LAKE COUNTY>> In light of the Pawnee, Ranch and River fires, Lake County officials and administrators appealed to presiding Judge Andrew Blum and were granted a 30 day extension on response deadlines to the Grand Jury’s 2018 Final Report.
The function of the Grand Jury, comprised of county citizens, is to examine county and city government and special districts to ensure their duties are being lawfully carried out. The Grand Jury reviewed and evaluated procedures, methods and systems used by local governmental entities to determine whether more efficient and/or economical programs may be employed. This year’s Grand Jury filed their final report on June 20.
According to information made available to the Record-Bee by county administration, the new deadlines for responses to the Grand Jury’s findings and recommendations are Thursday, Oct. 18 for the Board of Supervisors and Tuesday, Sept. 18 for other county officials.
In a letter dated Aug. 3 addressed to Blum, County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson wrote that the county’s resources had been stretched in a variety of directions and as a consequence, numerous significant priorities would be delayed.
Huchingson added that since many county offices and the Lakeport Branch of the Superior Court itself was closed the week of June 30 due to mandatory evacuations, and since the closure of county offices likewise hindered staff’s ability to gather information related to the county’s departmental and the Board of Supervisors’ Civil Grand Jury Report responses, in the interest of productively furthering the public discourse on the issues raised by the Grand Jury, and “in light of significant and ongoing circumstances” county officials requested the court consider extending responses by one week, a request which was granted by the court through Court Executive Officer Krista LeVier.
The City of Clearlake recently approved their responses. Other cities and county entities will follow suit.
Huchingson said The County of Lake will appropriately and transparently respond to the Grand Jury’s report as is standard practice.
“Our responses will be made public in a timely manner, that is, prior to the deadline for the Board’s response (October 18). We want to provide well considered, appropriate responses,” said Huchingson, noting in the county’s request for additional time that disaster response and recovery responsibilities would further challenge the county’s ability to prioritize the responses over the coming weeks.
August 28, 2018
Record Bee
By Ariel Carmona, Jr.
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