The Chief Development Officer for the Mayor’s Office recommends that City Council approve a Subrecipient Agreement between the City of Houston (“City”) and the Houston Forensic Science Center, Incorporated, (“HFSC”) in an amount not to exceed $3,000,000.00 for Partnership in Forensic Lab Enhancements Regarding Public Safety (“Subrecipient Agreement”).
This Agreement is part of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s One Safe Houston program, a comprehensive violence reduction initiative that recommends utilizing funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) State and Local Fiscal Relief Fund (“SLFRF”) to improve public safety and reduce the harms caused by violent crime.
COVID-19 had a direct impact on HFSC’s ability to complete needed work for the City. The pandemic resulted in a spike of violent crime, especially gun-related cases and homicides, and delayed the implementation of technology and training needed at HFSC to address the steep spike of cases. This created a backlog of toxicology requests. The timely processing of these cases is directly tied to public safety and the support of the criminal justice system for the City.
Outsourcing toxicology cases is necessary until such time as HFSC is adequately staffed. HFSC experienced a high turnover rate during the pandemic. The City looks to augment HFSC’s staffing shortages until staffing can return to a pre-pandemic level of workflow. Current staff members must work overtime in order to meet demands and while new staff members are trained.
The City determined the funds that the City is providing to HFSC under this Subrecipient Agreement are reasonable and necessary expenditures to address the COVID-19 public health emergency, and such funds were not included in the City’s approved Fiscal Year Budget.
For Expenditure Items (One-Time):
|
Fund Name
|
Current Fiscal Year
FY23
|
Outyear #1
|
Total
|
|
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
|
$3,000,000
|
$0
|
$3,000,000
|
Fiscal Note:
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
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Andy Icken
Chief Development Officer