HomeMy WebLinkAbout21- Memorandum of Understanding - Missouri River Drug Task Force FY2022-2023
MISSOURI RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE-HIDTA
Bozeman (406) 582-2110 Helena (406) 447-8046
Cpt. Ryan Stratman-Commander
MISSOURI RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
FY 2022 – FY 2023
Please route for signatures and when signed:
Scan in color to kalyn.brown@gallatin.mt.gov
Requested return no later than 3/1/2021
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
2
MISSOURI RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
FY 2022 – FY 2023
Purpose
The purpose of this Memorandum of Understand is to establish general guidelines
and operational procedures for a multi-agency Task Force to address drug-
related crime. Through the spirit of cooperative efforts, and a strong
commitment to combat drug-related trafficking, manufacturing, and violence,
the MISSOURI RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE was formed in 1990. Agencies
participating in this project recognize that combating drugs is of paramount
importance to our communities. Through our united efforts, our resources will be
better utilized and our investigative efforts will be more fruitful on behalf of the
communities we serve. The participating agencies are committed to cooperative
efforts and full information sharing through their participation in the MISSOURI
RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE.
Mission Statement
The mission of the MISSOURI RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE is to provide a collaborative
federal, state and local law enforcement effort to identify, target and address
those involved in drug trafficking, manufacture and/or violence. The MISSOURI
RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE will utilize sophisticated long-term investigative
approaches, including undercover surveillance operations, the purchase of
evidence and information, and electronic surveillance to disrupt and dismantle
targeted drug organizations.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
3
MISSOURI RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
FY 2020 – FY 2021
This agreement is entered into January 20, 2021 among the following local
government jurisdictions: City of Belgrade; City of Bozeman; City of East Helena;
City of Helena; City of Livingston; City of West Yellowstone; Broadwater County;
Gallatin County; Lewis & Clark County; Madison County; Meagher County; Park
County; Sweet Grass County; and Montana State University at Bozeman.
No new entity is created by reason of this Agreement.
Whereas, there is evidence of drug trafficking, manufacturing, and drug-related
violence in the above-described jurisdictions, and that such illegal activity has a
substantial and detrimental effect on the health and general welfare of the
people residing in these jurisdictions, the parties hereto agree to the following:
1. The Missouri River Drug Task Force (MRDTF) will perform the activities and
duties described below:
A. Disrupt the illicit drug traffic in above jurisdictions by immobilizing
targeted violators and trafficking organizations, by;
B. Gather and report intelligence data relating to trafficking in narcotics
and dangerous drugs;
C. Conduct undercover operations where appropriate and
engage in other traditional methods of investigation, developing
probable cause for issuance of warrants for search and seizure, and
arrests, in order that the Task Force's activities will result in effective and
successful prosecution before the courts of Montana.
2. To accomplish the objectives of the MRDTF, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s
Office agrees to provide two (2) deputies and an administrative
assistant, the Bozeman Police Department agrees to provide two (2)
police officers, the Lewis & Clark County Sheriff’s Office agrees to provide
one (1) deputy, the Helena Police Department agrees to provide two
(2) police officers, and the City of Livingston and the Park County
Sheriff’s Office agree to provide one (1) deputy. Montana State
University at Bozeman agrees to provide one (1) police officer. Lewis
and Clark County Sheriff’s Office agrees to provide one (1)
administrative assistant who will be an employee of Lewis and Clark
County with wages and benefits to be paid for by the grant, subject to
the same constraints. The County Attorney Offices of the participating
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
4
counties agree to assist the MRDTF by providing legal advice, drafting
search warrants and investigative subpoenas, prosecuting drug
offenders, and prosecuting drug forfeiture actions.
Broadwater County agrees to submit intelligence of drug activity within
their county, and if possible, manpower as needed.
Madison County agrees to provide, intelligence of drug activity within their
county, and if possible, manpower as needed.
Meagher County agrees to submit intelligence of drug activity within their
county, and if possible, manpower as needed.
Sweet Grass County agrees to submit intelligence of drug activity within
their county, and if possible, manpower as needed.
The City of Belgrade agrees to submit intelligence of drug activity within
their city, and if possible, manpower as needed.
The City of East Helena agrees to submit intelligence of drug activity
within their city, and if possible, manpower as needed.
The City of West Yellowstone agrees to submit intelligence of drug activity
within their city, and if possible, manpower as needed.
