Staff recommends Council support expanded grant applications for VOCA and VAWA funding to support additional staff positions including a prosecutor and a victim/witness specialist.

The City Attorney Department is primarily funded through the General Fund but it also receives grant funds from the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) administered through Montana Board of Crime Control (MBCC) for the prosecution of domestic violence cases. For Fiscal Year 2021, Council
granted additional funding to support an additional Municipal Court prosecutor position. This prosecutor has been crucial to the operation of the office given the ongoing caseload. As previously discussed during many public safety mill levy discussions over the last year, the caseload of the prosecutors is unsustainable. Even with this additional prosecutor, each prosecutor still maintains a caseload which exceeds the ABA recommendations for best practices of 400 cases per prosecutor by at least twofold, and almost threefold. 

The VAWA grant which has been renewed each year for over twenty years is also a critical funding source for the City Attorney Department (Department). The Department is planning to request additional funds from Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) to support another prosecutor as well as an additional victim/witness specialist to help address the growing numbers of domestic violence cases observed in Billings Municipal Court. 

The Domestic Violence (DV) Unit within the Criminal Division currently consists of a specialized DV prosecutor, two Victim/Witness Specialists (VW) and a part time Legal Assistant. Last year the Department requested and received approval for a $90,000 grant from VAWA to fund a portion of the DV Unit staff. For over twenty years, the City has funded the remaining portions of the DV unit as a local grant match. For FY21, the City's actual match was $146,912.47.

The Department has not received VOCA funds in the past but intends to apply for such funds this year to complement the VAWA funding in order to expand the DV Unit. The proposal will include a request for funds to add an additional prosecutor and an additional VW which would result in 2 prosecutors and 3 VWs for the DV Unit. The breakdown of the request will be as follows:

Victim/Witness Specialist (2 positions): $164,951.95
Prosecutor (2 positions): $253,880.82
Total project cost: $418,832.77

The total project cost would be divided between the VAWA ($253,880.82) and VOCA ($164,951.95) grants. 
 
VOCA does not fund prosecutors so any funds received from VOCA will used for VWs. The project cost of two VWs is approximately $164,951.95. If the Department were awarded only 60% of the request for the VWs ($98,971.17), the City would be required to match approximately $65,980.78. The Department is hopeful that the award would be closer to 75% of the project cost, resulting in lower matching funds, but the estimates provided herein are setting forth the worst case scenario.

VAWA funding has a maximum award of $90,000. Therefore, the required match to fund two prosecutors would be approximately $163,880.82.

As stated above, the total project cost of two prosecutors and two VWs is $418,832.77. The City would likely be looking at matching funds in the range of $205,118.81 to $229,861.60. This would result in a savings to the City of at least $188,971.17 and potentially up to $213,713.96 in funding 4 positions (2 VWs and 2 prosecutors),

The deadline for both grant applications is February 1, 2021. Funds are usually awarded in May or June and disbursements generally begin no sooner than October 1, 2021.  

The Department is in dire need of additional staffing in its DV Unit to maintain an effective level of services that the citizens of Billings need and deserve. The Department is asking Council to indicate its willingness to provide the required matching funds if the Department were to be awarded both the VAWA and VOCA funds. This action would not bind Council to any specific dollar amount until the formal FY22 and FY23 budgets are approved and adopted. This request is made because the City’s application for grant funding is made much stronger with a financial commitment from Council going into the review process. If grant funding is not secured, this commitment is not binding upon the City.

The City Attorney Department is seeking support from Council to provide additional funds in FY22 and FY23 to meet the required match if it is awarded additional grant funds for two additional staff for the DV Unit (one additional prosecutor and one additional VW). This action would not be binding on Council and the normal budget process for FY22 and FY23 will be required. VOCA is a two year grant and would require matching funds for the next two fiscal years. If Council does not support this plan, the Department intends to maintain its ongoing grant proposal which provides funds to support the current level of staffing.

The total project cost of two prosecutors and two VWs is $418,832.77 and the City would likely be looking at matching funds in the range of $205,118.81 to $229,861.60. This would save the City at least $188,971.17 and potentially up to $213,713.96 in funding these four positions.