Grand jury calls for more transparency

The Calaveras County grand jury report released Thursday calls for a better response to future jury reports and seeks greater government transparency.

Reviewing responses from the county administrative officer and Board of Supervisors to the previous three years of grand jury reports, the 2008-09 panel noted, “In some instances the CAO and the BOS merely adopt and/or concur with the responses from others rather than provide their own responses to recommendations as requested.”

“The continued practice of adopting and/or concurring with the responses from others will be viewed as a refusal to respond, and non-compliant respondents will be referred to County Counsel and the Superior Court for Code enforcement,” the jury’s report warns.

The county is further taken to task on executing a certificate of participation to fund the purchase of land to accommodate a new jail. Funds approved in Measure J did not cover the additional land purchase to suit the new facility.

Without a public vote on the certificates, the county assumes an obligation of $14.6 million with a 30-year payback schedule, the report notes.

Though the grand jury found the jail certificate and other certificates of participation issued were legally initiated and implemented, it also found “there appears to be little understanding or awareness of this type of financing on the part of the public.”

The jury further recommends the county issue an end-of-the-fiscal-year report on each certificate.

Future use of the funding method ought to include “full disclosure to the public of the need for the project using clear and understandable language ... full disclosure of the anticipated costs of the project including future interest charges over the life of the bonds, Bond Counsel charges, and insurance fees (and) financial disclosure in any County entities’ meeting agendas when the COP is on the calendar.”

In other findings, the grand jury noted poor accounting done on behalf of Copperopolis Fire Protection District.

The department employed a professional payroll service one year ago but still must hire an independent auditor to examine the financial records for the 2007-08 fiscal year, the jury recommended.

Ironically, the jury’s review of the county library system calls for increasing its materials budget and adding staff and hours of operation at branch libraries.

The library branch system is recommended for closure in the preliminary 2009-10 budget discussed this week by the Board of Supervisors. The budget is set for a July 8 vote.

The most notable finding of last year’s grand jury report was a scathing review of the professionalism of then-Community Development Agency Director Stephanie Moreno. In the report’s aftermath, Moreno was let go with an $89,300 settlement after her attorney threatened a sex discrimination suit.

The 2008-09 jury took issue with the settlement, saying such a deal “should be based on specific charges against the County and not on threats.”