Department: County Administration
Department Head/Elected Official: Diana Ramirez
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable): ARPA_CRTBLOG, ARPA_BODYCAMERA, ARPA_EVIDENCEMG, ARPA_IFS
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Office of County Administration for approval of $5,479,302 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to continue Court Backlog activities in Fiscal Year 2025.
end
Background and Discussion:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cases in the Court Backlog, defined as misdemeanors aged over 180 days or felony cases aged over 360 days, rapidly increased. To accelerate processing of cases in the backlog, Commissioners Court approved a comprehensive set of initiatives starting in late 2021. These efforts are yielding results. Based on the ARPA PMO report to U.S. Treasury in July 2024 and Commissioners Court in August 2024, the number of misdemeanor cases in the backlog is down 71% from January 2022, while the number of felony cases in backlog status has declined by 62% in the same time period.
This funding request will allow continued funding as outlined below:
|
Department |
FY25 Funding ($) |
|
Sheriff (540) |
1,485,162 |
|
District Attorney (545) |
1,400,000 |
|
District Clerk (550) |
1,268,674 |
|
District Courts (700) |
111,221* |
|
OCCM (940) |
352,239 |
|
Pretrial Services (605) |
306,408 |
|
Institute of Forensic Sciences (270) |
282,187 |
|
Sheriff's Office (540) |
273,411 |
|
Total |
5,479,302 |
*Note: FY25 ARPA funding for District Court case management was previously approved for Associate Judges and supporting staff, totaling $3,511,647.
Utilization of FY25 ARPA Court Backlog funding should follow the guidelines below:
1. Previously approved, unused ARPA Court Backlog funding resulting from departmental vacancies must be used to address critical staffing needs, ensuring the continued functionality of three Emergency Response Dockets in the District Courts, the Emergency Response Docket 2 in the County Courts, and District Court Associate Judges' dockets in FY25.
2. Office of County Administration (OCA) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will collaborate with relevant departments to track the utilization of allocated funds, including but not limited to the number and types of positions funded, while ensuring compliance with the September 19th Commissioners Court motion to prevent layoffs.
3. The OCA Justice Innovation team will work with the relevant departments to establish metrics for assessing the effectiveness of the dockets and to provide updates to Commissioners Court regarding operational performance and effectiveness of the dockets.
4. All relevant departments should maintain open communication regarding updates on the operations and effectiveness of the dockets, ensuring that funding decisions are informed by accurate data and allow for sufficient time to evaluate any requests or proposed changes.
Expected Impact:
Resources would continue to be utilized to manage new and intermediate stay cases to prevent them from increasing the court backlog. Not allowing the continuation of these services could increase the backlog and increase booking rates and average length of stay for the jail population.
Alternative Options:
Not allowing departments to continue utilizing ARPA Court Backlog funding in FY25.
Alignment with Goal(s):
X Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
_ Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
10/12/21 |
18 |
Request for discussion and possible action on the criminal case backlog including 1) update on the status of initiatives to reduce the backlog; 2) request to provide $657,465 in ARPA funding for 31 temporary positions to process evidence at the DA as well as 3 programmer positions effective October 23, 2021, while they finalize the technology improvements needed to create a permanent solution; 3) request to approve $1,637,519 in ARPA funding and positions for Associate Judges for the District Criminal Courts effective January 7, 2022. |
|
2/22/2022 |
22 |
Approval to fund court backlog initiatives through SFY 22 and relocation of Jury Operations to the Family Law Center |
|
5/10/2022 |
175 |
Approval of District Courts Case Management Coordinator positions |
|
9/13/2022 |
13 |
Approval of FY2023 Court Backlog funding |
|
2/21/2023 |
223 |
Approval to supplement FY2023 Court Backlog funding for District Courts |
|
6/6/2023 |
363 |
Approval of FY2024 Court Backlog funding |
|
8/6/2024 |
9 |
Approval of Associate Judges and supporting positions for FY2025 |
|
8/27/2024 |
16 |
Approval of carryforward funding for two CAC positions for FY2025 |
|
8/27/2024 |
433 |
Approval of carryforward funding for DCA positions for FY2025 |
Location: NA
Address (if applicable): NA
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
FY2025 Court Backlog |
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
2651 - American Rescue Plan 2021 |
$3,954,036.02 |
$555,598.00 |
$4,509,634.02 |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Current Budget |
$3,954,036.02 |
$555,598.00 |
$4,509,634.02 |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
2651 - American Rescue Plan 2021 |
$969,667.98 |
$ |
$969,667.98 |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$969,667.98 |
$ |
$969,667.98 |
$ |
|
Total Funding Request |
$4,923,704.00 |
$555,598.00 |
$5,479,302.00 |
$ |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: October 8, 2024
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date):
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department:
Tom Hargis, Director Grants & Partnerships, Office of County Administration; Romeo Solis, Director ARPA PMO, Office of County Administration; Xavier Perry, Justice and Safety Manager ARPA PMO, Office of County Administration
Attachments (if applicable):