[San Joaquin County] New Fire Chief Says He’s Fixing Problems Called Out By Civil Grand Jury

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY (CBS13) — A local fire district is under fire after a new investigation found it’s been mismanaging public money for years.

Now a civil grand jury is recommending the district get help from nearby fire companies.

The Mokelumne Rural Fire District handles service calls for the towns of Victor and Lockeford. The civil grand jury says that it’s having trouble managing operations in these two small towns and that it may be time to consolidate with other fire districts.

The grand jury report released on Thursday says the district lacks leadership and financial responsibility. The investigation says the board did not properly oversee the budget and operations.

The district has been plagued with problems. An administrative assistant has been charged with stealing public funds, the police chief abruptly left last year, and the district was forced to close its Victor station to save money.

The district’s new chief, Robert Tuitavuki agrees with the report.

“There was a history, unfortunately, of misappropriation of funds,” he said.

Since taking command last summer, he says he’s been working to fix decades of financial problems.

He’s also focused on restoring morale with the department’s nine firefighters.

“I wanted them to concentrate on why we exist,” he said. “When 911 calls, the bell hits, we go. We’re operation ready to go. Our equipment is ready to go. We’re in the right frame of mind physically and mentally.”

The civil grand jury says a total of eight local fire districts could benefit by consolidating into one large district. That would eliminate 87 elected and appointed positions and unify the command.

The chief says he’s prepared to respond to the civil grand jury with the improvements the district has made in the past year.

As for consolidation, the chief says he’s not opposed to it and that nothing is off the table, but it’s a decision that would have to be made by all eight fire districts.

The district has 90 days to respond to the grand jury report.

June 18, 2015

CBS Sacramento

By Leigh Martinez