By Zachary K. Johnson
Record Staff Writer
June 21, 2011 12:00 AM
STOCKTON - The county morgue is "deplorable," a fire chief was wrongly demoted and elected officials, from school board trustees to fire district directors, need to do a better job of following state laws designed to keep government transparent to the public.
Those are some of the findings in the latest and last batch of reports from the 2010-11 San Joaquin County grand jury.
On Monday, the jury released its final report, which included a mandated inspection of how criminal offenders are housed in state and local institutions. In general, incarcerating agencies received high marks.
The aging morgue, operated by the San Joaquin County Sheriff-Coroner's Office, did not.
The morgue is deteriorating from wear and tear, has dry rot, contains asbestos and is too small for a county the size of San Joaquin, according to the jury, which also found that the asbestos, coupled with cancer-causing chemicals used to store tissue samples, creates a health hazard to those working in and visiting the morgue.
The grand jury called on members of the Board of Supervisors to tour the facility and urged the county to immediately relocate or replace it. "The grand jury finds the condition of this morgue to be deplorable," the report said.
When it was built, during the Great Depression, the facility was used as a crematorium for the county hospital. Part of that legacy is the storage of cremated remains of 5,574 poor people dating back to 1935. The facility did not become the county morgue until the 1980s.
Its two offices are converted crematories, and the morgue has room for 23 corpses and temporary storage for six more, according to the report. Last year, the Coroner's Office handled 2,621 of the county's 4,493 deaths.
Sheriff-Coroner Steve Moore said he agreed with the jury's report. "We want a new facility, absolutely, and we're looking forward to that one day."
Moore said he's talked about morgue conditions with other county officials and has suggested a partnership with neighboring Stanislaus County. Budget shortages in recent years have stalled efforts at finding a solution.
For now, the chemicals are handled appropriately, and the building meets state workplace safety standards, he said.
In San Joaquin County's proposed spending plan for the next fiscal year, part of a budget gap is closed with funds intended for building new facilities. However, the budget proposal does include $5,000 to install a ventilation fan at the morgue. Poor airflow in the autopsy room also was flagged by the grand jury.
Highlights of Monday's reports from the grand jury:
» Lodi Unified Trustee Richard Jones should not have remained in meetings where other board members discussed matters concerning the Lodi Boys & Girls Club, of which Jones is president, the grand jury found. It determined that Jones' presence constituted a conflict of interest, even though Jones was found to have abstained from votes related to the Boys & Girls Club, which operates after-school programs in Lodi Unified.
» The grand jury found that the board of the tiny Oak View Union Elementary School District in Acampo should operate with greater transparency.
In the most serious finding, the grand jury determined that a relative of a board member was allowed into a closed-session meeting. Such meetings are supposed to be open only to board members and essential support staff. The single-school Oak View Union district serves 400 students.
» French Camp-McKinley Fire District Fire Chief Richard Rallios was not properly notified about an investigation before he was interrogated in a district investigation, according to the grand jury, which also found that his temporary demotion last year violated state law. Rallios has since retired.
» The grand jury also reported that a meeting involving Rallios, a board member and the assistant chief was recorded by the assistant chief. The jury reported it "could not find any law which requires notification of recording." It was not clear from the report why that recorded meeting would not violate state law - Penal Code 632 - prohibiting recording of confidential communication without consent. The jury recommended the district develop a policy mandating notification of recordings to all participants in meetings.
» The grand jury witnessed the fire district's governing board violating state open meeting laws but noted the board moved quickly to correct the violations and is now "working hard" on learning the rules that must be followed.
Reporters Roger Phillips and Scott Smith contributed to this report.
Contact reporter Zachary K. Johnson at (209) 546-8258 or zjohnson@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/johnsonblog.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110621/A_NEWS/106210324/-1/A_NEWS14
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