3. The officers assigned to the MRDTF shall adhere to standard law
enforcement policies and procedures as approved by the Board and those
policies and procedures in effect in each member's respective agency. Failure
to adhere to policies and procedures shall be grounds for dismissal from the
MRDTF.
MRDTF officers shall remain subject to the policies, procedures, and
regulations of their parent agencies. The Executive Board will resolve any
operational conflict between MRDTF policies and procedures and those of
a parent agency. MRDTF policies and procedures will be adopted and used
by all MRDTF members relative to drug operations and informant handling.
For grant purposes only, the MRDTF Board of Directors will take administrative
financial conflicts under consideration; however, any conflicts must be
resolved to the satisfaction of Gallatin County.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
5
4. Law enforcement officers assigned to the MRDTF by participating
agencies (except state agents) shall be deputized in each participating
jurisdiction in a manner allowed by law.
5. To accomplish objectives of the MRDTF, Gallatin County will assign one
supervisory officer, one deputy and one administrative assistant personnel
to the MRDTF.
6. Each participating agency is responsible for establishing and paying the
salary and benefits, including overtime, of their respective officer(s)
assigned to the MRDTF. MRDTF agencies must bill the MRDTF Commander
on a quarterly basis no later than the second of each month following the
end of each quarter. Any erroneous billing submitted and found to be in
error will be returned to the agency that submitted the billing for correction
and resubmission.
7. Gallatin County agrees to perform the duties of lead agency and will
maintain all programmatic and financial records of the MRDTF, except for
financial records of the joint MRDTF forfeiture accounts. Gallatin County will
make all quarterly reports to the Board of Crime Control, and will submit
relevant intelligence to the appropriate State and Federal agencies.
Lewis and Clark County agrees to maintain all records of the Drug Forfeiture
Fund (identified as Fund 241) and Equitable Sharing Fund (identified as Fund
242).
8. The MRDTF shall maintain, on a current basis, completed and accurate
records and accounts of all obligations and expenditures of funds under
this Agreement in accordance with specific accounting principles and
instructions provided by the Department of Justice and the Montana
Board of Crime Control to facilitate inspection and auditing of such
records and accounts.
9. The MRDTF shall permit and have readily available for examination and
auditing by the State, the Department of Justice and their duly authorized
agents and representatives, any and all records, documents, accounts,
invoices and receipts of expenditures relating to this Agreement. Therefore,
records must be maintained by MRDTF, which will continue to exist until all
audits and examinations are completed and resolved, or for a period of
three (3) years after termination of this Agreement.
10. The lead agency will negotiate an indirect cost on an annual basis for the
administration of this grant award. The indirect cost will be negotiated and
determined prior to the submission of the grant applications.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
6
11. An Executive Board shall be established. Its voting members shall be as
follows: the Chief of Helena Police Department; the Chief of Bozeman
Police Department; the Chief of West Yellowstone Police Department;
the Chief of Livingston Police Department; the Chief of Belgrade Police
Department; the Chief of East Helena Police Department, the Sheriff and
the County Attorney of Gallatin County; the Sheriff and the County
Attorney of Lewis & Clark County; the Sheriff and County Attorney of
Broadwater County; the Sheriff of Madison County; the Sheriff and
County Attorney of Park County, the Sheriff of Meagher County, the
Sheriff and County Attorney of Sweet Grass County, and the Chief of
MSU-Bozeman Police Department. The members of the Executive Board
may designate persons from their agencies to represent the members
during Executive Board meetings.
The Executive Board shall have the following authority: to select a Chair and
Vice Chair; to regulate and manage the MRDTF; to appoint the Task Force
Commander and to designate a supervisor in the extended absence of the
Task Force Commander; to establish subcommittees of the Board to
conduct business; and to resolve disputes arising from MRDTF operations.
The Chairperson will be the Task Force Commander’s primary contact with
the Board on day-to-day issues and will bring to the Board’s attention any
matters which would require a consensus of the Board prior to a regularly
scheduled quarterly meeting. The Chairperson shall also preside over the
Board meetings and is responsible for the formulation of minutes for the
meetings and notification of Board members of upcoming meetings. The
Chairperson shall be a local law enforcement member associated with the
local drug task force. The tenure of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson
shall be reviewed at the end of each calendar year. The vice-chairperson
shall conduct the same business in the absence of the chairperson.
A. The Executive Board shall meet at least quarterly or as
convened by the Chair or Vice Chair to receive reports relative
to the progress, functions, and special duties accomplished by
the Task Force.
