The report includes a first-time review of Lake County Veterans Services
LAKE COUNTY — The Lake County Civil Grand Jury released its annual report on Thursday, distributing it to local government bodies, elected officials and others affected by its findings.
The 2018-2019 report investigates aspects of the county’s foster care system, sheriff’s office, the veterans services office, senior care programs and county jail, among other topics.
Mandated by the California constitution, civil grand juries exist in every county statewide and are tasked with the investigation of officers, departments and agencies of local government. This is often referred to as a “watchdog” function.
The release of the Lake County grand jury’s report came a month late this year—when compared to its usual annual release date of June 30—following a denial of extra funding for the jury by the Lake County Board of Supervisors, among other factors.
At its June 11 meeting, the board denied the jury’s request for $5,000 to cover costs incurred above its $65,000 budget.
District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown, who has been critical of the grand jury, asked during that meeting: “They’re the ones that are the most critical of every other agency, regarding budget and all this other stuff, yet they’re allowed to just jack their budget up with impunity? I’m not for that.”
Outgoing grand jury foreman Mark Rothrock said Thursday that the denial of extra funds had forced the jury to find another way to print its report, which is usually printed by a private local printing company for a cost of about $2,800. Instead, this year, the jury members used the county’s equipment, printing and collating the pages of the reports themselves.
This cost about $700, said Rothrock, who noted it was a “slow process” that delayed the release of the report. The second major factor in that delay, he said, was that the county’s legal counsel performed a lengthy legal review process for two portions of the report.
Rothrock said that much of the over-budget expenses of the grand jury this year was due to higher-than-normal travel requirements for a section of the report focused on Lake County’s fire districts, including the distant Lake Pillsbury Fire Protection District.
With its $5,000 budget deficit somewhat offset by the jury’s use of a cheaper printing method, Rothrock estimated that $3,000 of the budget for next year’s grand jury has been used in advance.
Asked for comment on Thursday on the matter, District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said: “The Grand Jury has a budget, the county has a budget. We all need to work within our means.”
The relationship between the county board of supervisors and the civil grand jury has been marked by contention in recent years.
After the release of the jury’s 2017-2018 report last year, supervisor Brown said of the document that “there is no value to it at this point, that I can see,” and suggested county staff should put the “lowest priority” on writing responses to the grand jury.
Former District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith said of the report at the same meeting that “a lot of it is just nonsense.”
Rothrock’s July 19 letter submitting the 2018-2019 report to judge Andrew S. Blum mentions this kind of response from the county, noting: “The Grand Jury began the year with trepidation due to some scathing responses received regarding the 2017/2018 Final Report. They (the grand jury members) chose to include them (the responses) in the Continuity Report, and then proceed with the business of researching, educating, and informing our Lake County residents regarding their important concerns.”
The “continuity report” to which Rothrock refers is a condensed collection of government officials’ responses to the prior year’s report, which is included as an appendix to the recently released 2018-2019 report.
Veterans services reviewed for first time
The 2018-2019 report includes the Lake County Civil Grand Jury’s first investigation into the Lake County Veterans Services Office.
In its review of this office, the grand jury writes that it interviewed county personnel and spoke with local vets about their experiences with veterans services, finding that “The majority of the Veterans interviewed were very happy with the service provided by the CVSO, but some concerns were brought to the Jury.”
Rothrock said Thursday that “there were a couple of concerns” with the veterans services office, but noted “they’re really trying their best, it appears to me.”
The grand jury recommends that veterans services ask for more mobile clinic visits from Veterans Affairs and that the county office stay open on Fridays, do more outreach to make more vets aware of what the office can provide, and improve signage around the office building, among other things.
The grand jury also highlights the all-volunteer Joy Madeiros Veterans Museum, suggesting that the county pursue the establishment of a permanent veterans museum.
August 5, 2019
Lake County Record-Bee
By Aidan Freeman
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