On June 11, 2019, the County Board of Supervisors received a presentation from the interdepartmental Illegal Dumping Think Tank team and approved all staff recommendations. The Board of Supervisors approved a total of fifty-six (56) illegal dumping strategies recommended by the interdepartmental Illegal Dumping Think Tank. Fourteen (14) are existing strategies that were being implemented prior to Board approval in June. The remaining 42 strategies approved by the Board are either new or expanded. The Board referred implementation of the recommendations to this newly formed Ad Hoc Committee. The Board also directed staff to report back to the full Board for authorization to expend funding allocated to implement specified illegal dumping strategies and to provide a status update regarding the County's mandatory subscription ordinance and the other recommended illegal dumping strategies.
On September 16, 2019, this Illegal Dumping Ad Hoc Committee received a status update regarding allocation of funding and the implementation of the illegal dumping strategies approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 11, 2019. |
This report and the attached Table 1 provide updates related to the implementation of the fifty-six (56) Board approved illegal dumping strategies recommended by the interdepartmental Illegal Dumping Think Tank. Additionally, this report provides clarification regarding how this initial period is being funded .
STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION UPDATES: At the November 19, 2020 Committee meeting, staff members from the Illegal Dumping Think Tank team will present updates regarding the approved strategies in Table 1, including highlights regarding the following strategies.
- Negotiations to amend the County's East County Franchise - Strategies # 9, 17 & 34
- Deputies for illegal dumping investigations - Strategy # 45
- Cameras - Strategy # 46
- Legislation - Strategy # 51
Since the last Committee meeting, the funding approved to implement the six selected illegal dumping strategies has been transferred to the applicable implementing Departments. In addition to the six (6) strategies approved for funding in June, there are another 13 strategies that are intended to be implemented once the dedicated per-diem Deputies are hired (Strategy # 45).
There has been some progress made on numerous other illegal dumping strategies, most of which did not require allocation of additional funding. In preparation for this upcoming Illegal Dumping Ad Hoc Committee meeting, staff has prepared an updated version of Table 1 which is attached to reflect progress applicable to the individual strategies.
FUNDING ALLOCATIONS: On June 11, 2019 the Board approved recommended funding allocation in the amount of $378,000 for the six illegal dumping strategies itemized below which could not be implemented with existing budgets. The remaining 50 illegal dumping strategies were either proposed to be implemented within existing budgets in the initial phase or as part of a future phase.
- Strategy # 5 – Public outreach campaign(s): $10,000
- Strategy # 12 – Mandatory Subscription Ordinance: $58,000
- Strategy # 26 – Street Signs (50 signs): $10,000
- Strategy # 27 – Street Lights (10 lights): $100,000
- Strategy # 45 – Dedicated Law Enforcement Officers (four per diem deputies for total of 3,600 hours per year): $150,000
- Strategy # 46 – Surveillance Cameras (5 cameras): $50,000
Approved funding allocations in FY 2019/20
AB 1216 was a County-sponsored bill that would have authorized the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa to establish a pilot program to employ 2 law enforcement officers, one from each county, solely for the purpose of enforcing dumping laws in those counties. Although AB 1216 failed to move forward, the California Budget Act of 2019 (AB 74) approved by the Governor included the following funding allocation provision:$375,000 shall be provided to each of the following counties: Alameda and Contra Costa for an Illegal Dumping Pilot Project to enforce dumping laws.
At the prior Committee meeting held on September 16, 2019, DCD staff indicated that the $375,000 was expected to be dedicated to implementing Strategy # 45. Since only $150,000 was needed to implement that strategy for one year, staff reported that the remaining amount of $225,000 would be sufficient to cover proposed per-diem deputies for an additional 1.5 years. Subsequently, DCD staff learned that the $375,000 allocated by the State would be used to fund all of the strategies the Board approved for funding. As a result of the reallocation of the funding approved in the State Budget for illegal dumping enforcement, the amount of funding the County had to dedicate towards illegal dumping strategies for the first year decreased from $228,000 to $3,000.
Due to delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the funding allocated in FY 2019/20 was carried over to fund implementation in FY 2020/21. |