HomeMy WebLinkAbout101-Staff Report - Cal-ID Program.pdfPage 1 of 2
SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL
MEETING DATE: April 15, 2009 AGENDA ITEM:
DEPARTMENT: City Manager’s Office CITY MANAGER: Dave Anderson
PREPARED BY: Captain Terry Calderone DIRECTOR:
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Withdraw from the Cal-ID Program
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Accept presentation by Captain Calderone and Sheriff Laurie Smith to pull funding from the Cal-Id
program until such time that funding options are changed to represent actual use by the city.
REPORT SUMMARY:
CAL-ID is a program administered by the County District Attorney’s Office and conducted by the City of
San Jose for automation of the fingerprint identification system. Fingerprints are submitted by
participating agencies which are scanned into the system for later retrieval. When a crime occurs and latent
prints are recovered, the prints are scanned into the system and used to search for a match. In the instance
that a match is not found locally, an inquiry can be made to the national system. Many crimes have been
solved due to the automated fingerprint database system.
The system is funded through two sources. 1) VLF fees dedicated to equipment purchases and 2) Fees paid
by member agencies. The fees are assessed by a population based formula.
Santa Clara County recently conducted an audit of the Cal-ID program. The audit showed among other
things that the current allocation formula based upon population, when compared to system usage, was not
a valid metric. Many cities were over/undercharged. The Cities of Saratoga, Cupertino and Los Altos
Hills, served by the Sheriff’s Office, were overcharged by $114,297 last year alone. (Saratoga’s share;
$38,852).
The audit recommends changing the allocation formula to reflect actual usage. The Police Chiefs have
recommended NOT to proceed with the re-allocation formula for FY 2010, and have recommended staying
with the current formula based on population. The cities contracted to the Sheriff’s Office have considered
pulling out of the system if they cannot come to terms with the CAL-ID board. The Sheriff’s Office
provides a subset of automated fingerprint services at a much lower cost, and will make assurances that the
prints will be processed in an expedient manner. The Police Chiefs and RAN Board may consider moving
to the new allocation formula (Based on Actual Use $20 per use) next year, at which time the City can
reconsider participating in the program. I will keep you updated as the issue matures.
Note: The City of Cupertino has provided a letter to Cal-ID indicating their withdrawal from the program.
Los Altos Hills will also be providing Cal-ID with a similar request.
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FISCAL IMPACTS:
City of Saratoga gains $39,918, the total cost allocated to the program.
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT FOLLOWING THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
Fiscal impact paying $39,918 when the City’s actual cost to the Cal-ID program was only $1,006.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Continue in the Cal-ID program for one more year, and wait to see if next FY the Chiefs
Association and RAN Board decide to move toward a recommended reallocation formula
allowing cities to pay into the program based on use rather than population.
FOLLOW UP ACTION(S):
Review next Fiscal Year to see if new allocation formula is put in place.
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