REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 22, 2021
FROM
LEONARD X. HERNANDEZ, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
DAN MUNSEY, Fire Chief/Fire Warden, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District
SUBJECT
Title
CARES Act Funding - Regional Computer Aided Dispatch Program and Emergency Community Nurse System
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Acting as the governing body of the County of San Bernardino, take the following actions that pertain to the use of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds:
a. Approve Amendment No. 2 to Agreement No. 20-596 with the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District that provides additional reporting dates, clarifies when a cost is incurred, retroactively extends the cost incurred date from December 30, 2020 through December 31, 2021, and extends the term of the agreement by one year, for a total contract period of July 14, 2020 through June 30, 2022, with no change to the agreement amount of $2,835,862.
b. Approve $500,000 reallocation of CARES Act funds included in Agreement No. 20-596 from the Regional Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) to CAD Program to the Emergency Community Nurse System (Nurse Triage Program).
c. Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to approve any future modifications to the revised cost estimate identified in the Financial Impact section, for specific programs/projects by an aggregate amount of no more than 10%, where the modification does not increase the total not-to-exceed amount of $2,835,862.
2. Acting as the governing body of the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, take the following actions that pertain to the use of CARES Act funds:
a. Approve Amendment No. 2 to Agreement No. 20-596 with the County of San Bernardino that provides additional reporting dates, clarifies when a cost is incurred, retroactively extends the cost incurred date from December 30, 2020 through December 31, 2021, and extends the term of the agreement by one year, for a total contract period of July 14, 2020 through June 30, 2022, with no change to the agreement amount of $2,835,862.
b. Approve Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 20-597 with the Consolidated Fire Agencies (CONFIRE) that provides additional reporting dates, clarifies when a cost is incurred, acknowledges that funding is subject to San Bernardino County Fire Protection District specific program/project allocation which may be modified by the Fire Chief as provided in Recommendation Number 2.e., retroactively extends the cost incurred date from December 30, 2020 through December 31, 2021, and extends the term of the agreement by one year, for a total contract period of July 14, 2020 through June 30, 2022, with no change to the agreement amount of $2,071,000.
c. Approve Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 20-1218 with Chino Valley Independent Fire District that clarifies when a cost is incurred, acknowledges that funding is subject to San Bernardino County Fire Protection District specific program/project allocation, retroactively extends the cost incurred date from December 30, 2020 through December 31, 2021 and extends the term of the agreement by one year, for a total contract period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2022, with no change to the agreement amount of $130,000.
d. Approve $500,000 reallocation of CARES Act funds included in both Agreement No. 20-596 and Agreement No. 20-597 from the Regional CAD to CAD Program to the Nurse Triage Program.
e. Authorize the Fire Chief to approve any future modifications to the revised cost estimate identified in the Financial Impact section and in Agreement No. 20-597 with CONFIRE, for specific programs/projects by an aggregate amount of no more than 10%, where the modification does not increase the total not-to-exceed amount of $2,835,862.
(Presenter: Dan Munsey, Fire Chief/Fire Warden, 387-5779)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Ensure Development of a Well-Planned, Balanced, and Sustainable County.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) as the costs pertaining to these agreements are funded through a portion of the CARES Act allocation received by the County of San Bernardino (County) in April 2020.
Although the amendments do not change the amount for each agreement, the $500,000 reallocation of CARES Act funds from the Regional CAD to CAD Program to the Nurse Triage Program does modify the estimated cost of these programs as reflected in the following table:
|
Program/Project |
Original Estimate |
Revised Estimate |
Increase (Decrease) |
|
Regional Dispatch Improvements |
$1,061,000 |
$1,061,000 |
$0 |
|
Nurse Triage Program |
$835,000 |
$1,335,000 |
$500,000 |
|
Regional CAD to CAD Program |
$650,000 |
$150,000 |
($500,000) |
|
Equipment for Incident Management Team |
$289,862 |
$289,862 |
$0 |
|
Total |
$2,835,862 |
$2,835,862 |
$0 |
Any future reallocations that modify the revised cost estimate by an aggregate amount of more than 10% for a specific program/project will be submitted for approval from the County Board of Supervisors and the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District (SBCFPD) Board of Directors.
