CC 2021-06-08_08e Approval of Purchase of Ballistic HelmetsMEMORANDUM
TO: CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MICHAEL T. MARTINEZ, CHIEF OF POLICE
NICOLE VALENTINE, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION TO APPROVE A BUDGET ADJUSTMENT TO
APPROPRIATE $14,000, INCLUDING $10,000 OF K-9 DONATIONS,
FOR THE PURCHASE OF BALLISTIC HELMETS
D ATE: JUNE 8, 2021
SUMMARY OF ACTION:
Approval of a budget adjustment is requested to authorize appropriation of $10,000 in
K-9 Donation funds to the Police Department budget for Fiscal Year 2020-21.
IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES:
The total cost to purchase the Ballistic Helmets is $14,000. K-9 Donations will be
reallocated to pay for $10,000 of the cost and the remaining $4,000 will be absorbed by
SLEF Citizen Options for Public Safety (C.O.P.S.) Grant. These donated funds were
not included in the City’s adopted Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Budget. As a result, a budget
adjustment is proposed to recognize the $10,000 K-9 Donation as revenue and
authorize appropriation of the funds for the purchase of Ballistic Helmets.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended the City Council approve a budget adjustment to the Police
Department budget to record the $10,000 of K-9 Donations as revenue and appropriate
the expenditure of $14,000 for Ballistic Helmets for Fiscal Year 2020-21.
BACKGROUND:
In December of 2017, the Arroyo Grande Police Department (AGPD) received a
donation to the K-9 program from Robert Olson in the amount of $5,000. In June of
2018, the AGPD received a donation to the K-9 program from The Arroyo Grande Lions
Club in the amount of $5,000.
In 2019, the department suspended the K-9 program indefinitely. Each donation has
remained idle in the K-9 donation account until such time as a decision is made on the
future of the program. In March 2018, K-9 Daghan was retired from service due to his
age and the promotion of his handler. In October 2019, K-9 Tig was removed from
service with AGPD. In considering a replacement K-9 team, the department found itself
short of personnel who could be involved in the program, primarily due to lack of patrol
Item 8.e. - Page 1
CITY COUNCIL
CONSIDERATION TO APPROVE A BUDGET ADJUSTMENT TO APPROPRIATE
$14,000, INCLUDING $10,000 OF K-9 DONATIONS, FOR THE PURCHASE OF
BALLISTIC HELMETS
JUNE 8, 2021
PAGE 2
staffing, but also due to housing requirements for the K-9. The department is currently
focusing on hiring and training staff and initiating programs, such as Community Action
Team officer, prior to revisiting a K-9 program. In the meantime, AGPD has been able to
use the K-9 resources of other allied agencies without a loss in service to the
community. In the rare occasions where K-9 service is needed, the department requests
mutual aid from agencies who have K-9 availability. On each occasion K-9 operations
are closely monitored by the on-duty watch commander.
ANALYSIS OF ISSUES:
During the past year, AGPD has faced many new challenges, including mutual support
to events occurring in San Luis Obispo, Sacramento, and Los Angeles, and other high-
risk operations such as the active shooter incident occurring in the Paso Robles area in
the Summer of 2020. With these events, AGPD has taken inventory of its current
tactical equipment and has found some pieces to be outdated or obsolete. Through this
equipment review, Ballistic Helmets have been identified as a high priority item to have
available for all officers within the police department.
Currently, officers are issued used ballistic helmets and face shields. Some of the
helmets are over 15 years old and the ballistic capacities are compromised. The new
proposed helmets are rated at the ballistic capacity of Level IIIA as rated by the National
Institute of Justice (NIJ) and could withstand rifle ammunition. These particular helmets
are used by tactical teams nationally and provide comfort and protection. Attached to
the helmet itself is a (removable) thick plastic articulating face shield to protect the
officer’s face from projectiles or substances. The helmets will be used for high risk
operations, such as search warrants, building searches, and armed suspects.
As a result of identifying this needed equipment, staff discussed possible options of
funding this replacement. Knowing that the City has a large portion of K-9 donations
currently and reviewing the proposed FY 2021-23 Biennial Budget, AGPD staff reached
out to the two donors and spoke to them about the K-9 program and its hold status. A
refund of the donations was offered as well as a discussion about reallocating the
donation for the use of purchasing Ballistic Helmets. Both donors were very receptive to
the reallocation of funds and agree with staff’s recommendation to use these donations
for this new purchase. A written response from each donor is included in Attachment 1.
Through purchase of Ballistic Helmets, the Police Department will be more successful in
protecting our Police Officers heads and faces during critical moments such as high risk
incidents.
Item 8.e. - Page 2
CITY COUNCIL
CONSIDERATION TO APPROVE A BUDGET ADJUSTMENT TO APPROPRIATE
$14,000, INCLUDING $10,000 OF K-9 DONATIONS, FOR THE PURCHASE OF
BALLISTIC HELMETS
JUNE 8, 2021
PAGE 3
ALTERNATIVES:
The following alternatives are provided for the Council’s consideration:
1. Approve a budget adjustment to the Police Department budget to record the
$10,000 of K-9 Donations as revenue and appropriate the expenditure for
Ballistic Helmets of $14,000 for Fiscal Year 2020-21;
2. Do not approve the budget adjustment to appropriate $10,000 of K-9 Donations
for the purchase of Ballistic Helmets and approve a budget adjustment to
authorize the expenditure of $14,000 of Fiscal Year 2020-21 reserves for the
purchase of the Ballistic Helmets;
3. Do not approve a budget adjustment to the Police Department budget to record
the $10,000 of K-9 Donations as revenue and do not appropriate $14,000 for the
purchase of Ballistic Helmets in Fiscal Year 2020-21;
4. Provide other direction to staff.
ADVANTAGES:
Reallocating the K-9 donations will have several advantages. The revenue from each
donation will cover $10,000 of the $14,000 total cost to replace the Department’s
ballistic helmets. The reallocation of each $5,000 donation will provide for the
replacement of outdated and compromised helmets used during high risk incidents.
