For City Council Meeting September 9, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Tanya Williams, City Manager
AUTHOR: Mark P. Kling, Chief of Police
Title
Request City Council to: (1) Approve the California Office of Traffic Safety Motorcyclist Safety Education and Training Program Grant Agreement in the Amount of $24,000; (2) Adopt Resolution No. 8402 Amending the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year Budget; and (3) Authorize the City Manager or Designee to Execute All Documents.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Approve the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) Motorcyclist Safety Education and Training Program Grant Agreement in the amount of $24,000;
2) Adopt a Resolution amending the 2025-2026 fiscal year budget; and
3) Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all documents.
BACKGROUND
The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) has awarded the City of Rialto Police Department $24,000 through the Safety Motorcyclist Safety Education and Training Program Grant Agreement.
For the past several years, the City has pursued and been awarded various grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to help augment its traffic safety efforts. In recent years, the City Council has dedicated increased funding for staffing to support the Department’s efforts in improving the safety of the motoring public. The OTS Safety Motorcyclist Safety Education and Training Program Grant furthers the traffic safety effort by funding motorcycle safety courses free to the public. The activities will be on an overtime basis for officers, supervisors and administrative personnel needed to meet the grant reporting requirements.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The California Office of Traffic Safety has identified unsafe motorcycle practices as a rapidly increasing cause or contributing factor of motorcycle-related traffic collisions. Similarly, the Rialto Police Department’s Traffic Bureau also recognized an increase in injury and fatal motorcycle collisions on our roadways and took aggressive steps to reduce the number of these types of collisions. Recognizing that untrained motorcyclists were a factor in most collisions involving a motorcycle, our Motor Officers established a free civilian motorcycle rider training class called “Ride to Live.” Since its inception in 2017, we have trained hundreds of civilian motorcycle riders without cost to the students or the City. Additionally, other law enforcement agencies have sought guidance from the Rialto Police Department when establishing their own motorcycle safety courses.
The California Office of Traffic Safety has awarded the City of Rialto Police Department $24,000 through the Safety Motorcyclist Safety Education and Training Program Grant. There are no matching funds required for this grant. If accepted, the City will be reimbursed for all grant-related law enforcement overtime activities during the grant operational period of October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. The California Office of Traffic Safety will administer funds for this grant.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action does not meet the definition of a project as defined by Section 15378 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and excludes the following:
1) Continuing administrative or maintenance activities, such as purchases for
supplies, personnel-related actions, general policy and procedure making.
2) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in
direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
The City of Rialto has outlined key goals and objectives relating to public safety. The acceptance of this grant is consistent with meeting these objectives.
Goal 5-8: Provide effective and comprehensive policing services that meet the safety needs of Rialto.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's Office has reviewed the agreement and resolution and approved them as to form.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS
Operating Budget Impact
OTS has awarded the City of Rialto Police Department $24,000 for the 2025-2026 OTS Safety Motorcyclist Safety Education and Training Program Grant Agreement. Accepting the grant will increase revenues in the amount of $24,000 in the California Office of Traffic Safety Grant Revenue Account No. 22216996 47551 26RTL-08. The additional revenue will offset increased expenditures of the same amount appropriated in the amount of $20,200 in Account No. 22216996 51020 26RTL-10, $293 in Account No. 22216996 51050 26RTL-50, $1,007 in Account No. 22216996 52021 26RTL-42, and $2,500 in Account No. 22216996 52022 26RTL-12 for grant expenditures such as overtime, benefits, travel and, supplies utilized by this grant.
This grant requires no local City match.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
There is no impact on the Capital Improvement Budget.
Licensing
This action does not require a business license.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Office of Traffic Safety Motorcyclist Safety Education and Training Program Grant Agreement.
2. Resolution amending the 2025-2026 fiscal year budget.