warning System
(CWS), could cause confusion during an emergency. In October 2007,the Board of Supervisors
supported the Sheriff's proposal to enter into discussions with local jurisdictions and private entities
to develop technical and operational standards for their public warning systems,to update and
broaden the County Incident Reporting Policy to include both County and non-County public
officials to facilitate an effective and coordinated response to public emergencies, and to implement
a one-year pilot program with SquareLoop,Inc.,to expand the telephone emergency notification
system to cellular phones. The PPC was tasked with monitoring these efforts.
The PPC received status reports on this matter in August and November, and is providing a status
report to the Board of Supervisors as a separate item today. The PPC recommends that the portion
of this referral relating to the SquareLoop contract remain on referral to 2009 PPC. REFER
3. Improving Public Response During_Emergencies Through Education. In January 2008,the Board
of Supervisors referred to the PPC the matter of improving public response to emergency
instructions and protocols through broader and better education,which had previously been on
referral to the IOC. The Board suggested that the PPC work with the Office of the Sheriff, the
Health Services Department,and the CAER(Community Awareness&Emergency Response)
Program to determine what educational efforts are being made and what additional efforts may be
undertaken to improve public response and safety during an emergency.
FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 3,2008
2008 PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE PAGE 3
In April,the PPC met with CAER(Community Awareness Emergency Response)Executive
Director Tony Semenza and staff from the Office of the Sheriff and Health Services to discuss what
has been done to better inform the public and what more can be done to improve public response to
emergency warnings. CAER provided a thorough report on its countywide community fairs, and
programs targeted at the education system and non-English speaking populations. Our committee
asked CAER to provide a written outreach strategy that describes how new homeowners are
educated about emergency awareness. As the matter has not been brought back to the PPC since the
April discussion,we recommend that this matter be referred to the 2009 PPC for follow-up. REFER
4. Welfare Fraud Investigation and Prosecution. In May 2007,the Employment and Human Services
(EHS)Director made a report to the IOC describing what policies,procedures,and practices are
employed by the Department to ensure that public benefits are provided only to those who continue
to meet income eligibility requirements. The IOC had been monitoring the departments' efforts by
review statistical reports provided by the departments.
In January 2008,the Board of Supervisors reassigned this matter to the PPC. The PPC received a
2007/08 statistical update from the EHS and District Attorney departments,and reported out to the
Board of Supervisors on November 18 with a recommendation for another annual update in one
year,including the status of pending cases in which the'outcome is currently unknown. REFER
5. Multi-Language Capability of the Emergencyphone Ringdown S sy tem. This matter had been
on referral to the IOC since 2000 and was reassigned to the PPC in January 2008. The PPC met
with Sheriff and Health Services Department staff in March to receive an update on the County's
efforts to implement multilingual emergency telephone messaging. We learned that the Federal
Communications Commission has before it two rulemaking proceedings that may directly affect
practices and technology for multilingual alerting and public notification. Additionally,the
federally-funded Bay Area"Super Urban Area Safety Initiative"(SUASI)has selected a contractor
undertake an assessment and develop a five-year strategic plan on notification of public
emergencies,with an emphasis on special needs populations. We,therefore, recommend that the
Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services be requested to make another update to the PPC in April
2009 on the status of these federal initiatives. REFER
6. Disproportionate Minority Contact. The Probation Department secured grant funding from the
California Corrections Standards Authority to study factors leading to the over-representation of
minority youth in the juvenile justice system relative to their numbers in the general population,to
provide training and community outreach regarding Disproportionate Minority Contact(DMC),and
to build integrated data systems that enable agencies to collaborate in monitoring the paths of
minority youth through the juvenile justice system. The Board requested the County Probation
Officer to provide an informational report to the PPC on the DMC initiative. The PPC received and
accepted a presentation from the Probation Department in April. We recommend that this matter be
retained on referral for a status report in 2009. REFER
7. Sheriffs In-Custody Drug Treatment Program for Parolees. On April 22,2008,the Board of
Supervisors referred to the Public Protection Committee for further study and recommendation to the
Board, a proposal by the Sheriff-Coroner to enter into a partnership with the California Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation(CDCR)to provide low-and medium-security flexible jail bed
FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 3,2008
2008 PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE PAGE 4
space to the state to create a joint rehabilitation program for State and County inmates at no
additional County cost. In August,the PPC reported out to the Board of Supervisors,recommending
authorization for the Sheriff to enter into a contract with the CDCR for a 90-bed, 90-day program
through June 2011. We recommend,therefore,that this matter be removed from the PPC's
continuing list of referrals. REMOVE
8. Sheriff's Department Budget Balancing Efforts(including P-6 Zone funding). On April 22, 2008 the
Board conducted hearings on the_County's Administrator's Recommended Budget for fiscal year
2008/09, and on May 6,the Board adopted the final budget. The Sheriff Department's approved
budget relies on a significant amount of one-time revenue in order to enable the department to make
the required permanent expenditure reductions and position cuts through normal attrition rather than
through employee layoffs. Consequently, at the time of budget deliberations, some of the immediate
and long term impacts of the reductions were only broadly defined.