DISADVANTAGES:
K9 donations will be used for police safety equipment.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
No environmental review is required for this item.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS:
The Agenda was posted at City Hall and on the City’s website in accordance with
Government Code Section 54954.2.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Letters from Donors
Item 8.e. - Page 3
Attachment 1
Item 8.e. - Page 4
From:Michael T. Martinez
To:Linda Cox
Subject:FW: Canine Donation
Date:Thursday, April 15, 2021 3:25:08 PM
Attachments:pdcombinded-moto_7978ed43-59a4-4a56-b76d-ca472db8e7ad111111111.png
pdnixle_bba11398-8538-4909-95c6-9629f48e4f70111111111.png
Michael Martinez
Chief of Police
Arroyo Grande Police Department
Tel: 805-473-5111 | Fax: 805-473-2198 | www.agpd.org
200 N Halcyon Rd | Arroyo Grande | CA | 93420
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
This communication and its contents may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information. It is
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prohibited and may violate applicable laws including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of this communication.
Please note that this communication and any correspondence with the City of Arroyo Grande Police
Department and any attachments may be subject to the California Public Records Act and may be subject
to disclosure unless otherwise exempt by law.
From: ROBERT OLSON [mailto:rolson42@me.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2021 3:07 PM
To: Michael T. Martinez <MMartinez@arroyogrande.org>
Subject: Re: Canine Donation
Chief,
Thanks for your message and the opportunity to visit with you by phone this afternoon.
I’m so pleased that you and the department are doing well. These are difficult times for law
enforcement, but I’m confident that everyone in the department will work together to get the
job done serving the citizens of AG.
Per our discussion, I endorse your idea of putting the funds I contributed toward getting new
helmets for your officers. Beyond that, should a higher priority arise I support whatever you
choose to use the money for that best benefits the department.
Sincerely,
Bob
Item 8.e. - Page 5
P. S. My congratulations to Logan on his coming graduation and enrollment at GCU.
On Apr 15, 2021, at 10:45 AM, Michael T. Martinez <MMartinez@arroyogrande.org> wrote:
Hello Bob,
First and foremost, I hope you are doing well and settling into your new home in Arizona. As I
mentioned to you before, my son will be graduating in a few months and is planning to attend Grand
Cayon University in the Fall. We are very excited to see him take the next step in his education, and
we are confident GCU is a good fit for him.
I’m nine months into my position as the Chief of Police, and everything is going well. I’m fortunate to
have some good mentors who prepared me for this role. As things begin to open up in California, I
can concentrate on a few projects that I’ve wanted to move forward for our department. This leads
me to a question I have regarding a $5000 donation you made to our canine program. As you are
aware, Chief Pryor suspended our canine program a few years ago. We have since surveyed the idea
of reintroducing the program, and at this point, we have not encountered a need to have a canine
on staff. Our calls for canine service do not justify the cost of reintroducing a program, specifically
the dog's purchase and the amount of training involved. In those rare situations where a dog is
needed, we have called upon the Sheriff's Department or Pismo Beach PD for assistance and this
mutual aid has worked very well for us.
Because I don’t see a canine program in AGPD’s future, I feel it’s necessary to address the funds that
remain in our current canine account. First, I have no problem returning the funds back to you if you
wish. If not, I’d like to propose using the funds for a project we are currently working on.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death and a contested presidential election, our officers were called
upon to provide mutual aid to outside agencies for civil unrest. We quickly discovered that most of
the equipment we use for events like these is antiquated, unsafe, and not up to industry standard.
With this said, we spent the past few months researching Level III-A riot control tactical helmets for
our staff. This equipment is worthy of replacement as these new helmets can be used for various
situations involving crowd control, critical incidents such as active shooter or emergency
evacuations. Most importantly, our officers can wear them for extended periods as they are much
more comfortable and practical than our previous outdated helmets.
If you are interested in directing your donation to our helmet replacement, I will have Linda apply
your donation to this purchase. For reference, the cost to outfit our entire department is
approximately 13,000, so needless to say; this will help out.
Please let me know how you would like me to proceed, and feel free to call me if you have any
questions.
Thank you Bob,
Item 8.e. - Page 6
Mike
Michael Martinez
Chief of Police
Arroyo Grande Police Department
Tel: 805-473-5111 | Fax: 805-473-
2198 | https://link.edgepilot.com/s/ee66784a/W6ykebXvtkqgD8BALS_oQw?u=http://www.agpd.org/
200 N Halcyon Rd | Arroyo Grande | CA | 93420
<pdcombinded-moto_7978ed43-59a4-4a56-b76d-
ca472db8e7ad111111111.png><pdnixle_bba11398-8538-4909-95c6-9629f48e4f70111111111.png>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
This communication and its contents may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information. It is
solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). Unauthorized interception, review, use, or disclosure is
prohibited and may violate applicable laws including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of this communication.
Please note that this communication and any correspondence with the City of Arroyo Grande Police
Department and any attachments may be subject to the California Public Records Act and may be subject
to disclosure unless otherwise exempt by law.
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