July
18, 2014
San
Jose Mercury News
By Bonnie
Eslinger, Daily News Staff Writer
The work of the 2013-14 San Mateo County
Civil Grand Jury ended last week with the release of its final report, which
called for dissolving a "dysfunctional" harbor district board.
Of the 10 reports it issued, that one stood
out from the previous ones for its strongly worded criticisms. In contrast, the
nine previous reports have been relatively soft on their targets.
For example, a report it released earlier
last week recommended a handful of measures to enhance safety on the county's
new Devil's Slide cliff trail, such as getting a guardrail that kids can't
crawl under and installing an emergency call box or improving cellphone service
along the trail.
The grand jury also followed up on a
citizen's concern about whether buildings at the San Mateo County Event Center
are earthquake-safe. Its resulting three-page report states they indeed comply
with applicable seismic standards, but notes "this does not imply that any
of these buildings meet 2014 seismic performance standards."
An investigation into the county's system for
inspecting restaurants and other food vendors found that the process "is
functioning in a very satisfactory manner and should be maintained as
such," although the grand jury gently pointed out the health department
could do a better job of updating and maintaining the accuracy of its online
inspection results.
The 19-member grand jury's approach likely
varies from year to year, depending on the foreperson, acknowledged Kati
Martin, who led the current group.
"This year, not all of the reports were
scathing ... I'm sure the way I conducted the grand jury this year was a little
less aggressive," said Martin, who is retired. "I know it was less
aggressive than in previous years; just different personalities."
The grand jury's other investigations focused
on a range of concerns, including financial abuse of elders, the relationship
between charter schools and traditional public schools, overcrowding at the
county's jails and the adequacy of special district websites.
Established in all of California's 58
counties as required by state law, civil grand juries are "charged and
sworn to investigate or inquire into county matters of civil concern,"
according to the penal code. Working independently and confidentially, civil
grand juries are supposed to investigate the operations of local public
agencies and inquire into matters of corruption or misconduct, the California
Grand Jurors Association states on its website.
"We are the watchdogs. We are there to
see what's being done, if it's being done correctly and if it can be done
better," said Barbara Arietta, president of the San Mateo County Association
of Grand Jurors, an organization of former grand jury members that aims to
encourage others to volunteer for the job.
Arrietta proudly pointed to past civil grand
jury reports, including one that scrutinized the rising and unsustainable
salaries and benefits being given to city employees in the county.
And in 2009, the grand jury recommended that
the county switch from electing supervisors at large to by district. The
supervisors didn't immediately act on that recommendation back then, although
they did place the question on the ballot two years ago in the wake of a civil
rights lawsuit; voters approved the change.
Jason Wacha, an attorney who served as deputy
foreman of this year's grand jury, agreed with Martin that the group shouldn't
focus solely on the negative.
"We don't just investigate places where
there are potential problems," Wacha said during an interview last week
that included Martin. "We look at things sometimes and say, 'You may not
realize it sometimes, public, but this department we looked at, it's actually
really efficiently run and with their limited resources are doing a very good
job, and here's some of the stuff they've accomplished.'"
By way of example, he said the grand jury
looked at the county's adult detention facilities and concluded that their
overcrowded conditions will be "alleviated" when the new jail opens
in Redwood City next year. It also noted there's no overcrowding at the
juvenile facilities and that programs are in place for both adults and youths
to reduce recidivism. The main problem was a lack of data showing the programs'
effectiveness, the grand jury said.
"What we found is there are so many
dedicated people in this county, particularly with regard to juvenile
offenders," Martin said. "(But) there's not real good procedures in
place for measuring their success and telling the public about it."
What the grand jury decided to investigate
hinged in part on members' own interests as well as complaints filed by
residents, he said. It also took suggestions from the heads of county
departments and other public agencies.
Wacha said he couldn't disclose what
percentage of reports came from a county or city insider, citing the grand
jury's mandate to operate confidentially. Even if a report states it was
generated by a citizen complaint, "the citizen could be the head of a
department," he said.
Beate Boultinghouse, president of the
California Grand Jurors Association, said it's not unusual for an employee --
or even a department head -- to make a suggestion to the grand jury. But the
group ultimately has to maintain its independence and get at least a 12-vote
supermajority to approve all investigations.
Martin and Wacha said this year's grand jury
maintained that autonomy and all inquiries were thoroughly vetted by the whole
group.
Email Bonnie Eslinger at beslinger@dailynewsgroup.com;
follow her at twitter.com/bonnieeslinger.
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