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2 t <br /> c. the local court system; <br /> d. the local public school system; and <br /> e. a local nonprofit, educational, religious or community group active in crime <br /> prevention or drug use prevention or treatment. <br /> Members of the Sheriffs Department's Community Watch Advisory Board reflect the <br /> representation outlined. The Sheriff recommends.that the Community Watch Advisory <br /> Board be the advisory board for the Local Law Enforcement Block grant also. <br /> It is important to note that the significant difference in funding between the Town and the <br /> County has existed consistently since the grant program began and equates to what federal <br /> statutes consider a "funding disparity". By statute, a potential funding disparity exists when one <br /> municipality's eligible funding amount is greater than two hundred percent of the funding <br /> amount for the adjacent county. Guidelines also stipulate that, in order to qualify for the <br /> disparity, the County must bear more than fifty percent of prosecution or incarceration costs for <br /> violators. <br /> In such instances, statutes require the State Attorney General to "certify" whether or not a <br /> funding disparity exists among the jurisdictions. If the disparity does exist, jurisdictions must <br /> reach a mutual agreement, before the end of the grant application period, on whether they will <br /> share funds and in what proportion the sharing will occur. The Bureau of Justice Assistance <br /> and the State Attorney General do not have a role in the agreement between the jurisdictions. <br /> If an agreement cannot be reached between the parties, none of the jurisdictions in that <br /> particular disparate situation may apply for funding. <br /> The grant application process begins in early spring of each year with the State Attorney <br /> General's disparate certification process closing in mid-May. In cases where funding disparities <br /> are certified, the jurisdictions must come to agreement before the grant application closes in <br /> July. <br /> For this particular grant period, fiscal year 2002-03, the North Carolina Attorney General's <br /> Office did certify a funding disparity between Orange County and the Town; however, timing <br /> was such that that an agreement could not be reached between the two parties before the grant <br /> application process ended in mid-July. Therefore, Orange County accepted the Local Law <br /> Enforcement Block Grant funds as originally awarded - $10,893 for the County and $44,510 for <br /> the Town. <br /> Over the next few months, budget staff will work with the Sheriff to gather statistical data related <br /> to prosecution and incarceration costs of violators and then work with the County and Town <br /> Managers to reach an agreement related to fiscal year 2003-04 funding allocation should the <br /> funding disparity continue. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: Since the Sheriffs Department had applied for the Local Law <br /> Enforcement Block Grant last spring, the Budget Office included the revenue in the original <br /> 2002-03 approved budget. There is no further financial impact for the County related to this <br /> grant. <br /> RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board: 1) conduct the required <br /> public hearing; 2) approve the Sheriff's recommendation to designate the Community Watch <br /> Advisory Board to advise the Sheriff on the use of the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant <br />