B. A quorum of the Executive Board is needed to conduct business.
Seven Executive Board members, or their designees, shall constitute
a quorum. In meetings where a quorum is established, matters
coming before the Executive Board may be approved by a
majority vote of the members in attendance at a meeting.
C. Agendas and Minutes. The Task Force Commander and the Executive
Board Chair are responsible to see that agendas are prepared and
distributed far enough in advance of meetings to ensure adequate
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
7
preparation and participation in agenda items. The Task Force
Commander and the Executive Board Chair are responsible to see
that accurate and complete minutes are taken of each executive
board meeting. Separate executive minutes may be taken for
discussion of active and ongoing investigations.
12. Assets seized during Task Force investigations shall be shared as follows:
A. Assets, for the purposes of this agreement, shall include all items of
value seized relative to a case and all court ordered fines or
contributions to the drug fund.
The Board of Directors shall appoint two "Drug Fund Managers" who
shall have the authority to expend monies from the Drug Fund as
designated by the Board of Directors. This authority shall be written.
The Drug Fund Managers must be Board members and may not be
a Task Force Agent.
B. Expenditure Authority:
Expenditures over $1,000 up to and including $2,000 must have
the approval of the Task Force Commander.
Expenditures over $2,000 and less than $10,000 must have the
approval of the Drug Fund Managers.
Expenditures over $10,000 must be approved by motion made
and carried during a meeting of the Board of Directors.
Payments to any cooperative citizen shall not exceed $5,000 in
any fiscal year.
C. Felony Cases:
Where any Task Force agency has participated in the investigation,
all monies and assets from cases filed in state and federal district
court, including all civil forfeiture cases and cases where felony
charges are reduced to misdemeanor charges, shall be deposited
into the Drug Forfeiture Fund, “Fund 241.”
D. Misdemeanor Cases:
All assets from misdemeanor cases that are handled through "Justice
of the Peace" or "City Court" shall remain with the local jurisdiction and
are not required to be deposited to the MRDTF Drug Forfeiture Fund.
13. Forfeiture and Equitable Sharing Funds:
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
8
A. Missouri River Drug Task Force Forfeiture Fund shall be maintained by
Lewis and Clark County as a part of the Lewis and Clark County
Finance System. The Drug Forfeiture Fund is identified as, "Fund 241."
B. Missouri River Drug Task Force Equitable Sharing Fund shall be
maintained by Lewis and Clark County, and is identified as, "Fund
242." These funds, as identified by generally accepted accounting
procedures, are "Special Revenue Funds."
14. Distribution of Task Force Forfeiture and Equitable Sharing Funds:
Participants in the MISSOURI RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE agree that assets
forfeited and received by MISSOURI RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE will be utilized
primarily for the continued funding of the MISSOURI RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE
(Byrne Funded Task Force). Upon request of any individual agency the Board
may reimburse an agency for expenditures related to Task Force business.
The Board of Directors will function as the Seizure Board for Missouri River
Drug Task Force. Any expenditure of forfeited MRDTF funds requires approval
by a majority of the Board of Directors.
MRDTF will comply with the U.S. Department of Justice's requirements for the
equitable sharing of federally forfeited property for state and local law
enforcement agencies.
The Task Force Commander shall make recommendations to the Board
regarding the extent to which forfeited funds should be shared with outside
agencies participating in case investigations.
15. Drug Fund Financial Reporting:
The Drug Fund Managers shall provide a financial report to the Board of
Directors at the quarterly meetings. The report shall become a part of the
meeting minutes.
The minimum requirement of the report is:
1. Balance of the fund at the beginning of the quarter.
2. Total deposits to the fund during the quarter.
3. Total expended from the fund and an itemization of the
expenditures.
4. Balance for the fund at the end of the quarter.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
9
16. Pending Asset Forfeiture Report:
Each participating jurisdiction agrees to provide the Task Force
Commander with relevant information on asset forfeiture cases and cases
with dispositions pending.
In the event that the Byrne Memorial Grant is unable to fund the MISSOURI
RIVER DRUG TASK FORCE, funds acquired through forfeitures in Forfeiture
Fund 241 and Equitable Sharing Fund 242 will be used as allowable for the
continuation of the Task Force as set forth in Section 14.
If the Byrne Memorial Grant funding can no longer support the MRDTF and
the MRDTF is unable to function due to the lack of funding, The Board of
Directors will decide to liquidate the assets of Forfeiture Fund 241 based on
a formula of each agency's financial participation in the MRDTF grant.
