Title: FY 2000 Local Law Enforcement Block Grants program. Series: Fact Sheet Author: Bureau of Justice Assistance Published: April 2000 Subject: Funding Resources 6 pages 10,900 bytes ---------------------------- Figures, charts, forms, and tables are not included in this ASCII plain-text file. To view this document in its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat graphic file available from this Web site or order a print copy from BJA at 800-688-4252. ---------------------------- FY 2000 Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program For fiscal year (FY) 2000, Congress has appropriated $523 million for the continuation of the Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG) Program, to be administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice. The purpose of the LLEBG Program is to provide funds to units of local government to underwrite projects to reduce crime and improve public safety. Program Eligibility and Distribution of Funds To be considered eligible for the LLEBG Program, a jurisdiction must be a general purpose unit of local government.[1] The unit of local government must report, via its law enforcement agencies, to the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) Program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The LLEBG Program is a formula program based on a jurisdiction's number of UCR Part I violent crimes reported to the FBI. The formula is computed in two stages. In the first stage, state allocations are proportionate to each state's average annual amount of UCR Part I violent crimes compared with that for all other states for the 3 most recent calendar years of data from the FBI. Each state, however, must receive a minimum award of 0.25 percent of the total amount available for formula distribution under the LLEBG Program. In the second stage, local awards are proportionate to each local jurisdiction's average annual amount of UCR Part I violent crimes compared with that for all other local jurisdictions in the state for the 3 most recent calendar years. Jurisdictions reporting crime rates above the formula-based threshold of $10,000 are eligible for direct awards. The difference remaining between the state allocation and the local allocation total is awarded to a state administrative agency (SAA) designated by the Governor. The SAA has the option of distributing award funds to state police departments or units of local government not meeting the formula-based threshold of $10,000. Additional information about this portion of the funds is available from each state's respective SAA. Program Purpose Areas LLEBG Program funds must be spent in accordance with one or more of the following seven purpose areas: o Supporting law enforcement: -- Hiring, training, and employing on a continuing basis new, additional law enforcement officers and necessary support personnel. -- Paying overtime to currently employed law enforcement officers and necessary support personnel to increase the number of hours worked by such personnel. -- Procuring equipment, technology, and other material directly related to basic law enforcement functions. o Enhancing security measures in and around schools and in and around other facilities or locations that the unit of local government considers special risks for incidents of crime. o Establishing or supporting drug courts. o Enhancing the adjudication of cases involving violent offenders, including cases involving violent juvenile offenders. o Establishing a multijurisdictional task force, particularly in rural areas, composed of law enforcement officials representing units of local government. This task force must work with federal law enforcement officials to prevent and control crime. o Establishing crime prevention programs involving cooperation between community residents and law enforcement personnel to control, detect, or investigate crime or to prosecute criminals. o Defraying the cost of indemnification insurance for law enforcement officers. Program Requirements The following requirements must be met prior to the obligation of LLEBG Program funds and prior to the Request for Drawdown (RFD) of funds. LLEBG awards and RFDs must be completed within 1 year of the posting of awards or the funds will be redistributed in the following fiscal year. o Advisory Board Each jurisdiction must establish or designate an advisory board to review the application. The board must be designated to make nonbinding recommendations for the proposed use of funds received under this program.[2] The advisory board must include a member from each of the following local organizations: law enforcement agency, prosecutor's office, court system, school system, and a nonprofit group (e.g., educational, religious, community) active in crime prevention or drug-use prevention or treatment. o Public Hearing Each jurisdiction must hold at least one public hearing regarding the proposed use of funds prior to the obligation of funds. Jurisdictions should encourage public attendance and participation. o Matching Funds In each jurisdiction, LLEBG funds may not exceed 90 percent of total program costs. Program participation requires a cash match that will not be waived. All recipients must maintain records clearly showing the source, amount, and timing of all matching contributions. o Trust Fund Each jurisdiction must establish a trust fund that may accrue interest in which to deposit program funds. o Expenditure Period All federal funds, including interest, revenue, dividend, and match, must