Supervisors on Tuesday [March 3] will
consider allocating $5,406 to the San Benito County Civil Grand Jury so it can
continue functioning through the fiscal year ending June 30.
San Benito County civil grand
jury is running out of money and has not been meeting. Supervisors responded
last by setting up an ad hoc committee on the matter, as some officials said
they would support allocating additional funds for the rest of the fiscal year
while cutting back on compensation to jurors in some areas.
The changes prompted one
current grand juror—the group is below its specified allotment of 19 members—to
proclaim that the action will dissolve the civil grand jury.
The civil grand jury
investigates and reports on entities using taxpayer dollars and reconvenes on
an annual basis. Its members are made up of local residents who volunteer for
the job.
At last Tuesday’s county board
meeting, supervisors heard from grand jurors about the need for more funding in
order to keep meeting through the fiscal year ending in June. The grand jury is
on pace to soon exceed its 2014-15 budget of $19,500 and was asking for $12,800
to get through the rest of the year. Grand jury budgets over the prior four
years had gradually increased to $19,500, the amount budgeted this fiscal year
ending June 30.
This coming Tuesday, the board
will weigh the additional funding. Supervisors will also consider an ordinance
to change the pay structure for grand jurors. The proposed mileage reimbursement
list does not include committee meetings, with those payments to grand jurors
helping to cause the budget shortfall this year.
The board is set to meet at 9
a.m. Tuesday at the County Administration Building, 481 Fourth St.
February 25, 2015
San
Benito County Today, Hollister Free Lance
Posted
by Kollin Kosmicki
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