Written by Elizabeth Larson
Thursday, 09 July 2009
LAKE COUNTY – Allegations of perjury, complaints about the county Office of Education, a local water district's financial controls, a city development project and oversight of local detention facilities are among the dozens of investigations contained in the 2008-09 Lake County Grand Jury Report.
The report was released to county department heads and agencies on July 2, according to Bron Locke, the outgoing foreman, who has held that position for two years. It became available to the media and general public on Wednesday.
The document appears to be the largest report, in volume, that the grand jury has produced locally. It comes in at 271 pages, surpassing the 254-page 2007-08 report.
A letter from the grand jury that introduces the report explains that it contains 56 total reports produced by seven committees – budget and finance, government services, health and social services, planning and public works, public safety, public services and ad hoc.
Of its investigations, three were turned over the Lake County District Attorney's Office for further review and potential investigation.
Two complaints that the grand jury didn't undertake also were sent along to the district attorney, the report explained.
The grand jury conducts several annual oversight inquiries that include the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake, and the Board of Supervisors.
During the 2008 election, grand jurors had the opportunity to observe the Registrar of Voters' handling of a presidential election. The grand jury made recommendations about improving voting precincts at Clearlake City Hall, which it found to be “unorganized, chaotic and noisy.”
Jurors also investigated last summer's findings of a large illicit marijuana garden that Supervisor Rob Brown found on his property while clearing brush. The grand jury concluded that it found no evidence to suggest Brown was involved with the illegal crop.
Among its investigations were a continuing look into the Lake County Office of Education, which had been the source of a partial investigation that was released in last year's report, as Lake County News has reported.
One of the report's most in-depth investigations centered on the Clearlake Oaks County Water District and its fiscal challenges. The grand jury made 35 findings and 28 recommendations, most of them centering on better financial controls and personnel policies.
The grand jury also investigated several complaints.
Those included an allegation that the district attorney abused prosecutorial discretion by writing a “Brady letter” regarding an officer's credibility to his commander. The report noted that such letters can seriously damage a law enforcement officer's career. The letter, which blocked out the officer's name, noted that a case of perjury against the officer had been forwarded to the District Attorney's Office, but it wasn't prosecuted due to insufficient evidence.
Another complaint involved Brown Act violations and lack of transparency relating to the City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District property, which the council has wanted to develop for housing.
Considerable space in the report also was donated to the county's jail and detention facilities and how they are managed.
More in-depth explanations of the report's key points and its major investigations will be the subject of upcoming Lake County News articles.
“Overall I think it's a good report and it contains many recommendations that will be of help to the county,” said County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox. “It's well organized and presented in a very professional manner.”
The report offers recommendations and seeks response from a variety of elected officials – who have 60 days to give a response to the Board of Supervisors – and agencies, which must respond in 90 days, the report explains.
The 19 grand jurors for 2008-09 included Foreman Bron Locke, Joy Allred, Ginny Cline, Richart Everts, Pauline Hauser, Phil Myers, Lonny Rittler, Linda Alexander, Harold Dietrich, Ken Fountain, Dave Johnson, Ron Nagy, Steve Tellardin, Melissa Bentley, Mike Daugherty, Kathy Harrell, Tom Marquette, Larry Platz and Carol Vedder.
The group logged approximately 75,285 miles during its year of investigations, according to the report.
With the 2008-09 report now released, it was time to discharge the group that created it to make way for the 2009-10 grand jurors, who were sworn in and seated Wednesday morning in a ceremony in Lake County Superior Court's Department 2, with Judge Richard Martin presiding.
Also on hand were Judge David Herrick, Judge Arthur Mann, County Counsel Anita Grant, County Auditor-Controller Pam Cochrane, District Attorney Jon Hopkins, Cox and several outgoing grand jurors.
Several of the jurors will stay on for an additional year, including Bentley, Johnson, Myers and Vedder. New members include John Bain, Lakeport; Rose Marie Blackwell, Clearlake Oaks; William Brunner, Lakeport; Fred Christensen, Lakeport; Venoma Gill, Clearlake; Wanda Harris, Hidden Valley Lake; Larry Heine, Lower Lake; Marilyn Johnson, Lakeport; Steve Keen, Glenhaven; Douglas Martin, Lucerne; Gerald Morehouse, Lucerne; Jack Scialabba, Clearlake; and Diane Trudeau, Cobb. Dustin Gillham of Lakeport also was on the list but didn't show up to be impaneled during the ceremony.
The new grand jury is hitting the ground running, with a training scheduled for Thursday, said Christensen, who Judge Martin appointed as foreman.
Christensen has experience on various commissions and boards in other areas. “My familiarity with governmental institutions is pretty thorough.”
He said the holdover grand jurors from last year will be “a great asset” to the new grand jury.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
http://lakeconews.com/content/view/9429/764/
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