Consistent with the OMB Uniform Administrative Guidance relating to the
Equitable Sharing Program in effect as of July 2018, Equitable Sharing funds
shall be paid to the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office as the MRDTF
Fiduciary Agent for deposit into Fund 242 and the funds shall thereafter
remain with Lewis and Clark County which shall be responsible for submitting
one sharing request on behalf of MRDTF to include the total hours and
activities of all MRDTF member agencies. Lewis and Clark County shall
maintain and report Equitable Sharing funds with its own funds and shall not
maintain a secondary account. Lewis and Clark County shall not transfer
Equitable Sharing funds to other member agencies, but as directed by the
MRDTF Board, it shall earmark funds for permissible expenditures in support
of MRDTF operations as allowed by the OMB policies. As required by these
polices, equipment purchased with Equitable Sharing funds shall be
inventoried and remain the property of the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff
Office.
17. Damage to private property. It will be the duty of the Task Force
Commander to ensure that written operations plans are used. This includes,
but is not limited to: drug buys, search warrants, and high-risk arrest
warrants. If there is a possibility of damage to private property during
these activities, the head law enforcement officer (or his/her designee)
of the jurisdiction in which the activity is to occur will be required to
approve the proposed operation. Upon approval, this jurisdiction will
accept responsibility for damages up to a maximum of $250.00. Any
amount over $250.00 will be paid out of the MRDTF Drug Forfeiture Fund.
18. The participating agencies agree to supply their assigned officer(s) with
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
10
equipment necessary in carrying out MRDTF objectives including a radio-
equipped automobile. Upon termination of the MRDTF, equipment that
was initially supplied to the MRDTF by participating agencies shall be
returned to said agency. Equipment shared jointly by all participating
MRDTF agencies shall be split equally upon termination of the MRDTF.
Conflicts regarding a split of equipment will require a sale of the equipment
with the offering being made to the member agencies only. The proceeds
of any sale will be divided equally between the remaining agencies. Once
an agency receives a piece of equipment, it shall be the responsibility of said
agency to maintain the equipment. In the event said equipment becomes
lost and/or stolen or damaged, it shall be the agency's responsibility to
replace said equipment.
19. Each officer assigned to the MRDTF will carry only those firearms, while on
official duty, that are approved by their respective agencies. Further, the
officer shall be qualified with those firearms.
20. Participating agencies agree to supply canine and/or tactical team
assistance for drug operations within the MRDTF jurisdiction at no
additional cost. Canine and tactical teams shall be requested from
the nearest team's geographical location. Such requests will be at the
direction and approval of the Task Force Commander.
21. Sub-Recipient Agency Responsibilities:
Gallatin County will act as the lead agency for the MRDTF and is responsible
for reporting and financial transactions with the granting agency, the
Montana Board of Crime Control (MBCC).
As Gallatin County will be receiving and distributing money on behalf of the
MRDTF, Gallatin County is considered to be a pass-through entity and all
other agencies participating in the MRDTF are considered sub-recipients.
As such, Gallatin County is required to inform you of the following:
The funding you will be receiving under the terms of this MOU is federal
assistance originating from the United States Department of Justice, (CFDA
#16.738), passed through the State of Montana Board of Crime Control,
and then through Gallatin County.
It is understood that any agencies receiving monies from this grant will be
monitored by Gallatin County.
By accepting any funding pursuant to this agreement, all remaining parties
agree that they are considered sub-recipients of federal funding and are
therefore required to satisfy all of the legal and contractual requirements
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
11
of the United States Department of Justice and the Montana Board of
Crime Control including the conditions set forth in:
The annual award documents from Gallatin County
The Montana Board of Crime Control Special Conditions
The Montana Board of Crime Control Subgrant Guideline Information
22. This agreement is in effect from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023.
Revised:
12/22/93, 05/09/08, 12/05/01, 12/05/01, 01/05/94, 01/11/96, 01/14/97, 01/09/98,
12/09/99, 12/21/00, 12/03/02, 01/05/04, 05/06/05, 01/26/06, 01/28/09, 02/20/09,
05/24/11, 4/11/13, 3/10/14, 3/10/15, 2/8/17, 1/16/19, 1/13/21.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
13
SIGNATURE PAGE
CITY OF BOZEMAN
_________________________________________________________________
City Manager Date
_________________________________________________________________
Chief of Police Date
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2A7F660F-C799-4A26-A141-6E5E82CD9CF7
2/10/2021
2/10/2021