June
24, 2014
The
Union of Grass Valley
By Keri Brenner
Mystic Mine Road Community
Services District is “dysfunctional” and, as a result, its roads have not been
properly maintained, a new grand jury report says.
The Nevada County grand jury’s
report, released Monday, indicates that only Golden Eagle and Mystic Mine roads
are being maintained, despite a mandate for all roads in the district’s
97-parcel area to be kept up.
The grand jury, which received
a complaint about road maintenance on Oct. 9, 2013, also found that the
district did not use competitive bidding to control maintenance and repair
costs.
“Thus, the district does not
have a way of knowing whether they are getting fair value for their money,” the
report says.
In addition, the district
reported to the grand jury that all of its tax revenue ($120 annually for each
of 97 parcels = $11,640) were spent on road maintenance. However, the Nevada
County Auditor-Controller’s Office said there was a current balance of $23,205
in the district accounts as of March 5.
In other findings, the grand
jury found the Mystic Mine District’s by-laws have not been updated, despite an
urging to do so in the 2012-13 grand jury report.
Also, the grand jury questioned
whether the independent audit fees itemized by the district were too high.
“The board should obtain quotes
from qualified audit firms and select that which would be most cost-effective,”
the report says. “The board should also investigate alternate audit procedures
with the Nevada county Auditor-Controller’s Office.”
Mystic Mine Road Community
Services District, located off the Rough and Ready Highway near Penn Valley, is
one of 24 independent special districts in Nevada County and was established by
the county board of supervisors in 1981.
It has no full-time employees
and the five-member elected board are all volunteers.
To see a copy of the report,
visit the Nevada County website at
http://www.nevadacountycourts.com/documents/gjreports/1213-SPD-MysticMineRoadCommun.pdf.
To contact Staff Writer Keri
Brenner, email kbrenner@theunion.com or call 530-477-4239.
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