Department: County Administration
Department Head/Elected Official: Diana Ramirez
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Policy
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for discussion and possible action to transfer countywide threat management and security coordination program, PCNs and budget from the Office of County Administration to the Fire Marshal’s Office.
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Background and Discussion:
The Office of County Administration (OCA) has been working with County law enforcement agencies, the County Engineering Department, and Universal Services to coordinate threat management and physical security over the past 18+ months. However, OCA has been unable to garner sufficient support to move the program forward in a timely manner.
OCA approached the Fire Marshal’s Office about accepting this program for several reasons. The Fire Marshal’s Office is a law enforcement office that is a trusted partner to other county and regional law enforcement agencies. The Fire Marshal is appointed by and reports directly to the Commissioners Court, ensuring direct lines of communication related to security matters. The Fire Marshal and her staff communicate well, have experience developing policies in a collaborative manner, and are already directly providing and coordinating the personal security function.
Under this proposal, OCA will transfer the three PCNs and the associated funding of $500,119 to cover the annual salary and benefits for the program leadership: Threat Management Director, Threat Education/Training Director, and Threat Intelligence Director to allow for hiring to begin and program governance to be drafted. The remainder of the funding needed for these three positions (operating and capital costs) and three (3) additional PCNs (a total of approximately $768,000) will be presented for Court’s approval in January.
In addition, Universal Services is working with the Fire Marshal’s Office to identify associated cyber security support that they may need. More information on this will be forthcoming.
The final three positions needed in the Fire Marshal’s Office will be requested as part of the FY 2026 budget process to ensure the program can move forward successfully.
Full program implementation in the Fire Marshal’s Office will be delayed until the six (6) new PCNs and associated funding is approved by Commissioners Court. In the event the funding requested by the Fire Marshal is not approved, the County Administrator agrees to transition the existing program and funding back to OCA. However, please note that OCA has requested funding to grow this program to a sustainable level in prior budget cycles and has not received that funding. The result will likely be a continued lag in development and implementation of a fully coordinated program.
Expected Impact:
Creating a robust countywide threat management and security coordination program in the Fire Marshal’s Office will ensure the appropriate level of coordination, collaboration, and policy/process development needed to assess and respond to the current threat landscape.
Alternative Options:
The program may remain in OCA.
Alignment with Goal(s):
X Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
X Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
HCFMO Threat Management Program |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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1000 - General Fund |
$500,119 |
$ |
$500,119 |
$533,723 |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Current Budget |
$500,119 |
$ |
$500,119 |
$533,723 |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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1000 - General Fund |
$TBD |
$TBD |
$TBD |
$TBD |
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Commercial Paper |
$ |
$TBD |
$TBD |
$TBD |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Funding Request |
$TBD |
$TBD |
$TBD |
$TBD |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Total Personnel |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: December 10, 2024
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): January 24, 2025
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Diana Ramirez, County Administrator and Laurie L. Christensen, CFPS, TEM, Fire Marshal
Attachments (if applicable): 3441