Thursday, July 8, 2010

Sutter County grand jury report offers few recommendations

July 07, 2010 09:42:00 PM
By Howard Yune/Appeal-Democrat

Amid financial turbulence in the Mid-Valley, Sutter County's grand jury has issued a quiet report on local government.

For the second straight year, drama was in short supply in the annual report on county, Yuba City and Live Oak activities, which the 19-member grand jury released Wednesday. Jurors largely contented themselves with calling for incremental fixes in various agencies — and crediting most departments with keeping up services even as tax revenue and state payments have withered during the Great Recession.

"This year has been very challenging, with the budget crisis and the shuffling of responsibilities and personnel," wrote Patrick Calkins, the grand jury foreman. "... We did not make a lot of recommendations and findings in our report where money was an issue."

Among the few complaints from jurors were the lack of standardized purchase reports among county departments, a weakness the 2009 grand jury also noted.

Other recommendations included upgrading the county jail's minimum-security section to medium security; modifying entrances at the county Child Support Services building considered security risks; seeking grants to refurbish the Yuba-Sutter Juvenile Hall; and adding more health care services at the Leo Chesney Community Correctional Facility, the minimum-security women's prison in Live Oak.

CONTACT Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com.

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/jury-96834-report-county.html

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