SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve a Memorandum of Agreement (Agreement) between Bob Gualtieri, as Sheriff of Pinellas County, Florida (Sheriff) and the City of Clearwater Police Department for a Co-Responder Program to handle mental health related calls for service and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. (consent)
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SUMMARY:
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five Americans is affected by mental illness each year. Annually, the Clearwater Police Department responds to at least 1,400 calls for service which involve issues related to mental illness. 20% of the fatal police shootings in the United States involve a subject with mental illness. Police officers are routinely tasked with being the first responder to persons involved in mental health crisis but have limited options to address long-term, reoccurring issues that generate repeat calls for service and disrupt neighborhoods and businesses.
Council approved a Memorandum of Agreement between the Sheriff of Pinellas County and the City of Clearwater on January 21, 2021, to establish a mental health co-responder unit pilot program. The mental health co-responder unit has proven successful, and the department intends to continue providing this specialized resource to provide the best possible outcomes and help to safely defuse and prevent crisis incidents by connecting people to services, conducting follow-up to promote the utilization of services, and proper application of the Baker Act statute.
The initial agreement passed by Council on January 21, 2021, included the City of Clearwater paying the Pinellas County Sheriff for the costs of the two Crisis Response Specialists, which was $143,200 ($71,600 each), and allowed for the costs to increase annually.
In the proposed agreement, the City of Clearwater will pay the Pinellas County Sheriff the actual costs, salary and benefits, for two crisis response specialists in an amount not to exceed $200,000 a year. The current cost of two crisis response specialists is $147,700 ($73,850 each). This agreement will remain in effect for five years. However, either party may cancel the agreement by providing the other party with 15 days written notice.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
Funding of $143,200 was budgeted in special program P2101, Mental Health Co-Responder Team for fiscal year 2022/23. A mid-year budget amendment will transfer $4,500 (from salary savings in the Police Department) to special program P2101 to provide the remaining funding needed for this fiscal year. The funding for future years of this agreement will be included in the Police Department’s annual budget request.