Friday, July 02, 2010
By Adam Breen
Property assessment process criticized; praise for county jail
School safety, the antiquated process for conducting property assessments, and annual reviews of the county jail and juvenile hall are among the 10 topics addressed in the annual San Benito County Civil Grand Jury report, scheduled to be published in the next week or so.
Since last September, 19 jurors have investigated public complaints and concerns about governmental agencies, with the goal of recommending remedies to any problems found.
"We make recommendations that we feel should be addressed," said Patrick McKenzie, foreman of this year's grand jury. "(Agencies) respond to those recommendations - whether they agree with them and will do something about them; disagree with them; or they say they can't deal with them due to budget issues. The power of the grand jury lies in the fact that you have a public record of their responses. It's putting them on the record."
Outdated assessment procedures
The grand jury was particularly critical of the way the county assessor's office handles requests for reassessing residential property, calling the procedures "confusing and antiquated."
The ongoing recession has resulted in the reduction of property values, prompting a number of requests for the assessor's office to review its valuation of property. Lower assessed valuations result in lower property taxes.
According to the grand jury report, such requests are "filed in an overflowing plastic file envelope stapled to the office wall."
"There is no contact with the homeowner after he/she signs the yellow legal pad as directed by the office staff," the report said. "The homeowner is left to believe that something is being done, when little or nothing is being done."
What's more, the report notes, the selection of properties to be reviewed is arbitrary and assessors do "limited visual inspection."
According to the report, the assessor's office claims the department "lacks the time and resources to return calls or give written notification to each inquiry or request from property owners," thus creating a three- to four-year backlog of assessment review requests.
There is also at least a four-year backlog of assessment appeals being reviewed and brought before the county board of supervisors.
The grand jury recommends that the assessor's office streamline its processes and "establish a more professional and data-based process for the reassessment of property value."
Property owners who come into the office requesting an assessment review should be given guidance and/or the appropriate appeals forms rather than simply signing a piece of paper, the report said, and there should also be "timely follow-up contact" by the assessor's office.
The assessor's office's response is expected to be included in the grand jury's final report.
School safety
Responding to complaints that elementary school children were being dropped off at local schools before specified drop-off times, being left unsupervised and unprotected, the grand jury spent time at several schools and interviewed staff of the county office of education.
During the grand jury visits, it was found that students were not being left at schools before gates were opened or supervision was present, though it was noted that those visits occurred after the issue was brought up with school administrators.
Although that issue had been addressed, the grand jury noted that traffic congestion around schools created a safety problem for students and other pedestrians and that cars were often parked illegally while parents accompanied their children to and from school grounds.
"We're happy with their response and now it's public record that it was a problem that was dealt with," McKenzie said. "Hopefully, they'll try to deal with it from now on.
As for the congestion, there was no particular answer to that quickly. It's a problem at various schools."
The grand jury report recommends that the county transit system be considered as an alternative means of transporting children to and from school and that the Hollister Police Department and San Benito County Sheriff's Office establish regular safety patrols during arrival and dismissal times.
According to McKenzie, local law enforcement agencies said limited staffing limits their ability to patrol the area around all schools every day.
Juvenile Hall is safe
The grand jury annually reviews juvenile hall and county jail operations, and this year offered praise for both facilities.
"Juvenile Hall is operating in a safe, secure and effective manner," the report stated, adding that staff members are "exceptionally caring, involved and committed."
The report called for the replacement of an outdated on-site washing machine - which has been done - and noted that the hall offers limited rehabilitative and treatment programs for inmates.
The grand jury recommends that juvenile hall hire a part-time person or service to assume ongoing custodial and maintenance tasks and explore the possibility of hiring a program manager/grant writer to seek money for and coordinate rehabilitative programs.
"They're trying but hiring extra people is probably not going to happen" because of budgetary concerns, McKenzie said. "They have said they'll continue to explore the possibility of hiring a program manager."
Jail improves
The county jail is "well-run and well-maintained," according to the grand jury, which notes that prisoner safety is "assured" and there have been no murders or suicides since the jail was built in 1992 at a cost of $7 million.
Jail staffers are "well-trained and experienced" and prisoners are treated with respect and provided with a variety of support services.
"We're very happy with what the coordinators of both facilities have done," McKenzie said. "There were quite a few concerns a few years ago but the facility is in much better condition than when I looked at it a year and a half ago."
Other local issues
The grand jury also looked into questions or complaints about the county's Vector Control Program for mosquito abatement and the funding of San Juan Bautista's new water and sewer system. The jury made no recommendations about either issue.
Final report
The final grand jury report will contain recommendations about the issues that were investigated and a copy will be distributed to public officials, county libraries and the media. The county board of supervisors must respond to each of the grand jury's recommendations within 90 days.
A copy of the final report will be available at the San Benito County library and the county courthouse on Fifth Street in Hollister, the Luck Library in San Juan Bautista, and online at www.sanbenitocountygrandjury.org.
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