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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04- County/City Joint Drug Forfeiture Account ., , ~ ~ . . INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT GALLATIN COUNTY - CITY OF BOZEMAN JOINT DRUG FORFEITURE ACCOUNT .~ TJlIZ AGREEMENT is made and entered into this & day of ~1A11 '.H?,;1 {)....O() if, between Gallatin County, a Political S division" of t:he state of Montana, with principal offices at 311 West Main Street, Bozeman, Montana, 59715, and its Sheriff (hereinafter referred to as "County") , and the City of Bozeman, a Municipal Corporation of the state of Montana, with principal offices at 411 East Main Street, Bozeman, Montana, 59715 (hereinafter referred to a,s "City"), and its Department of Public Safety (otherwise known as the Bozeman Police Department) . WHEREAS, the law enforcement officers for the County and the City routinely conduct joint investigations of violations of Title 45, Ch. 9 & 10 Montana Code Annotated and related offenses ( "drug crime s ") . WHEREAS, the investigation and prosecution of these drug crimes often results in the forfeiture of monies or property as well as substantial fines imposed by the Courts. WHEREAS, the County and the City recognize a compelling need to designate sufficient monies to investigate and prosecute drug- related crimes. WHEREAS, the County and the City maintain separate independent law enforcement agencies and also maintain separate independent drug forfeiture accounts which are supported and maintained by court-ordered fines from Misdemeanor drug cases. WHEREAS, the County and the City currently assign law enforcement officers to participate in the Missouri River Drug Task Force ("MRDTF") . WHEREAS, these same local law enforcement officers often investigate drug cases without any assistance from officers employed by agencies outside Gallatin County assigned to MRDTF. WHEREAS, the Courts in the Eighteenth Judicial District have supported drug enforcement efforts by designating fines and forfeitures from these local drug cases to local law enforcement to continue drug enforcement activities in Gallatin County. WHEREAS, it will be more efficient, and equitable, to agree to create a joint fund in which monies resulting from seizures and fines in non-MRDTF felony cases may be deposited and from which the County and City may draw to support local drug enforcement activities. . . .- . . WHEREAS, the County and City desire to enter into this Interlocal Agreement to establish that funds generated by local efforts should be deposited into a newly created Gallatin County/City of Bozeman Joint Drug Forfeiture Fund (" Fund") . WHEREAS Title 7, Chapter 11, Montanu Code Annotated authorizes interlocal agreements. NOW, THEREFORE, the County and City agree as follows: 1. PURPOSES OF INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT. The purpose of this Interlocal Agreement is to establish a joint drug forfeiture uccount funded from drug related forfeitures, selzures and prosecutions of City and County luw enforcement cases and to establish an equitable means of distributinq those funds to continue drug interdiction activities. 2. GOAL. To make City and County Drug Enforcement operations less reliant on the general and public safety fund monies of the City and County. 3. DEFINITIONS: As used in this agreement, the following terms have the following definitions: "BUY MONEY" means money under the control of Drug Enforcement Officers used for the purpose of conducting the controlled purchase of dangerous drugs. "CITY" means the City of Bozeman, Montana. "COUNTY" means Gallatin County, Montana. "DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY" means the executive head of the division of police of the City of Bozeman. "DRUG ENFORCEMENT" means the enforcement of the drug laws described in Title 45-Chapters 9 and 10, Montana Code Annotated. "DRUG ENFORCEMENT OFFICER" means a sworn law enforcement officer assigned to investigate violations of Title 45 Chapters 9 and 10, Montana Code Annotated. "FLASH MONEY" means money under the constant control of Drug Enforcement Officers used for the purpose of facilitating the controlled purchase of dangerous drugs. "FUND " means the Gallatin County/City of Bozeman Joint Drug Forfeiture Fund. "MRDTF" means the Missouri River Drug Task Force. . . "SHERIFF" means the Sheriff of Gallatin County. 4. DURATION. The term of t is shall be for a period of one (1 ) year, beginning , 'i and shall be automatically renewed for a perio (1) year unless terminated pursuant to Section . This Agreement shall continue until modified or terminated as provided in this Agreement. