CM-08-04-081CITY MANAGER BLUE SHEET FORMAT
DATE: April 4, 2008
SUBJECT: City Manager Approval
ITEM: Memorandum of Understanding between the Texas Department
of Public Safety (DPS) and the City of Round Rock Police
Department
Department:
Staff Person:
Justification:
Police Department
Rick White/Sherrill Voll
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DPS
and the City of Round Rock Police Department is needed so
that our police officers can enforce both federal and state
laws regarding commercial motor vehicles. Currently our
officers only have the ability to enforce state laws when
they stop commercial motor vehicles. This does not allow
them to address vehicle or driver safety issues that may
be identified through an inspection of the vehicle and the
driver's log. Currently, DPS must be called out to perform
inspections and put commercial motor vehicles out of
service if necessary. Signing this MOU will allow our
officers to enforce federal standards as well as allow them
to begin the necessary certification process.
Funding:
Cost: $0.00
Source of funds: N/A
Background Information: DPS has established timeliness and accuracy
standards for itself and for counties and
municipalities engaged in the inspection of
commercial motor vehicles. By signing this
MOU, the City of Round Rock agrees that their
authorized inspection representatives will
implement procedures in accordance with the
minimum standards contained within the
MOU.
Updated 3-10-05
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
Between
THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
(The `Department")
-and-
THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS
(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 number 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 it is very important to ensure the timeliness and
accuracy of information recorded about both interstate and intrastate motor carriers in their
respective carrier profiles. To this end, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has
imposed timeliness and accuracy standards on the Department regarding information about
motor carriers. The Department, in turn, has established timeliness and accuracy standards for
itself and for counties and municipalities engaged in the inspection of commercial motor
vehicles.
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.shtml ),
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
Level II
Level III
Level IV
Level VI
North American Standard
Walkaround Inspection
Driver Only Inspection
Special Inspection
Vehicle -Only Inspection (Terminal)
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 stickers. 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.
7. Forward challenges of data in inspections or accident reports to the municipalities
and counties for their investigation.
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 prior to using these officers for commercial vehicle
enforcement. 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.
The Municipality will immediately suspend from performing CVSA enforcement and
inspections any officer who fails to maintain his certification or who fails to perform the required
inspections following the North American Uniform Inspection Procedure and Out -of -Service
Criteria guidelines.
If the Municipality wishes to continue commercial vehicle enforcement 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; hard copies will be mailed to
the Department immediately thereafter.
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 31st of each year.
5. Crash reports involving commercial motor vehicles will be forwarded to the
Department no later than ten (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.
7. The Municipality will maintain the official copy of all reports of inspections
conducted by its CVSA certified inspectors for the current calendar year, and two
additional years. The official copy may be in paper or retrievable electronic form,
and must bear the signature of the commercial motor vehicle driver involved in the
inspection.
8. When data in an inspection or crash report is challenged, the Municipality will
investigate and determine whether a correction to the data needs to be made.
The Municipality will notify the motor carrier and the Department in writing of the
results of the investigation within 10 days. If a correction is necessary, the
Municipality will make the correction and forward the corrected reports to the
Department immediately.
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 September 1, 2008 * * *
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
st
normally due by January 31 of each year, Inspection data reports and Accident reports must
be provided to the Department immediately upon discontinuation in the certification program.
The Municipality may discontinue certification at any time by notifying the Program
Coordinator 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
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 and the
requirement that the Municipality forward information and respond to requests in a timely
manner.
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:
CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS
Chief Bryan Williams
Chief of Police
Program Coordinator
615 East Palm Valley Blvd
Round Rock, Texas 78664
Address
(512) 218-5500
Voice Phone Number
(512) 218-6681
Fax Number
bwilliams@ round-rock.tx.us
E-mail Address
Evidence of Acceptance by parties:
ure of Authorized Official
City of Round Rock, Texas
Political Subdivision
JAMES R. NUSE, P.E.
Name
CITY MANAGER
Department:
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
Texas Highway Patrol
Motor Carrier Bureau
Captain David L. Palmer
Manager
Program Coordinator
MCB, P.O. Box 4087
Austin, Texas 78773-0522
Address
(512) 424-2053
Voice Phone Number
(512) 424-5712
Fax Number
david.paimerOtxdDs.state.tx. us
E-mail Address
Signature of Authorized Official
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
State Agency
THOMAS A. DAVIS, JR., COLONEL
Name
DIRECTOR
Title Title
4-3'0
Date Date