The Mendocino County grand
jury this week released its 2020 Continuity Report on prior grand jury
investigations, the first time it has done so in 10 years. A grand jury report
is made after local volunteer grand juries investigate public institutions like
county and city government and special districts and provide public
recommendations and criticism to try and bring positive change. A continuity
report follows up on what the public institutions have done to address the
issues raised in the original grand jury report.
The Mendocino County grand
jury in 2019 released reports about the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors,
the Mendocino County CEO, the Mendocino County Office of Education, and the
Ukiah Valley Sanitation District. The report on the Board of Supervisors
recommended the county supervisors set strategic goals each year, and have more
clarity and status updates about topics and issues they work on.
The Mendocino County grand
jury stated it has not issued a continuity report in the past on the quality of
the responses to its reports or held the respondents accountable for meeting
the requirements. However, the grand jury said going forward, the Continuity
Committee of future grand juries will review the responses from the government
organizations involved and ensure that the legal requirements of the Penal Code
involving responses are met.
Under the California Penal
Code, a response must contain specified language and an explanation of the answer
to the grand jury. Future grand juries can use these responses to decide if
they met the requirements. The grand jury Continuity Report stated responses
from the organizations involved in the grand jury report were not required or
requested, but the continuity reports would provide future grand juries with
help and documentation about the progress of local institutions in making
changes
The public can read the
full 2020 Continuity Report from the Mendocino County grand jury here.
Ukiah Daily Journal
Chris Driscoll
March 12, 2020
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