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HomeMy WebLinkAboutContract 30975 ti CITY SECRETARY MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING CONTRACT NO. Between THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY (The "Department") -and- FORT WORTH POLICE DEPARTMENT (The "Municipality') General Agreement In order to maximize the effective utilization of commercial motor vehicle, driver, and cargo inspection resources; to avoid duplication of effort and to expand the nurnber .of .inspections performed; to advance uniformity of inspection; and to minimize delays in schedules incurred by industry inherent to this type of enforcement activity, the undersigned parties enter into this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). In recognition of the many agencies - federal, state, and city — engaged in the inspection of commercial motor vehicles, their drivers, and cargo within the State of Texas; and the need for a basic delineation of routine responsibility, it is agreed: 1. The Department of Public Safety will inspect vehicles operating over public highways and at carrier terminal facilities. 2. Other allied agencies will, as a routine practice, confine inspection activities to vehicles operating over public highways and city streets in their jurisdiction with the exception of municipal police officers certified under Texas Transportation Code, Section 644.101; such municipal officers may conduct vehicle inspections at carrier terminal facilities. Signatories to this MOU agree that their authorized inspection representatives (Program Coordinators) will implement procedures in accord with minimum standards contained herein. In order. to advance. uniformity in the inspection of commercial motor, vehicles. and their. operators, parties to'this MOU agree to adopt the.North American Uniform Inspection Procedure and Out-of-Service Criteria as adopted by the Department of Public Safety under Chapter 644, Texas Transportation Code (the "Code" at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/tn.toc.htm); Title 37, Texas Administrative Code ("TAC" at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/tac/index.shtm1), Chapter 4, Subchapter B; Chapter 16, Subchapter A;' and Chapter 21 and any amendments thereto, and the' most current version of the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement.Guidance Documents provided by the Department. Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Levels of Inspection Level I North American Standard Level II Walkaround Inspection Level III Driver Only Inspection Level IV Special Inspection Level V Vehicle-Only Inspection (Terminal) MOU with Fort Worth Police Department, Traffic Division Page 1 of 5 (Revised 09-20-2004)PAMCCA Applications\MOUs\MOU.doc Responsibilities of the Department In order to better implement and maintain the standards and agreements contained in this MOU, and to effectively administer the terms and conditions contained under Title IV of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (P.L. 97-424), (Now codified at Title 49, United States Code (USC) §31100, et seq.) the Department agrees to: 1. Train, retrain (as necessary or desirable), test, and certify the inspectors of the political subdivision as per the agreement between the Department of Pubic Safety and the CVSA. 2. Approve inspection forms for all inspections conducted in conformance with this agreement. .--.3.--Approve vehicle and-.driver out-of-service,-slickers. The Department will supply CVSA decals on a cost recovery basis to cities and counties. 4. Supply a monitoring service relative to inspection write-up techniques and violations . recorded, 5. Supply software necessary for the data entry of all inspection information, on a cost recovery basis to cities and counties. 6. Upon request, the cities and counties may be supplied with inspection data. The Department may conduct random in-person observation of inspections conducted by the Municipality in order to ensure that the Municipality 's inspectors maintain practical proficiency in the program. Responsibilities of the Municipality The Municipality will enroll officers who have not met the minimum certification requirements for enforcement of Chapter 644 of the Code in training programs required by 37 TAC §4.13(b) necessary for certification. The Municipality will reimburse the Department for costs associated with any training provided by the Department under 37 TAC §4.13(b)(5). The Municipality will require all defects disclosed during the inspection process to be corrected. The Municipality will adopt the Recommended Out-of-Service and Other Defect Repair Verification Procedures as developed by CVSA. The Municipality agrees to honor the CVSA