Monday, August 4, 2014

(Mendocino County) Grand jury reports often go unheeded


July 30, 2014
Ukiah Daily Journal
Letter to the Editor

Apparently the efforts of the county grand jury result in nothing more than a futile exercise. The grand jury investigates selected government financed county operations and provides their findings and recommendation based on all the facts discovered and published in a public report. Whereupon the county administration goes into denial and obfuscation indicating that the grand jury has got it all wrong and the Board of Supervisors are reluctant to admit anything could be done wrong during their watch..
It is a shame that the dedicated work of 19 volunteer jurors who spend one year delving into the county government morass on behalf of the residents of the county is often covered over and soon dismissed.
Such is the case of the grand jury report on the County Free Library. I encourage anyone with the capability to obtain a copy of this report. It is available either by hard copy at one of the libraries or on the internet at the grand jury website, www.co.mendocino.ca.us.grandjury/. It is an in-depth review of the county library system from the very beginning to the present. The process of government that has unfolded over the years will be of interest. Unfortunately the report does not reflect well on the county administration.
Of special interest will be your comparison of the responses by the county CEO to the findings of the report. The only force that the grand jury has is the power of truth. If these truths are covered up, the work of the jurors on the grand jury will be for naught. We should all read these reports and evaluate these truths for ourselves.
— Don Howard, Ukiah

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