Primary Department: District Clerk
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Marilyn Burgess, District Clerk
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable): FLEX_CRTBLOG
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 by the District Clerk for approval to allocate up to $280,634 in FLEX Funds to continue the Court Backlog initiative within the department in 2025.
end
Background and Discussion:
To facilitate projects in the ARPA portfolio for which general funds are a better fit than federal funds, eligible expenses currently budgeted in the General Fund are charged to the ARPA grant, as allowed under the ARPA guidance. Moving eligible expenses to the grant frees up General Fund budget which can be transferred to FLEX Fund 1040 for projects aligned to the ARPA priority outcomes and approved via the ARPA governance processes.
ARPA funds must be obligated by December 31, 2024, and expended by December 31, 2026. Program budgets encumbered by a contract, purchase order, or full-time employee (FTE) are reported as obligated. However, there were several vacancies not filled by December 31, 2024. The remaining funds in these programs should be funded through the FLEX Fund.
This request will allocate up to $280,634 in available funds to the FLEX Fund to continue operating the programs in 2025. Available funds are outlined below:
|
Program |
Available Funds |
|
Court Backlog - District Clerk |
$280,634 |
|
Total |
$280,634 |
Expected Impact: Continuation of Court Backlog initiatives in 2025. The District Clerk’s Office will transfer five full-time positions to FLEX Fund 1040.
Alternative Options: Not moving this portion of the budget to FLEX Fund 1040 would prevent the vacancies from being filled in FY 2025.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: B: Reduce criminal legal system exposure that does not advance public safety.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): C3: Operationalize new and build upon successful pilot interventions targeted to reduce the jail population.
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 |
|
10/08/2024 |
13 |
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. |
|
06/06/2023 |
363 |
Approval of $25,036,761 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for continuation and expansion of Court Backlog reduction activities in Fiscal Year 2024. |
|
06/14/2022 |
4 |
Approval to create new FLEX Fund 1040 to support projects aligned with ARPA priority outcomes, funded from budget made available by transferring ARPA-eligible expenses to Fund 2651. Fund 1040 will be part of the General Fund Group. |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
|
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
2651 - American Rescue Plan 2021 |
$2,964,477 |
$ |
$2,964,477 |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$2,964,477 |
$ |
$2,964,477 |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
|
Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 3/27/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Wes McCoy, Chief Deputy of Administration; Judith Snively, Chief Deputy of Courts; Araceli Carrizales, Financial Services Administrator.
Attachments (if applicable): Five HRRM Forms 3441-Position Management Request Forms.