Budgetary adjustments related to these amendments will be included in a future quarterly budget report for approval from the County Board of Supervisors and/or the SBCFPD Board of Directors.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On March 27, 2020, the United States Congress passed the Federal CARES Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pursuant to Section 5001 of the CARES Act, the County received a disbursement from the United States Department of the Treasury of money associated with the Coronavirus Relief Fund (Fund) for Local Governments under Section 601(a) of the Social Security Act, some of which may be transferred to other public entities for certain CARES Act purposes.
On July 14, 2020 (Item No. 65), the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Directors approved Agreement No. 20-596 between the County and SBCFPD that authorized the transfer of CARES Act funds totaling $2,835,862 from the County to SBCFPD as reimbursement of costs for the following three initiatives: regional dispatch improvements, Regional CAD to CAD Program, and the Nurse Triage Program. On the same item, a separate agreement (Agreement No. 20-597) between SBCFPD and CONFIRE was approved that authorized transferring $2,071,000 of SBCFPD’s $2,835,862 CARES Act allocation to CONFIRE as reimbursement of costs for the aforementioned initiatives.
On December 8, 2020 (Item No. 54), the Board of Supervisors/Board of Directors approved Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 20-596 to reflect that project management services associated with implementation of the Nurse Triage Program would be provided by the Chino Valley Independent Fire District (CVIFD), instead of SBCFPD, with no change to the agreement amount. On the same item, the SBCFPD Board approved an agreement (Agreement No. 20-1218) with CVIFD that authorized transferring $130,000 of SBCFPD’s existing CARES Act allocation, on a reimbursement basis, to CVIFD for costs associated with implementation of the Nurse Triage Program.
The CARES Act originally required that costs be incurred by December 30, 2020. On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 that extended the date costs are required to be incurred under the CARES Act, from December 30, 2020 to December 31, 2021.
Agreement Nos. 20-596, 20-597, and 20-1218 all contain language stating that the CARES Act funds would be used for reimbursement of costs incurred through December 30, 2020. Also, these agreements are scheduled to expire on June 30, 2021. Approval of the recommended amendments would retroactively extend the deadline to incur costs, from December 30, 2020 to December 31, 2021 consistent with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and extend the term of each agreement by one year through June 30, 2022. Approval of the amendments will also add reporting dates and clarify when a cost is incurred. Finally, with respect to the agreement between SBCFPD and CONFIRE (Agreement No. 20-597), as well as the agreement between SBCFPD and CVIFD (Agreement No. 20-1218), the amendments acknowledge that funding is subject to SBCFPD specific program/project allocation.
The Nurse Triage Program allows for further screening of certain calls to assist in identifying potential COVID-19 cases and directs them to appropriate treatment and transportation options. This program ensures that patients are directed to the most appropriate destination for their condition utilizing such resources as behavioral health facilities, chemical dependency facilities, urgent cares, clinics, or their primary health care provider. This proactive approach of installing nurses in the dispatch center provides for the appropriate care and safety measures for all involved.
CONFIRE has been proactive in search of additional funding to support efforts under the three focused initiatives listed above. Because of these efforts, CONFIRE was awarded additional funding for the Regional CAD to CAD Program. The additional funding has allowed a significant portion of this program’s CARES Act allocation to become available for the other initiatives. Specifically, the Nurse Triage Program has proven to be critical in the fight against COVID-19 and CONFIRE would like to amplify it further through a reallocation of CARES Act funds.
Approval of this item would allow for the reallocation of $500,000 of CARES Act funds from the Regional CAD to CAD program, as originally intended, to the Nurse Triage Program. This reallocation of funds will not change the total contract amount for Agreement Nos. 20-596, 20-597, or 20-1218.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Penny Alexander-Kelley, Chief Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455 and Scott Runyan, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on June 11, 2021; Finance (Tom Forster, Administrative Analyst, 387-4635) on June 9, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on June 11, 2021.