Under a new three-year intergovernmental agreement, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians will pay $3.1 million to the City of San Bernardino to provide law enforcement services in city neighborhoods that surround the tribe’s reservation.
The agreement, signed last week, is an outgrowth of the tribal-state gaming compact entered into by the San Manuel Band, a press release issued by the tribe said. It provides a framework for the tribe and city to support a consistent level of law enforcement services in neighborhoods served by the San Bernardino Police Department through funding and ongoing cooperation between city police and the tribe.
The funds provided in the agreement will cover the cost of six San Bernardino police officers, one sergeant, a part-time detective along with crossing guards and support vehicles and equipment for the three-year period.
The San Manuel’s 800-acre reservation is located near Highland, Calif. The tribe owns/operates San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, which employs about 3,000 people.
The area covered in the agreement has always been within the jurisdiction of the City of San Bernardino, said Jerry Paresa, the tribe’s chief administrative officer; thus, the SBPD patrols and responds to this area.
Under the tribal-state compact, the tribe had paid into a Special Distribution Fund, Paresa said, and some of these funds went to the County of San Bernardino and were put into a special account to pay for any impacts to the community from gaming.
Under S.B. 621, signed into law in 2003, a committee was formed to distribute funds for services in the form of grants sponsored by the San Manuel. Since the 2003/04 fiscal year, Paresa said, some funds have been appropriated to offset the cost of policing in this area by the SBPD. There has never been a written agreement between the tribe and city for these services.
With a 2006 amendment to the compact, however, the tribe no longer has to pay into the Special Distribution Fund.
“The tribe, in turn, decided to assist the city with the on-going costs of policing in the neighborhood and did so at a level that eclipsed previous funding through the grant,” Paresa said.
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