REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 11, 2025
FROM
SHANNON D. DICUS, Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator
SUBJECT
Title
2024-25 Budget Adjustments and Unbudgeted Capital Asset Purchases
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve the purchase of two helicopter dollies for the Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator’s Aviation Unit, as unbudgeted capital assets, in the amount of $100,000.
2. Authorize the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector to post budget adjustments to the Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator’s 2024-25 budget as detailed in the Financial Impact section (Four votes required).
(Presenter: Brian Roper, Lieutenant, 387-0640)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator (Department) is requesting the purchase of the two helicopter dollies ($100,000) funded by the decrease of five specialized equipment items at a per-unit cost of $20,000, resulting in no net impact to the Department’s budget (4430001000).
Additionally, the Department received an allocation in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000 from the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) for the Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) - Justice-Involved Capacity Building Grant (Grant), Round 3, which was programmed in the Department’s 2024-25 budget. To better reflect the expenses for the grant implementation, the Department requests the following adjustments: an increase to Other Professional and Specialized Services and Salaries and Benefits Transfers Out to assist in the implementation of Medi-Cal enrollment services, funded by a decrease in Regular Salary. Additionally an increase to Inventoriable Equipment, funded by a decrease to Equipment to align with the County’s new equipment capitalization threshold.
The Department requests the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector to post the following adjustments to the 2024-25 budget, as detailed below:
|
Fund Center |
Commitment Item |
Description |
Action |
Amount |
|
4420001000 |
51001010 |
Regular Salary |
Decrease |
$1,544,000 |
|
4420001000 |
54404040 |
Equipment |
Decrease |
$247,722 |
|
4420001000 |
52002125 |
Inventoriable Equipment |
Increase |
$247,722 |
|
4420001000 |
52002445 |
Other Professional & Specialized Services |
Increase |
$1,024,000 |
|
4420001000 |
55405010 |
Salaries & Benefits Transfers Out |
Increase |
$520,000 |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department’s Aviation Unit provides general law enforcement support, narcotics surveillance, personnel/cargo transport, airborne photography, search and rescue operations, wildland fire suppression and emergency medical transport services. The Department recently purchased two Bell 412EPX helicopters capable of completing flights using Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) in conditions of reduced visibility. Since taking the delivery of these two helicopters, pilots have been receiving flight instrument display warnings that prohibit the completion of an IFR flight based on Federal Aviation Administration regulations. Upon further research, it was identified that the steel composition of the existing helicopter dollies is interfering with the compasses that control the IFR-capable instruments. Purchasing helicopter dollies constructed primarily of composite materials coated in polyurethane liner will address the compass issue.
In addition, California State Assembly Bill 133 (Chapter 143, Statutes of 2021) authorized PATH funding to support the planning processes related to the implementation of the full suite of statewide California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiatives. The PATH Grant builds capacity and expands access to necessary pre- and post-release Medi-Cal services under CalAIM. The Grant provides funding opportunities to correctional agencies, correctional institutions, and County departments of social services in three rounds. On October 25, 2022 (Item No. 86), the Board accepted the PATH Round 1 grant award (Contract No. 22-1078) in the amount of $300,000 for the period of July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2026, to identify the processes, protocols, and the information technology (IT) system infrastructure modifications necessary to implement or modify pre-release Medi-Cal enrollment and suspension. Additionally, PATH Round 1 funding is utilized to reimburse Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) for consulting costs to facilitate the assessment of current Medi-Cal enrollment and suspension processes for individuals housed in County adult and juvenile correctional facilities.
On August 3, 2023 (Item No. 56), the Board accepted PATH Round 2 (Contract No. 23-859) and Round 3 (Contract No. 23-860) grant awards in the amount of $1,801,607 and $5,000,000 respectively, for the performance period of January 30, 2023 through December 31, 2026. PATH Round 2 provides funding to support entities as they implement the processes, protocols, and IT system modifications identified during Round 1. PATH Round 3 funding is dedicated exclusively to justice-involved pre-release services, behavioral health linkage implementation, and Medi-Cal application and suspension processes.
The Department’s 2024-25 Budget includes a placeholder of $1,544,000 for program-related Salary and Benefits and $247,722 of Equipment which no longer meets the County equipment capitalization threshold. It has been determined that funding appropriated for Salary and Benefits will be used for contract services and to continue reimbursing ARMC for consulting costs to assist with the implementation. Additionally, medical equipment items budgeted as fixed assets which no longer meet the County’s new equipment capitalization threshold of $10,000, per the memo distributed by the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector on August 26, 2024, are being reclassified as Inventoriable Equipment.
Approval of Recommendation No. 1 will allow the Department to replace equipment preventing mission-critical aviation operations. Approval of Recommendation No. 2 will reallocate funding to support the implementation of the CalAIM initiatives.
PROCUREMENT
The purchases relevant to this item will be obtained in accordance with County procurement
rules and guidelines.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Grace B. Parsons, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on February 7, 2025; Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector (Charlene Huang, Auditor-Controller Manager, 382-7022) on February 11, 2025; Finance (Erika Rodarte, Administrative Analyst, 387-4919) on February 21, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on February 25, 2025.