Analysis Item 28: Department of State Police Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation Costs

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1 Analysis Item 28: Department of State Police Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation Costs Analyst: Julie Neburka Request: Appropriate $2,487,914 from the General Fund to reimburse the Department of State Police, county sheriffs, local police departments, 911 call centers, and other agencies for costs incurred during the unlawful occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon. Recommendation: Allocate $73,053 from the Emergency Fund and allocate $2,000,000 from the special purpose appropriation made to the Emergency Board for costs associated with the unlawful occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County to the Department of Administrative Services for distribution to state and local agencies to reimburse for expenses incurred during the occupation; and increase the Other Funds expenditure limitation by $874,188 in order to receive reimbursements due the agency from the Department of Administrative Services. Analysis: From January 2nd through February 11th, 2016, armed protestors occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County. The number of occupiers at the wildlife refuge varied during this period of time, from four to forty or more. The occupation attracted hundreds of people to Harney County, including members of various patriot, militia, and sovereign citizen groups; members of the news media; and federal, state, and local public safety personnel. The communities of Burns and Hines, Harney County, and federal employees working in the area experienced significant stress and disruptions from the increased traffic and visitors from out of the area, presence of many armed individuals, and heightened tension created by the situation. By the end of the occupation, more than two dozen protestors had been arrested, one had been fatally shot, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service faced an estimated $6 million in clean-up, repairs, and restoration of the wildlife refuge. The Department of State Police and many local public safety agencies provided extraordinary services and support during and after the occupation. More than 450 state and local officers from around the state provided law enforcement services during the occupation, including patrol, criminal investigation, security, 911 dispatch, court and jail security, and staffing incident command centers. State and local public safety officers played an especially prominent role in this particular incident, given the anti-federal government sentiment among many of the protestors. Responding jurisdictions incurred costs for overtime pay and travel-related expenses, and local communities incurred additional expenses for using available public buildings for a central incident command center and for large public meetings. Without a complete accounting of the cost of the occupation, $2 million was set aside in an Emergency Board special purpose appropriation during the 2016 legislative session to reimburse state and local law enforcement agencies for costs incurred during the occupation. SB 5701 (2016): Establishes a special purpose appropriation for the Emergency Board of $2,000,000 to be Legislative Fiscal Office Emergency Board May 2016

2 allocated to state and local governments that incurred costs not reimbursed by the federal government related to the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The Department of Administrative Services and the Legislative Fiscal Office are directed to work with state and local government units to identify and validate reimbursable costs related to the incident. Thirty-eight agencies in Oregon submitted expenses for state reimbursement totaling $2,487,453. Per SB 5701, the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) worked together to establish standard expense categories and a reporting format in order to evaluate expenditures consistently between agencies. Cost categories included personnel, per diem, mileage and vehicle-related expenses, and equipment and supplies. LFO recommends modest reductions to some of the reimbursement requests in order to ensure that agencies are reimbursed at the same rate for standard costs, for the same types of expenses, and to ensure that ineligible expenses are excluded. Adjustments to submitted expenses are recommended as follows: Remove backfill and administrative costs: ($10,076) Standardize mileage $0.54/mile: ($2,384) Remove expense not eligible under the SPA: ($22,074) URemove in-jurisdiction straight time expenses: ($379,866) Sum of adjustments: ($414,400) As of this writing, the state is continuing to pursue reimbursement from the federal government for the state s occupation-related costs. The Legislative Fiscal Office recommends such reimbursements, if any, accrue to the state s General Fund. Attached is the full list of recommended reimbursements, by agency. The Legislative Fiscal Office recommends that $2 million be allocated from the special purpose appropriation set up for the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation, and that $73,053 be allocated from the Emergency Fund to the Department of Administrative Services, which can serve as paying agent for disbursement. LFO further recommends that the Other Funds expenditure limitation for the Department of State Police be increased by $874,188 in order to receive reimbursements due the agency. Legislative Fiscal Office Emergency Board May 2016

