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We were very pleased to learn that we received funding for 8 police
officer positions through the Byrne COPS grant as part of the Federal
Stimulus Package. This award was announced this morning (a portion of
the letter is included below). We asked for 20 positions, but 8 is
still real progress, especially considering there were eight times as
many requests for positions from cities around the county as there were
funds available. The funding covers salaries and benefit costs for
three years. We will apply again for additional funding as the next
COPS grant is announced next year.
We have 174 sworn personnel (this includes police trainees, officers,
sergeants, lieutenants, and chiefs). We currently have 4 pending job
offers for new officers, which brings us to a total of 178 sworn
personnel.
The Police Department is authorized to hire up to 187 sworn through the
FY 08-09 budget. This means we have 9 sworn vacancies. The Police
Department can hire up to the 08-09 authorized level (187) plus whatever
amount of officers we receive through the COPS grant (8 additional
officers as of now). This means we are hiring up to a total of 195. We
have numerous applicants in the “hiring pipeline” right now based on our
aggressive recruiting efforts.
United States
Department of Justice
Office of Community
Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
Office of the
Director
1100 Vermont Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20530
July 28, 2009
Re: COPS Hiring Recovery Program
Grant # 2009RKWX0094
ORI#: CA00710
Dear Chief of Police Magnus and City Manager Lindsay:
Congratulations! On behalf of Attorney General Eric Holder, I am
pleased to inform you that your department will receive a COPS Hiring
Recovery Program (CHRP) grant award for 8 officer positions. The
estimated amount of federal funds to be awarded to your jurisdiction
over the three-year grant period is $3,819,952.00. Your agency may now
begin hiring or rehiring officers to fill CHRP grant-funded positions.
Your agency will be mailed a CHRP grant award package by September 1,
2009. The award package will include the official Award Document, a
Financial Clearance Memorandum (FCM), a Final Funding Memorandum (FFM),
and a document which outlines how to accept and begin your award. Your
agency will have 90 days from the date listed on the letter within your
award package to officially accept your award, or request additional
time to do so. Also, a supplemental online award package for COPS
Hiring Recovery Program grantees can be found at
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2271. We
strongly encourage you to visit this site immediately to access a
variety of important and helpful documents associated with your award,
including the CHRP Grant Owner’s Manual, which specifies the terms,
conditions, and requirements of your grant. A Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) document can be found at
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2208, which
should be helpful in answering many questions you may have about your
new CHRP award.
Also, please remember that grantees must retain all sworn officer
positions awarded under the CHRP grant for a minimum of 12 months
following the 36-month federal funding period. The retained CHRP-funded
position(s) should be added to your law enforcement budget with state
and/or local funds, over and above the number of locally-funded
positions that would have existed in the absence of the grant. In your
CHRP grant application, your agency was required to affirm that it plans
to retain the additional officer positions awarded following the
expiration of the grant, and to identify the planned sources of
retention funding. If, during the life of the grant, you have questions
regarding the retention requirement or your retention funding sources,
please contact the COPS Office for assistance.
(edited)
Once again, congratulations on your CHRP award. We look forward to
working with you in a productive partnership to further your community
policing efforts. If you have any questions about your grant award,
please do not hesitate to call the COPS Office Response Center at
800.421.6770.
Sincerely,
David M. Buchanan
Acting Director
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