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD. There IS established an Adminis- trative Board (Board) which shall consist of the following members: A. Gallatin County Sheriff or designee; B. Director of Public Safety, City of Bozeman, or designee; C. Gallatin County Attorney or designee. The designee of the Gallatin County Attorney must be an attorney staff member of the office of the Gallatin County Attorney. It shall be the duty of the County Attorney or County Attorney's designee to approve disbursements or draws from the Fund in accordance with the provisions of Section 7 of this Agreement. The County Attorney may not unreasonably withhold approval of disbursement of funds that meet the disbursement criteria of Section 7, Part A, of this agreement. Fund disbursement decisions shall take into consideration: . the funds available for allocation; . other possible funding sources for the requested allocation; and . the impact of the allocation on the goal delineated ].n Section 2 above, particularly within the first two years of the Fund. 5. SEPARATE LEGAL ENTITY. There shall be no separate legal entity created as a consequence of this Agreement. 6. MAINTENANCE. The City shall establish and maintain a separate fund (" Fund") entitled the "Gallatin County/City of Bozeman Joint Drug Forfeiture Account." The Fund shall be used to deposit fines or proceeds from forfeitures ordered by a Court to the Fund or as the result of negotiated resolutions of felony City or County drug related cases. Any interest accrued as a result of deposits to the Fund shall be re-deposited to the Fund. The Fund shall be maintained . . . according to the City of Bozeman claims processing procedures, wi th the deadline for submission being the Wednesday before the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. 7. FUND DISBURSEMENT/ALLOCATIONS. A) Monies may only be drawn from the Fund by the County or the City for the purpose of enforcement of drug laws or for the purpose of drug education as specified in 544-12-206(2) MCA (2003) . Except as indicated 1n Section 7, Part B, monies may be drawn only for the following purposes: i) Buy Money; ii) Overtime for Drug Enforcement Officers; iii) Travel for Drug Enforcement Officers; iv) Training for Drug Enforcement Officers; v) Salaries and/or benefits for Administrative Support Personnel assisting Drug Enforcement Officers; vi) Evidence analysis for drug investigations; vii) Equipment necessary for Drug Enforcement Officers To perform their duties; viii) Salaries and benefits for Drug Enforcement Officers; ix) Vehicles for Drug Enforcement Officers; x) Flash Money xi) Drug Education, including public education. S) In exceptional circumstances, and with the unanimous written approval of the Board, monies may be drawn for purposes not specified above. C) Only the Sheriff or the Sheriff's designee or the Director of Public Safety or the Director's designee may draw upon the monies in the Fund. A draw request shall include: · the department (County or City) making the request; · the subject of the request; · the availability of other funds of any kind for this request; · the urgency of the request; · the department that will be responsible for any property purchased through the request. D) No party may draw more than one half of the total yearly deposIt without the Board's unanimous written approval. Monies may be drawn from the Fund only upon written authorization of the County Attorney or County Attorney's designee. A specific, reasoned explanation must be given for a denial of a request. E) It shall be the duty of the Sheriff or the Sheriff's designee to maintain an accounting of draws from the account. The . . . . . accounting must contain the date of each draw, for whom the draw is made, the written approval of the draw as required above, and a brief description of the purpose of the draw. F) Dissemination of certain draw requests might endanger witnesses or compromise ongoing criminal investigations. Further, t.he draw requests may be confidential criminal justice information, as defined in Sec. 44-5-103, MCA (2003) . If dissemination might endanger witnesses or compromise ongoing investigations no public dissemination of draw requests or the She,riff's accounting of the fund need be made. Any person or entity interested in the disclosure or dissemination of such requests may apply for an order to disclose confidential criminal justice information pursuant to Sec. 44-5-303, MCA (2003) . 8. TERMINATION. Either party may terminate this Aqreement by providing the other with written notice of intent to terminate. The notice shall be glven no less than 90 days before the end of the term of this Agreement. Upon termination, the total monies in the Fund shall be divided equally between the City and the County and shall be transferred to the respective City and County local drug forfeiture accounts. 