inspection decals affixed to those vehicles by all authorized agencies. It further agrees that CVSA decals shall be affixed to vehicles which pass the Level I or V CVSA inspection with no disqualifying violations under the North American Uniform Inspection Procedure and Out-of-Service Criteria. The Municipality will implement a program to ensure its officers perform the required inspections annually as specified in 37 TAC §4.13(c), and successfully complete the required annual certification training to maintain their certification. Municipality w I 1-i m- diately suspend,ft m performing-CVSA-enforcem-ent-and-in-spections------ any officer who fails to maintain his certification or who fails to perform the required inspections followi.ng the North American Uniform Inspection Procedure and Out-of-Service Criteria guidelines. MOU with Fort Worth Police Department, Traffic Division Page 2 of 5 (Revised 09-20-2004)PAMCCA Applications\MOUMOU.cloc If the Municipality wishes to continue their certification beyond the date specified in the Termination of Certification section of this MOU, the Municipality will mail or FAX a renewal request not more than sixty days nor less than thirty days prior to the expiration of this MOU. Pursuant to the Governor's directive function as the lead agency for purposes of administering participation in the Surface Transportation Assistance Act and to ensure the state's compliance, including its participating counties and municipalities, with the terms and conditions contained therein. The Municipality further agrees to the following conditions: 1. Inspections will only be conducted by the CVSA certified inspectors. 2. When performing inspections as described herein, said inspections shall be documented on the most recent version of forms approved by the Department and conducted following the guidelines approved by the Department. 3. Inspection data will be forwarded electronically to the Department within fifteen (15) days following the date of inspection for processing and final compliance using the most recent version of reporting. software.. 4. Any time an officer's certification status changes (is certified, suspended, or decertified for different types of inspections, or transferred out of the CVSA inspection program), the Municipality will notify the Department in writing within 10 days. A cumulative list of the officers whose status has changed will be sent to the Department by January 31 st of each year. 5. Accident reports involving commercial motor vehicles will be forwarded to the Department no later than ton (10) days after the date of the accident investigation. 6. Allow the Department to conduct random in-person observation of inspections conducted by the Municipality in order to ensure that the Municipality 's inspectors maintain practical proficiency in the program. Upon amendment of 37 TAC Chapter 4, Subchapter B, the Department will, if necessary, amend this MOU within a reasonable period of time. The date of any amendment under this paragraph will not affect the renewal date described in the next section. Termination of Certification UNLESS RENEWED, THIS MOU WILL EXPIRE ON June 1. 2006 To prevent a loss of authority to conduct CVSA inspections, please mail or FAX your renewal request to the Department no more than sixty or less than thirty days prior to the expiration of this MOU. Termination of certification, whether by decertification, request of the Municipality, or by failure to renew, will result in the inability of the Municipality, to retain expenses for any enforcement actions taken after the effective date of the termination of certification. All reporting requirements, including the list of officers suspended and no longer certified which is normally due by January 31st of each year, Inspection data reports and Accident reports must be provided to the Department immediately upon discontinuation in the certification program. for the Department in writing. The CVSA and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration require officers to complete a minimum number of inspections annually in order for officers to renew their certifications. The MOU with Fort Worth Police Department, Traffic Division Page 3 of 5 (Revised 09-20-2004)PAMCCA Applications\MOUs\MOU.doc Department will decertify the Municipality for failure to report any inspections to this Department within a six (6) month period, and may decertify the Municipality for failure to conduct a sufficient number of inspections over and above the minimum standards for the officers to maintain practical proficiency in the program. The Department may decertify the Municipality for failure to demonstrate practical proficiency in the program during random in-person observations by the Department. The Department may decertify the Municipality for failure to comply with the provisions of the MOU or the training, officer certification, or data-sharing requirements, including the requirement that the Municipality reimburse the Department for training expenses. ---Any-Termination of Certification terminates- the Municipality's authority to-.