To: James Avery, Governmental Operations Committee
From: Prosecutor David Leyton
title
RE: Acceptance of Auto Theft & Fraud Prosecution Grant Award
recommendation
BOARD ACTION REQUESTED:
Authorization to accept a grant award from the Michigan State Police Auto Theft Prevention Authority.
BACKGROUND:
The Automobile Theft Prevention Authority (ATPA), a division of the Michigan State Police, provides grants to county prosecutors and sheriffs to assist with the investigation and prosecution of cases involving automobile theft and related offenses. The Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office has relied on this grant for the partial funding of its Auto Theft and Fraud Prosecution Unit for the past 34 years.
DISCUSSION:
This grant provides 60% funding for the salaries and fringe benefits of those assistant prosecutors and secretaries assigned to the grant, minus longevity and post-retirement costs. As has been the practice for the past several years, our staffing and budget will be comprised of four (4) assistant prosecutors each of whom will contribute 25% of their time toward this project and two (2) secretaries each contributing 25% of their time. This formula is intended to be the equivalent of one full-time prosecutor and one part-time secretary which is how this grant used to be set up years ago. This staffing arrangement is intended to allow us some flexibility so the staff can switch to other priorities day-to-day as necessary. In addition to salaries and fringes, this grant will also cover Michigan Bar Association dues for one APA, miscellaneous office supplies, copier costs and a landline office phone. The total grant award for FY2024 is $112,592. The required local 40% match is already in our budget and comes from the partial costs of four (4) APAs and two (2) secretaries already on staff.
IMPACT ON HUMAN RESOURCES:
None. This grant is comprised of staff already employed in our office.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
As stated above, the total award for this grant for allowable salaries and fringe benefits and the various office operation expenses is $112,592 which represents 60% of the salaries and fringes of one APA and half of a secretary (not including longevity and post-retirement benefits) and 100% of the other costs (State Bar membership dues, offices equipment & supplies, etc.). The remaining $75,061 of the overall project cost is absorbed by the prosecutor’s general fund budget for salaries and fringes including longevity and post-retirement benefits.
IMPACT ON FACILITIES:
None.
IMPACT ON TECHNOLOGY:
None.
IMPACT ON INDIRECT COSTS:
None.
CONFORMITY TO COUNTY PRIORITIES:
The ATPA grant money advances the priority of safe communities by adding resources to address auto thefts, title fraud and violent crimes such as carjackings. These grant funds also tie into the County’s value of service by giving us more resources to provide prompt, efficient and competent service to victims of crime while at the same time helping secure the County’s financial stability by providing funds that otherwise would have come from the County’s general fund.
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olution
TO THE HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE GENESEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
WHEREAS, the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office has relied upon grant funding from the Auto Theft Prevention Authority, a division of the Michigan State Police, for the past 33 years to help with personnel and other costs related to its auto theft and fraud prosecution activities,
BE IT RESOLVED, by this Board of County Commissioners of Genesee County, Michigan, that the request by the Prosecutor’s Office to authorize acceptance of a grant from the Auto Theft Prevention Authority, a division of the Michigan State Police, in the amount of $112,592, for the equivalent partial funding of an APA and a part-time secretary for the period October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2024, with matching funds of $75,061 coming from the Prosecutor’s general fund budget is approved (a copy of the memorandum request and supporting documentation being on file with the official records of the October 11, 2023, meeting of the Governmental Operations Committee of this Board) and the Chief Financial Officer is authorized to record the attached budget amendment.