Primary Department: Management and Budget
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Daniel Ramos, Executive Director
Secondary Department: Universal Services
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Sindhu Menon, Executive Director & CIO
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Commercial Paper
Project ID (if applicable): NI036
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval of commercial paper funding for Universal Services for the eCitation with Digital Signature project in the additional amount of $1,330,000 for a total CP funding of $9,835,000.
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Background and Discussion:
Commercial Paper Series D can be used for (1) construction of public works, (2) the purchase of automobiles, equipment and machinery, including computers, materials and supplies for the operation of the County’s precincts and departments (3) Professional services, including services provided by engineers, architects, attorneys, auditors, financial advisors, and fiscal agents, in connection with the contractual obligations described in (1) and (2).
Commercial Paper is being requested for eCitation with Digital Signature project and is expected to be repaid within the next three fiscal years either through bonds, budgetary means, or pay-as-you-go sources. This is for approval for allocation of commercial paper for a previously approved project within the previously authorized amount.
HB 1869 compliance confirmed by: Scott Lemond, Special Assistant County Attorney, May 31, 2022.
Expected Impact:
This project is to implement a paperless eCitation system and provide 2,580 Law Enforcement Officers with electronic ticket writer devices and mobile wireless printers. This system will provide a paperless workflow that will allow citation issues in the field to be electronically signed and transmitted to various Justice Information Systems, as well as the courts.
Alternative Options:
One alternative would be to keep the current citation solution without digital signatures and continue to provide non-electronic / hardcopy citations.
The below estimated breakdown would not be achieved if the proposed eCitation system is not implemented.
eCitation can reduce time spent by LE in the field writing and processing paper citations, allowing LE agencies to function more efficiently. As an example, in the Sheriff’s Office alone patrol officers would save over 110,000 hours each year on paperwork transport and processing that could be dedicated towards public safety activities instead, equivalent to hiring over 50 additional patrol officers full-time, or an additional $3.2 million in law enforcement salaries in just the Sheriff’s Office alone.
Point 1: At the end of the shift, the Deputies will drive to the station and place the signed (court copy) citation(s) in a designated box at the station. On average each Deputy would save 30 minutes a day because they would not have to drive to the station and drop off the paper copy. Based on approximately 600 Deputies per day (three shifts of 40 deputies in five districts), this equates to 300 hours saved per day, or nearly 110,000 hours per year department wide.
Point 2: Personnel at the station sort the citations by court every day and place them in envelopes for courts. Savings are estimated at one hour per day, a five-day work week, and five districts would be approximately 1,300 hours per year.
Point 3: Patrol personnel transport all citations after sorting downtown to 1200 Baker for submission to courts. Based on an average of one hour and 45 minutes round trip five days a week at five districts, saving over 2,000 hours per year.
We expect this project would allow each Constable precinct and the Fire Marshal’s Office to be able to increase their administrative processing efficiencies which would allow them to devote more time to their core responsibilities as well. eCitation will also reduce time spent by the Justice Courts processing paper copies of the citations. Additionally, eCitation will provide the ability to issue citations without a connection to the Harris County network, which allows LE officers on foot patrol & bicycle patrol the ability to issue electronic citations.
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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9/21/2021 |
21-4640 |
Request for approval of PIM and commercial paper funding for $200,000 (Series A-1) |
|
06/28/2022 |
22-3899 |
Request for approval of FIM and commercial paper funding for $7,160,000 (Series A-1) |
|
08/29/2024 |
24-6713 |
Request for approval of commercial paper funding for $1,145,000 (Series D) |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Public Safety Applications |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Non-Labor |
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Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Commercial Paper |
$ |
$1,330,000 |
$1,330,000 |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$1,330,000 |
$1,330,000 |
$ |
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Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$1,330,000 |
$1,330,000 |
$ |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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Anticipated Court Date: 10/16/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Amy Perez, Deputy Executive Director, Office of Management and Budget
Attachments (if applicable): N/A