Although the 2019-2020 Calaveras County Grand Jury (CCGJ) Report was delayed this year due to COVID-19, the final part of the report was recently released.
The
report details the grand jury’s investigation into the operations of the
Central Calaveras Fire and Rescue Protection District (CCFRPD) following a
citizen complaint. The CCFRPD spans about 164 square miles and includes the
communities of Glencoe, Mountain Ranch and Sheep Ranch. The area was hard hit
by the Butte Fire in 2015, and the district has been experiencing financial
difficulties in recent years.
“The
CCGJ found numerous areas of concern regarding the financial transparency of
the CCFRPD, the relationship between the District and the Central Calaveras Fire
Safety Elves (Elves), and opportunities for misuse of District property and
resources,” the report reads. “There is also a lack of familiarity by District
Board of Directors (BOD) with the Brown Act, and a general lack of an
engagement by the BOD which has resulted in little to no oversight of the
administrative functions of the District. Additionally, funding from the Butte
Fire PG&E settlement, earmarked for fire recovery and preparedness, was
used to purchase highly specialized equipment for uses not within the typical
areas of responsibility as outlined in the mission statement of the CCFRPD.”
The
Elves is a nonprofit formed in August of 2017 to work with the district to
address impacts from the Butte Fire by clearing fire-damaged trees and other
flammable materials on private property and providing firewood to seniors,
veterans, disabled and low-income community members at no cost to them.
“In
September 2017, the BOD adopted a policy that would permit the Elves to use the
District name and allow the District to obtain grants for use by the Elves
program,” the report reads. “However, the District is required to maintain the
responsibility for financial management of any funds received for the Elves via
the District.”
The
program was initially funded with a Calaveras Community Foundation (CCF) Butte
Fire Cleanup grant of about $50,000.
“Since
the Elves had just formed and were working in coordination with the District,
and it was unlikely the foundation would award such a large sum to a newly
formed organization, the District applied for the grant,” the report reads. “As
the recipient of the grant, the District was ultimately responsible for
tracking expenses associated with the grant and keeping them separate from
other District expenses.”
The
grand jury found the district’s tracking of these expenses lacking.
“During
the one-year term of the grant, the activities and progress of the Elves
program, and the expenses associated with it, were never discussed at BOD
meetings,” the report reads. “The BOD approved all monthly District expense
transmittals, which included the grant expenses, without discussion. Over the
course of a year, about $35,000 was spent on log removal and property
preparation; about $15,000 was spent to purchase a number of tools and
equipment to carry out the terms of the grant. Because the grant funds were
awarded to the District, these items are the property of CCFRPD.”
A
check for an additional grant of $8,000 from the CCF to the CCFRPD awarded in
April of 2019 for the Senior Fire Safe Homes project was authorized by the
chief to be deposited directly into the Elves’ bank account, reducing the
district’s ability to track expenses, according to the report. However, lack of
public interest and lack of volunteer and professional assistance, as well as
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in only a portion of the grant being
spent, and the rest was returned to the CCF.
In
2019, the district was authorized to receive about $100,000 in PG&E Butte
Fire settlement money through the county to purchase and maintain equipment for
the Elves program, the report reads.
“The
Elves reported delivering a total of 256 cords of firewood, clearing seven
properties, and clearing 88,044 cubic feet of flammable materials from private
property,” the report reads. “While the Elves’ efforts benefited these
individual properties and homeowners, the majority of the District did not
experience a direct benefit. The Elves plan to dissolve at the end of 2020. It
is unclear what will happen to the equipment that was purchased for them and if
it can be used by the District. Lot clearing and firewood production are not
currently within the scope of official District activity.”
The
district’s procedures for obtaining fuel contributed to the difficulty in
tracking the expenses of the Elves, the report reads.