be spent within the 2-year expenditure period. Unspent funds must be returned to BJA within 90 days of program termination. o Public Safety Officers' Health Benefits Provision Section 615 of the FY 1998 Appropriations Act requires a unit of local government to afford a public safety officer who retires or is separated from duty due to a personal line-of-duty injury, suffered as a direct and proximate result of responding to a hot pursuit or an emergency situation, health benefits at the time of separation that are the same as or better than those he or she received while on duty. To be eligible to receive the entire amount of award under the LLEBG Program, a unit of local government must be in compliance with this provision. If not in compliance, the unit will forfeit 10 percent of the eligible amount. For additional information, see the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program Fact Sheet, which is available through the BJA Clearinghouse at 1-800-688-4252 and via the BJA home page at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA. Prohibition on Use of Funds LLEBG funds are not to be used to purchase, lease, rent, or acquire tanks or armored vehicles, fixed-wing aircraft, limousines, real estate, yachts, or any vehicle not used primarily for law enforcement. Nor are funds to be used to retain individual consultants or construct new facilities. Likewise, federal funds are not to be used to supplant state or local funds. Rather, they are to be used to increase the amount of funds that would otherwise be available from state and local sources. Resolution of Funding Disparities The LLEBG Program provides resolution to potential funding disparities within jurisdictions. A state attorney general may certify that a disparity exists between or among jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions are then required by statute to develop and submit joint applications. BJA's role is limited to accepting state attorney general certifications and reviewing jointly submitted applications. If the state attorney general chooses not to become involved in the disparate allocation certification process, there is no mechanism for BJA to intervene. All certifications must be submitted within given deadlines, prior to BJA determination of annual award amounts. The LLEBG Program employs two criteria for determining eligibility for disparity certification. First, an associated municipality's eligible funding amount must be greater (by set percentages) than the funding amount of the county. Second, the county must bear more than 50 percent of prosecution or incarceration costs arising from Part I violent crimes reported by an associated municipality. If there are multiple associated municipalities, the county must also show that the funding allocations to those municipalities is likely to threaten the efficient administration of justice. FY 2000 Application Process The FY 2000 application and award processes will be administered via the Internet-based Grants Management System. Application deadlines and other LLEBG Program dates will be established in accordance with system development efforts and will be posted on the BJA Web site. The application process will consist of the following steps: 1. BJA will notify units of government of their eligibility and provide information on the Internet-based application system for the FY 2000 LLEBG Program. 2. State attorneys general will submit disparity certifications to BJA, if applicable. 3. As required by statute, chief executive officers (CEOs) will submit a copy of the application to the Governor or designated representative. 4. CEOs will submit FY 2000 LLEBG applications via the Internet. 5. BJA will make awards on a rolling basis, with all FY 2000 awards completed by September 29, 2000. Technical Assistance In FY 2000, BJA will continue to provide technical assistance through the following programs: State and Local Training and Education Technical Assistance Scholarships, Grants Management Workshop Series, Investigative and Surveillance Technology Training, and training in criminal justice technologies, tribal criminal case management, drug courts, and adjudication. For a complete listing of technical assistance available under the LLEBG Program, visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/html/llta.htm. For Further Information To find out more about the Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program or BJA's technical assistance initiatives, contact the following offices: Bureau of Justice Assistance State and Local Assistance Division 810 Seventh Street NW. Washington, DC 20531 202-305-2088 Fax: 202-514-5956 World Wide Web: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse P.O. Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849-6000 1-800-688-4252 World Wide Web: www.ncjrs.org Clearinghouse staff are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. eastern time. Ask to be placed on the BJA mailing list. U.S. Department of Justice Response Center 1-800-421-6770 or 202-307-1480 Response Center staff are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time. ---------------------------- Notes 1. Units of local government are counties, towns and townships, villages, cities, parishes, Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and parish sheriffs (in the state of Louisiana) that carry out substantial governmental duties. 2. In Louisiana, state regulations make the advisory board's recommendations binding. ---------------------------- FS 000262 April 2000