-enforce- federal safety regulations under Chapter 644 of the Code, and the Municipality's eligibility for reimbursement of expenses from penalties -assessed. The Department will* notify the program coordinator for the Municipality and the Texas Comptroller.-of Public Accounts in writing of any Termination of Certification. Program Coordinators The program coordinators for this agreement shall be responsible for all communications and contacts required to manage this agreement. The parties agree to provide any updates regarding contact information within 30 days. The current program coordinators for this agreement are: Municipality: Department: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Fort Worth Police Department Texas Highway Patrol Traffic Division Motor Carrier Bureau Sgt. Tim Ellis Lieutenant David L. Palmer Acting Manager Program Coordinator Program Coordinator 1100 Nashville Ave. MCB, P.O. Box 4087 - Fort Worth, Texas 76105 Austin Texas 78773-0522 Address Address (817) 871-7110 (512) 424-2053 Voice Phone Number Voice Phone Number (817) 871-7118 (512) 424-5712 Fax Number Fax Number timothy.elIis@fortworthgov.org david.paimer@txdps.state.tx.us E-mail Address E-mail Address --------- MOU with Fort Worth Police Department, Traffic Division Page 4 of 5 (Revised 09-20-2004)P.NMCCA Applications\MOUs\MOU.doc Evidence of Accep y parties: Signature of Aut riz d icia Signature of Authorized Official City of Fort worth TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Political Subdivision State Agency .Toe Paniagua THOMAS A. DAVIS, JR., COLONEL Name Name City Manager-- _.__-- ---. --- -- DIRECTOR Title ` Title Date Date < �����,D A FORM AND LEGALITY: � Assistant Cite ATTESTED BY Contract Authorization Date MOU with Fort Worth Police Department, Traffic Division Page 5 of 5 (Revised 09-20-2004)P-\MCCA Applications\MOUs\MOU.doc Citv of Fort Worth, Texas Mayor and Council Communication COUNCIL ACTION: Approved on 11/2/2004 DATE: Tuesday, November 02, 2004 LOG NAME: 35COMMERCIAL REFERENCE NO.: **C-20375 SUBJECT: Approval of an Agreement with the Texas Department of Public Safety for Enforcement of Federal Safety Regulations RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with the Texas Department of Public Safety to coordinate efforts in the inspection of commercial motor vehicles, their drivers and cargo within the City of Fort Worth. DISCUSSION: The Texas Administrative Code (Title 37, Part 1, Chapter 3) identifies regulations governing transportation safety and commercial vehicles. This Code incorporates federal regulations and authorizes local municipalities to enforce these regulations with appropriately trained and certified officers with an executed agreement with the Texas Department of Public Safety. This expands the available citations, the ability to take unsafe commercial vehicles out of service and the ability to perform safety inspections without any preceding offense. The intent of this partnership is to maximize the effective utilization of commercial motor vehicle, driver, and cargo inspection resources; to avoid duplication of effort and to expand the number of inspections performed; to advance uniformity of inspection; and to minimize delays in schedules incurred by the industry inherent to this type of enforcement activity. In 2002 and 2003, more than 1,000 accidents involving commercial motor vehicles occurred annually in Fort Worth. The goal of the program is to reduce accidents caused by equipment failure and driver behavior. City staff will continue to track these outcomes. This agreement allows the City of Fort Worth to retain associated ticket revenue equivalent up to 110% of the cost of operating the program. Currently, two officers and a sergeant are assigned to this activity. FISCAL INFORMATIONICERTIFICATION: The Finance Director certifies that funds are available, as appropriate, in the current operating budget, of the General Fund, and the Municipal Court Department is responsible for collection of revenue under this agreement. Logname: 35COMMERCIAL Page I of 2 TO Fund/Account/Centers FROM Fund/Account/Centers GG01 VARIOUS 0356500 $0.00 GG01 VARIOUS 0381000 $0.00 Submitted for City Manager's Office by_ Joe Paniagua (6140) Originating Department Head: Ralph Mendoza (392-4210) Additional Information Contact: Susan Alanis (392-4221) Logname: 35COMI\4ERCIAL Page 2 of 2