“Due
to current District procedures for obtaining fuel, both diesel and unleaded
gasoline, it is impossible to differentiate the fuel costs of the Elves program
with the CCFRPD fuel costs,” the report reads. “The previous Chief allowed the
Elves to use the CCFRPD gasoline account at a local fueling station.
Additionally, the diesel pump at Station No. 1 does not have a mechanism to
ensure that all diesel used is logged and therefore accounted for.”
The
grand jury found that district funds “were improperly transferred to the Elves,
a nonprofit corporation, which prevented the BOD from overseeing the management
of those funds,” and recommended that “the CCFRPD BOD immediately ensure
District funds are managed directly by the District.”
In
order to track fuel use, the grand jury recommended that “the BOD direct the
Chief to create a procedure to track all usage of CCFRPD fuel accounts, by
March 31, 2021.”
The
grand jury found that “CCFRPD purchased specialized equipment for the Elves
that is otherwise useless to a fire district in carrying out its mission,” and
recommended that “the BOD review its priorities and ensure that spending and
asset acquisition is in line with the CCFRPD mission statement and
capabilities, by June 30, 2021.”
The
transparency of the district may have suffered as a result of the loss of a
full-time administrative assistant position in May of 2019.
Following
the loss of the position, “Duties such as recording BOD minutes, handling of
payroll, finances, and office management were assigned to part-time staff,
including the Chief,” the report reads. “The distribution of responsibility
resulted in the Chief having sole access to administrative and financial
passwords. In May 2020, the Chief stepped down to fill the newly created
position of Deputy Chief, and a new Chief was hired. At the same time, the BOD
agreed to review both position assignments in six months. The Deputy Chief
maintained control of the responsibilities assumed a year earlier. The
passwords and other means of access to financial information were not provided
immediately to the new Chief.”
The
grand jury found that the “Chief and the BOD Treasurer do not have the
necessary access to financial information related to the District, which limits
financial oversight and accountability,” and recommended that “the Chief and
Board Treasurer be provided full access to all District financial records and
that financial records be stored and maintained at District Fire Station No. 1
by Feb. 1, 2021.”
The
report notes that there is only one other fire district in the county with a
deputy chief position.
“Considering
the CCFRPD budget constraints, the Deputy Chief position is unnecessary for
such a fiscally strained district,” the report reads. “The CCGJ recommends the
BOD review the Deputy Chief position assignment to determine efficacy, by Dec.
31, 2020.”
The
grand jury found that the district’s board was unfamiliar with the provisions
of the Brown Act, which are intended to ensure public access to the meetings of
governing bodies in California.
“Since
the elimination of the administrative assistant position, the Chief, or Deputy
Chief, is responsible for recording and publishing the minutes,” the report
reads. “Minutes were not published to the website from May 2019, when the
administrative assistant left, to mid-2020. Most, but not all, minutes are now
available on the website. The portion of the website related to the BOD
includes an outdated photo of the Board members and does not list current
members. Although there is a link to the Policy and Procedure Manual on the
website, it does not link to a copy of the Manual.”
The
grand jury recommended that “the BOD ensure that the CCFRPD website is updated
as BOD membership changes, and that policies and procedures are modified by
March 31, 2021,” and that “the BOD receive formal training in Brown Act
requirements by April 30, 2021.”
The
report notes that the CCFRPD was unable to pass tax measures in 2016 and 2018.
“The
inability to pass parcel tax measures is evidence that the CCFRPD has not
sufficiently engaged with the citizens of the community,” the report reads.
“The CCGJ recommends the CCFRPD increase community outreach and engagement
about District Services” and “propose a new parcel tax measure, by the March
2022 primary election and increase public education about the need for support,
beyond 2018 efforts.”
The
grand jury requests responses from elected county officials within 60 days, and
from governing bodies within 90 days.
To
read the CCGJ’s 2019-2020 Final Report, visit
https://grandjury.calaverasgov.us/Reports
Calaveras
Enterprise
By Noah Berner
January 21, 2021
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