Police Services (Central Marin Police Authority)

In 1980, the Corte Madera Police Department and the Larkspur Police Department merged to form the Twin Cities Police Authority. In 2013, the San Anselmo Police Department joined the Twin Cities Police Authority. The new authority was named the Central Marin Police Authority. The Authority is administered under a joint powers authority to provide police services to San Anselmo, Corte Madera and Larkspur. The agency is governed by the Police Council, comprised of two members from each of the City/Town Councils of San Anselmo, Corte Madera and Larkspur.

An annual budget is adopted by the Central Marin Police Authority Council and funded through assessments to the three members. The costs for administration, communications, and investigations are shared on an equal basis with each member paying one-third. The costs for field operations, juvenile/school resource officer, and traffic are allocated according to a funding formula based upon the number of calls for service, total crimes, citations and accidents on a rolling three-year period. This method of cost allocation ensures that if one member has additional patrol field needs, the costs are fairly allocated to the town/city receiving the services.

The percentages of the Police Authority budget for the three members are: San Anselmo 38.43%, Larkspur 33.71% and Corte Madera 27.86%.

• Adapted and adjusted to the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure a healthy police department and continued police services to our communities.
• Recruited, interviewed, conducted background investigations, and trained three Police Officers
• Trained in many areas, including, but not limited to: Duty to Intercede, Crisis Intervention, De-escalation/Communication, Emotional Intelligence, First Aid/AED, Defensive Tactics, Safer handcuffing techniques, Firearms Skills, Active Shooter Response, Practical Decision-Making.
• Transitioned to the new CIBRS system (California Incident-Based Reporting System) which is a federal mandate that requires standardized crime reporting to the FBI.
• Collected and analyzed 2022 RIPA (Racial and Identity Act) data.
• Homeless Outreach Police Evaluators Team (HOPE) conducted several operations to locate encampments, enforce laws, and provide resources to the homeless population.
• Continued to focus on purchasing and refurbishing the outdated fleet in accordance with the 5-year fleet plan.
  1. Began implementation of electric vehicle fleet by converting two unmarked vehicles to fully electric vehicles.
• Completed the first phase of installing electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the secured parking area to provide police fleet with charging capabilities. Eight (8) charging units were installed in this first phase.

The FY 2023-2024 Budget and Work Plan represents CMPA’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and long-term sustainability, ensuring the continuation of providing the highest level of police services. This budget reflects an overall increase of $139,619 (3.49%) in Corte Madera’s share over the FY2022-2023 adopted budget.

The increase in the CMPA FY 2023-2024 budget is attributed to increases in:

• Increase to salaries for current full-time employees and additional bargained for costs, pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding agreed to in 2021. Includes the addition of two new full-time Community Service Officer positions.
• Increase to PERS costs of current CMPA employees. Includes the addition of two new full-time Community Service Officer positions.
• Increase to health benefits for retired full-time employees.
• Increase to health benefits for current full-time employees. Includes the addition of two new full-time Community Service Officer positions.
• Increase to the Bay Cities Joint Powers Insurance Authority for general liability, workers’ compensation, and property coverage.
• Increase to Contract Services account due to the addition of in-car cameras, re-design of the CMPA website, and increases in miscellaneous IT costs.
• Increase to MERA dues. One-time yearly increase to cover cash flow.
• Increase in the training budget due to the need for additional and expanded training outside of in-house training.
• Increase to uniforms, safety gear, and ballistic vests due to large turnover in personnel.
• increase to contracted dispatcher services due to cost-of-living adjustments.
• Increase in ammunition and medical supplies due to increased costs.

• Work with the Management Committee to evaluate ways to address on-going staffing issues related to the recruitment of new police officers and retaining current police officers.
  1. The Central Marin Police is currently facing a significant staffing issue wherein, it is losing people faster than it can replace them. In addition, applicant numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate.
  2. Continue to recruit, interview, conduct background investigations, and train new Police Officers, Community Service Officers, and Cadets to bring the Authority to full staffing levels.
• Increase training for all staff to include new mandates and expectations from communities.
• Update the 10-year-old website to become more modern and cell phone friendly.
• Continued expansion of the organizational wellness program for all employees to focus on general mental and physical wellness. The aim of this program is to provide resources to employees to help with long-term retention. This program is funded by a 2-year federal grant that provides $75,000 to the Authority.
• Continue the multi-year project to convert our unmarked fleet to electric vehicles to adopt more sustainable/renewable energy. This includes working with local and state entities to explore funding options for EV projects to reduce fiscal impacts to the Authority. This will include patrol vehicles, CSO/Cadet vehicles, unmarked vehicles, and motorcycles.
• Implement new SB2 legislation and mandates regarding the certification and de-certification of police officers.
• Continue our in-depth assessment of all areas within the Authority to explore more efficient processes. The goal of this exercise continues to focus on streamlining tasks and maximizing personnel efficiencies.
• Work with the Bay Cities Joint Powers Insurance Authority to partner with the Georgetown University Law Center to pilot the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) program. This program teaches officers effective ways to step in when misconduct is observed in order to create a culture that supports intervention.
• Submit the first annual RIPA (Racial and Identity Profiling Act) report to the CA Department of Justice.
• Focus on increased traffic enforcement and additional traffic safety programs.
• Evaluate the feasibility of implementing a fleet-wide in-car camera system to enhance transparency and minimize liability exposure to the Authority.
• Implementation of the newly created Community Service Officer (CSO) program.
  1. Hire and train two CSOs to provide an elevated and consistent level of parking enforcement, municipal code enforcement, and focused enforcement at community concern areas within the City of Larkspur and the Town of San Anselmo.
• Continue to work with the Bay Cities JPIA to improve Risk and Liability exposure through continued training.
• Continue participation with regional programs such as MERA, CAL Chiefs, Marin Chiefs, Marin County Specialized Investigative Unit, and the Computer Crimes Task Force.

The Central Marin Police Authority FY 2023-20234 Budget can be found at:

https://www.centralmarinpolice.org/227/REPORTS-AND-BUDGETS