3 LFO Recommended Reimbursements Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupation Expenses Agency Name Labor Costs - Law Enforcement Labor Costs - Other (describe) Per Diem and Lodging Vehicle Expenses Equip. / Supplies Other Total Expense Amount AOC Baker County Sheriff's Office 3, ,861 Bend Police Department 31, , ,320 Burns Police Department 26,279 10, ,306 Clackamas County Sheriff's Office 66,356 2,710 5,292 7, ,927 Clatsop County Sheriff's Office 23, , ,612 Columbia County Sheriff's Office 6, , ,628 Crook County Sheriff's Office 5, ,035 Deschutes County 911-5, ,028 Deschutes County Sheriff's Office 106,747-2,050 5,195-2, ,382 Gilliam County Sheriff's Office 14, , ,603 Gresham Police Department 5, ,643 Harney County Expenses 146,127 30,158 2,594 3,509 4, , ,915 Harney County School District #3-21, ,378 55,234 Hines Police Department 19,523 1, ,284 Hood River 911 2, ,923 Hood River County Sheriff's Office 21, ,021 Jackson County Sheriff's Office 8, ,349 Klamath Falls Police Department 1, ,792 Lake County Sheriff's Office 6, ,938 Lane County Sheriff's Office 25, , ,605 Linn County Sheriff's Office 34, ,347 Malheur County Sheriff's Office 32, ,003 Marion County Sheriff's Office 59,872-6,635 1, ,193 Milwaukie Police Department ,199 Morrow County Sheriff's Office - 1, ,363 Multnomah County Sheriff's Office 78,177-4, ,513-84,122 Oregon State Police 672,987 2,741 96,004 99,751-2, ,188 Oregon State Sheriff's Assoc , ,153 43,076 Polk County Sheriff's Office 4, ,006 Portland Police Bureau 6, ,376 Redmond Police Department 5, ,540 Wallowa County Sheriff's Office 3,312 (0) ,876 Wasco County Sheriff's Office 23, ,211 Washington County Sheriff's Office 60, ,634 5, ,807 West Linn Police Department 2, ,847 Wheeler County 2, ,405 Yamhill County Sheriff's Office 2, ,085 GRAND TOTAL 1,512,227 77, , ,169 6, ,242 2,073,053 Legislative Fiscal Office Emergency Board May 2016

4 28 Oregon State Police Ball Request: Allocate $2.5 million from the Emergency Fund to pay for the costs incurred by the Oregon State Police, Sheriff s Offices, Police Departments, 911 centers, Harney County, and other agencies related to the unlawful control of the National Wildlife Refuge. Recommendation: Approve the request as modified. Allocate $1,899,095 from the special purpose appropriation made to the Emergency Board to the Oregon State Police for the purpose of reimbursing local and state governments that incurred cost related to the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Discussion: The armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on began January 2, 2016 when a group took control of the refuge in Harney County. The county is comprised of over 10,000 square miles, and roughly 7,200 residents with a median household income of approximately $35,000 (according to the United States Census Bureau). Upon its onset, the armed occupation exceeded the law enforcement capabilities of Harney County. Law enforcement agencies from around the state as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent resources to assist. This request focuses on the costs incurred by thirty eight state and local agencies that reported costs in response to the occupation. During the five and a half week occupation a Joint Incident Command (JIC) center was established at the Lincoln Jr High School which was utilized by all law enforcement entities as the public information center, meeting space, etc. Significant investments of personnel and resources were provided by the Oregon State Police, Sheriff s offices, Police Departments, and other governmental agencies to support the citizens of Harney County. Responding agencies engaged in patrolling the area, command post security, public relations, investigative services, forensic analysis, crime analysis, roadblocks, jail operations, and special operation team services. In total, agencies reported costs totaling roughly $2.5 million associated with the occupation. The occupation ended on February 11 when the last of the occupiers surrendered to authorities. While the 2016 Legislative Assembly recognized the significant investments made by state and local agencies that provided assistance, by the close of session final cost estimates were not readily available and it was not known whether federal reimbursements would be made. Accordingly, the Legislature established a special purpose appropriation for the Emergency Board, of $2.0 million, to be allocated to state and local governments that incurred costs not reimbursed by the federal government. Since the February 2016 session, accounting of costs have been finalized but it is unknown whether federal reimbursements will be forthcoming in the future. To facilitate a coordinated review of costs, agencies were provided with a standard format to use in reporting expenses. This format broke costs down into several categories including: labor (law enforcement and non-law enforcement), per diem and lodging, vehicle/transportation, and equipment/supplies/other. In its review of submitted costs, the Chief Financial Office (CFO) identified several areas where adjustments are recommended. These adjustments are as follows: Backfill and Administrative Costs CFO recommends reimbursing agencies for direct labor expenses incurred in assisting Harney County. However, this does Department of Administrative Services 28-i May 25, 2015

