Title
Use of Asset Forfeiture Funds
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to recommend approval of the expenditure of $15,065 from the Asset Forfeiture Fund for scheduling and payroll software and forward to Council for action.
Report
Issue:
Whether to recommend approval of the expenditure of $15,065 from the Asset Forfeiture Fund for scheduling and payroll software and forward to Council for action.
Staff Contact:
Laura Wohl, Administrative Services Manager, Olympia Police Department, 360.753.8214
Presenter(s):
Laura Wohl, Administrative Services Manager, Olympia Police Department
Background and Analysis:
The Olympia Police Department (OPD) completed a large asset forfeiture process in late 2001, following criminal convictions in a homicide case. The net proceeds, $369,247, were placed in the Special Accounts Control Fund, Seizure and Forfeiture Account ("Asset Forfeiture Fund"). By statute, money seized and/or forfeited as a result of criminal behavior must be used "exclusively for the expansion and improvement of law enforcement activities," and the funds may not be used to supplant pre-existing funding sources (RCW 10.105.010).
When the Asset Forfeiture Fund was established in 2002, Council determined that the primary purposes for its use were to invest in employees by providing them with special training and educational opportunities and to fund one-time expenditures for equipment.
As a 24/7/365 operation with multiple programs, OPD has complex scheduling and payroll needs. To field the necessary complement of police officers on duty and corrections officers in the jail, sergeants and managers spend considerable time each month developing a core schedule and then, each day, managing the schedule for unexpected absences. Scheduling at OPD requires juggling multiple factors: specialty skills needed for particular positions, planned absences for training and vacations, overti...
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