9. EFFECT ON OTHER ACCOUNTS. This agreement has no effect on the County drug forfeiture account or the City drug forfeiture account. These accounts are maintained through misdemeanor prosecutions in each respective jurisdiction and are independent of the Fund. Nothing In this Agreement prohibits transfer of monies in either local drug forfeiture account to the Fund. 10. MEDIATION. Should a question or dispute arise as to the meaning of any provision of this Agreement or to the scope of this Agreement, the question or dispute may be submitted to a mediator chosen from the Gallatin County Bar Association. A request to mediate shall be submitted in writing by the party desiring mediation and shall specify the question or dispute for mediation. Within ten (10) working days after receipt of a request for mediation, the party receiving the request shall submit a written response stating its position on the question or dispute. If no agreement or resolution lS reached within ten (10) working days after receipt of the response by the requesting party, the party requesting mediation shall provide a list of three (3) names from the Gallatin County Bar Association. Upon receipt of the list of names the party not requesting mediation shall strike a name from the list. The other party shall then . . . . strike a name. The person left shall be the mediator. The decision of the mediator is not binding on the parties. Each party shall be equally responsible for the costs of the mediator. The costs for the mediator shall not be paid from the Fund. The mediator shall only issue a decision with respect to the question or dispute. 11. NON-WAIVER. Waiver by either party of strict perfor~ mance or any provision of this Agreement shall not be a walver of or prejudice the party's rights to require strict performance of the same provision in the future or of any other provisions. 12. TIME OF ESSENCE. It is mutually agreed that time is of the essence in the performance of all covenants and conditions to be kept and performed under the terms of this Agreement. 13. HEADINGS. The section headings contained herein are for convenience and reference and are not intended to define or limit the scope of any provision of this Agreement. 14. NOTICES. All notices required under this Agreement shall be deemed to be properly served if delivered in writing, personally or sent by certified or registered mail to the last address previously furnished by the parties hereto. Until hereafter chanqed by the parties by notice in writing, notices shall be sent - to the Gallatin County Sheriff, 615 South 16th Avenue, Bozeman, Montana 59715, and to the Director of Public Safety, City of Bozeman, PO Box 1230, Bozeman, Montana 59715. The Gallatin County Attorney must be sent all notices at 1709 West College, Bozeman, Montana, 59715. The date of mailing shall be deemed the date of giving such notice and service thereof. 15. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties. No alterations, modifications, or additions to this Agreement shall be binding unless reduced to writing and signed by the parties to be charged herewith. No covenant, term or addition to this Agreement shall be deemed waived by either party unless such waiver shall be reduced to writing and signed by the parties. 16. AMENDMENTS. The terms and conditions of this Agreement may not be modified or amended except by an instrument in writing executed by the parties hereto. No oral modification shall be enforceable. 17. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed independent and severable, and the invalidity, partial invalidi ty, or unenforceabili ty of anyone provision or portion thereof shall not af.fect the validity or enforceabi Ii t Y of any .. . . . other provision herein. 18. ENCUMBERANCES. The Fund shall not be subject to the claim or claims of creditors of either the City or the County, and may not be voluntarily or involuntarily alienated or encumbered. 19. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Agreement shall be effective after approval by the respective governing bodies. It is the intent that this Agreement take effect on the date stated in the first paragraph of this Agreement. 20. RECORDATION. This Agreement shall be filed with the Gallatin County Clerk and Recorder and Montana Secretary of State as required by Section 7-11-107, MCA. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS GALLATIN COUNTY, MONTANA . j '- L-- l \ d~AJC Com. Mitchell was excused Member ATTEST: I ~ ~~1/~ {/tJlfit0 ClerK and e rd r Approved as to legal Content: - . . . . . ~ CITY OF BOZEMAN: Mayor ATTEST: rJ~;/ ~ Clerk of Commission Approved as to legal content: _ ~ (. --{lef~ Bozeman City Attorney