5 not include the cost of backfill employees who performed the regular duties of another employee who was responding in Harney County or the straight time cost of administrative employees in the home jurisdiction. The CFO recommends adjustment for backfill and administrative costs is $10,076. Straight Time Labor Within Jurisdiction CFO recommends that straight time labor only be reimbursed for agencies when labor costs were incurred for activities outside of their normal operating jurisdiction. It is presumed that straight time labor costs incurred within an agencies normal operating area is a budgeted expenses and would be incurred regardless of the occupation. The CFO recommends adjustments totaling $554,285 for straight time labor incurred within agencies normal operating jurisdictions. Transportation Costs CFO recommends reimbursing agencies for transportation costs based on either actual expenses incurred or on the General Services Administration (GSA) rate of $0.54 per mile. Several agencies had inadvertently reported mileage costs at a rate of $0.55 per mile and one agency had reported costs based on an hourly rate. The CFO recommended adjustment for transportation costs is $2,384. Non-SPA Eligible Costs CFO recommends removing the costs submitted by Association of Oregon Counties. These costs total $22,074 and do not appear to be eligible for reimbursement from the special purpose appropriation as the costs were not incurred by a state or local government. After making the above adjustments, the CFO recommends that the Emergency Board allocate $1.9 million General Fund from the special purpose appropriation to the Oregon State Police for the purpose of reimbursing local and state governments that incurred cost related to the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The attached spreadsheet identifies the recommended reimbursement for each of the thirty eight agencies/organizations that requested cost reimbursement from the State of Oregon. Additionally, it is anticipated that the state will continue to pursue federal reimbursement of costs and if/when reimbursements are received, they will be forwarded to the State General Fund. Legal Reference: Allocation of $1,899,095 from the special purpose appropriation made to the Emergency Board by Chapter 82, section 109(1), Oregon Laws 2016, to supplement the appropriation made by Chapter 696, section 1(1), Oregon Laws 2015, for the Oregon State Police, patrol services, criminal investigations, and gaming enforcement, for the biennium. Department of Administrative Services ii May 25,

6 Attachment Agency Name CFO Recommended Reimbursements Labor Costs - Law Enforcement Labor Costs - Other (describe) Per Diem and Lodging Vehicle Expenses Equip. / Supplies Other Total Expense Amount AOC Baker County Sheriff's Office 3, ,861 Bend Police Department 31, , ,320 Burns Police Department 7, ,340 Clackamas County Sheriff's Office 66,356 2,710 5,292 7, ,927 Clatsop County Sheriff's Office 23, , ,612 Columbia County Sheriff's Office 6, , ,628 Crook County Sheriff's Office 5, ,035 Deschutes County 911-5, ,028 Deschutes County Sheriff's Office 106,747-2,050 5,195-2, ,382 Gilliam County Sheriff's Office 14, , ,603 Gresham Police Department 5, ,643 Harney County Expenses 45,061 (1,900) 2,594 3,509 4, , ,790 Harney County School District #3-21, ,378 55,234 Hines Police Department 8,196 1, ,957 Hood River 911 2, ,923 Hood River County Sheriff's Office 21, ,021 Jackson County Sheriff's Office 8, ,349 Klamath Falls Police Department 1, ,792 Lake County Sheriff's Office 6, ,938 Lane County Sheriff's Office 25, , ,605 Linn County Sheriff's Office 34, ,347 Malheur County Sheriff's Office 32, ,003 Marion County Sheriff's Office 59,872-6,635 1, ,193 Milwaukie Police Department ,199 Morrow County Sheriff's Office - 1, ,363 Multnomah County Sheriff's Office 78,177-4, ,513-84,122 Oregon State Police 672,987 2,741 96,004 99,751-2, ,188 Oregon State Sheriff's Assoc , ,153 43,076 Polk County Sheriff's Office 4, ,006 Portland Police Bureau 6, ,376 Redmond Police Department 5, ,540 Wallowa County Sheriff's Office 3,312 (0) ,876 Wasco County Sheriff's Office 23, ,671 Washington County Sheriff's Office 60, ,634 5, ,807 West Linn Police Department 2, ,847 Wheeler County 2, ,405 Yamhill County Sheriff's Office 2, ,085 GRAND TOTAL 1,381,288 34, , ,169 6, ,242 1,899,095

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