Kern County Grand Jury finds Delano ‘at a crossroads’

 KERO, CA — A grand jury in Kern County found that the city of Delano was “at a crossroads,” according to a report released Wednesday.

They described the city as “at the crossroads of politics, extraordinary interests, and conflicting public opinion.” The grand jury recommends that Delano move from a district-based city council to a large city council within the next five years so that all demographics are represented equally.

They also found that the Major U Citizens Review Committee has not met since 2012 and violates the Major U Voting Initiative. The grand jury says the city council needs to promote and add candidates to the committee so that the meeting is held annually.

Another discovery was about holding a council meeting with ZOOM video only. The grand jury writes that of the seven cities in Kern County, Delano is the only city that does not allow public attendance. They also say that the meeting link on the last page of the agenda is hard to find for anyone who wants to see it. We recommend that you move the link to the first page of the agenda. We need to resume meeting in person so that even people who do not have internet access can participate.

The grand jury states that the city council has been “divided” on several issues. Among the issues cited include the appointment of a new police chief and the use of school resource officers on campus. They suggest that the city council can improve their work relationships through quarterly team building meetings.

The purpose of the grand jury investigation was to investigate the operation and management of Delano and publish a report on their findings and recommendations.

California News Times
December 16, 2021