In order to define the specific cost reductions and impacts,the County Administrator recommended
that the Sheriff-Coroner Department report periodically throughout the 2008/09 fiscal year to the
Public Protection Committee on its budget status and progress in achieving the permanent net
County cost reductions(either through permanent expenditure reductions or new revenue). In
September,the Sheriffs Department proposed an array of strategies, including the development of
new revenue, which might be implemented to help close the funding gap this year and provide
additional revenue for future years. Many of the strategies require additional study and cannot be
implemented in the current fiscal year to address the immediate fimding gap. The Sheriff is
expected to present a specific cost cutting plan to the PPC in January. Meanwhile,the County
Administrator's Office continues to monitor the Sheriff's budget position and provides the PPC with
regular updates on the Sheriff's current year budget status.
As this is a fiscal year referral,we recommend that this matter be retained on referral to the 2009
PPC. REFER
9. Impacts of the Housing Foreclosure Crisis on County Communities,Programs and Services. The
Board of Supervisors;on May 20, 2008,referred the matter of community impacts due to the
housing foreclosure crisis to the PPC following comments received from Bay Point resident Mark
Sullivan. At the May PPC meeting,Mr. Sullivan commented on community issues resulting from
the high number of foreclosed homes, such as property dereliction and associated public health
issues,theft,vandalism,and reduced property values.
The PPC studied this issue over a five-month period, looking particularly at ways to expedite the
abatement of nuisances at abandoned homes and to fund abatements. On November 4,the PPC
reported out to the Board of Supervisors on its findings and introduced an amendment to the County
Vacant Structures Ordinance to shorten the time period for abating vacant structures. On November
18,the PPC reported to the Board on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program,with
recommendations to allocate federal Program funds to mitigate impacts in the hardest-hit areas of
the county. It is recommended that this matter be retained on referral for a follow-up report in 2009.
REFER
FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 3,2008
2008 PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE PAGE 5
10. Replacement of County's Law&Justice Information System. The Superior Court notified the
County that by 2012,the Superior Court will be required to migrate to a state justice information
system based on modern technology and programming. At that point,the County will almost
certainly be unable to interface with the new Superior Court system,as the County's case
management system was developed in the 1980s and has never been modernized. It will be critical
for the County to develop or acquire a justice system that serves the District Attorney,Public
Defender, and Probation Departments(Justice Partners) and also is capable of interfacing with the
Superior Court system. 'On September 23,the PPC reported out to the Board of Supervisors on this
matter and the Board authorized the County Administrator to issue a Request for Proposals(RFP)
for a new case management system for the Justice Partners. The RFP was issue in October and
County staff is currently evaluating the three respondent proposals. We recommend that this matter
be removed as a referral to the Committee,with an option to be added back at the County
Administrator's discretion if new issues arise related to the project. REMOVE
Additionally, Supervisor Gioia has received a request from the Diablo Fire Safe Council to have the.
Board of Supervisors.adopt a Community Wildlife Protection Plan,which is supposed to allow
communities to influence where and how federal funds may be distributed for fuels reduction projects in
Wildland Urban Interface areas. Supervisor Gioia recommends that this matter be referred to the PPC
for review in 2009.
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FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 3,2008
2008 PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE PAGE 6
LIST OF REFERRALS TO BE REMOVED
08/02 Standards for community incident reporting and siren systems
08/07 Sheriffs In Custody Drug Treatment Program (Collaboration with State Parole)
08/10 Replacement of Law&Justice Information System; new system RFP
LIST OF ITEMS TO BE REFERRED TO THE
2009 PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE
08/01 Opportunities to improve coordination of response to disasters and other public emergencies(Cosco Busan)
08/02 . Cellular phone alerting for public emergencies
08/03 Improving public response to emergencies through education
08/04 Welfare fraud investigation and prosecution
08/05 Multilingual capabilities of the telephone emergency notification system
08/06. Disproportionate Minority Contact in County Juvenile Justice System
08/08 Sheriffs 2008/09 Budget Balancing Plan/P-6 Zone funds
08109 Impacts of housing foreclosure crisis on County communities, programs, and services
08/11 Fire Study
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