By Nancy Pasternack - AppealDemocrat.com
The rules are convoluted, mix of people a crapshoot, and the time commitment is nearly always greater than expected.
But the experience of serving on a civil grand jury, according to many who stick it out through a year or more of meetings, tours, research, interviews and reporting, is a rich one.
For Rebecca Jennings of Sutter and Mike Boom of Wheatland, grand jury work has become something of a calling.
The two recently formed their own respective chapters of the California Grand Jurors' Association for Sutter and Yuba counties.
When Jennings, 57, was first called upon to serve as a replacement grand jury member in early 2010, "I was an ostrich," she said of her tendency to ignore local government and politics. "I never even read a grand jury report before. I mean, who reads those things?"
But after her juror stint, she was appointed as forewoman for a mostly new 19-member jury.
It was during a routine meet-and-greet visit to one of many county-run agencies that she and other jurors found the central purpose of their following year's work.
Jennings said she had never been especially interested in the plight of stray or homeless animals. But when her group took a tour of the Sutter County Animal Shelter on Second Street in Yuba City, that changed.
Secrecy rules prevent her from discussing the jury's work in detail. But one year after the group's gruesome report about animal treatment at the shelter was published, big changes are under way.
Plans to build a new facility — deadlocked after more than six years of stalemate between Sutter County and Yuba City officials — are moving along by way of a joint powers authority established just weeks after the report's publication.
The person whose job it was to act as a liaison between the facility and county officials has resigned, and an interim shelter director has been appointed.
"Did I ever think I could become passionate about an animal shelter? No," Jennings said of the shelter visit that sparked the group's investigation. "But it changes you when you see things like that. You wonder, 'How did this happen? How did it go on so long?'"
The experience, she said, has made her a better citizen.
"I could never go back now to blindly ignoring what's going on in our county," she said. "That (experience) made me more interested in our local government and how they're spending our tax dollars."
The watchdogs
Vera Crabtree, 69, served on the Sutter County grand jury during the same time.
The retired sixth-grade teacher and Sutter resident said she was extremely naive when she joined the group.
"You're gonna laugh," she said, "but I got a letter in the mail saying I had been selected to the jury and telling me to show up, and I thought it was going to be a court case."
Her confusion turned to curiosity and, before long, she — like Jennings — had been bitten by the learning bug.
"It was quite an eye-opener," she said of the watchdog responsibility. "Before, I didn't know a thing about politics, or about the county and city (governments). But it really does help you understand how things work."
She did two full years as a jurist, and said she hopes to be called back again to serve.
Boom, 57, said he learned so much while serving on a Yuba County grand jury, he decided to continue his involvement with the process.
The airline pilot had moved 31⁄2 years ago from Florida to his family's ranch north of Wheatland, and when he got involved with the grand jury, he had been hungry for a way to dig into his new community.
Like Jennings, he served as the grand jury's foreman.
"We've all had civics (lessons), and I'm not an uneducated person," he said. "But when I hit the ground, I had to do a lot of studying."
He found he wasn't alone.
"Most don't grasp what they're getting themselves into. When they show up, it's a deer-in-the-headlights situation," he said.
In responding to citizens' inquiries about what measures to take in a disaster, he and other jury members began to ask questions about the county's Office of Emergency Preparedness and its relationship to law enforcement in Marysville.
The inquiry led the jury to report on what the group perceives as holes in the emergency preparedness network.
A response is anticipated in the coming weeks.
The group also reported on inconsistencies in the way fees are charged by the county's building department.
County officials have hired an outside investigator to look into the charges.
"We're a pretty good team," Boom said of his group and its work.
Boom plans to return for another year on the jury. He will be expected, because of his experience, to acclimate the new group to basic expectations and realities of civil grand jury duty.
Friends for life
Formation of the Yuba County Grand Jury Association, approved by its statewide parent organization in May, is Boom's way of raising the visibility of the institution and awareness about what it does.
Steeped in English tradition and dating back to the earliest roots of American history, civil grand jury service is meant to raise awareness about government and to help a community keep a close eye on officials.
Boom hopes his group, which is open to current and former members of Yuba County grand juries, "will help keep a continuous thread going from grand jury to grand jury."
He would like its members — who pay $25 a year in dues — to be available for public speaking engagements and to provide institutional knowledge to those currently serving on grand juries.
Jennings won approval in July for a new Sutter County chapter of the organization.
Butte County's new chapter too is less than a year old.
Educating people about the grand jury's function is the local chapters' primary mission, Jennings said.
"We do not investigate," she said. "We're here to support the grand jury system, get across how very important it is, and encourage people to sign up and serve."
Jennings said that new relationships have been among the unexpected payoffs of grand jury service.
"I have friends for life that I made during my jury service," she said. "Secrecy is a big part of this, so you can't go home and talk about it."
"You're looking at things that can be very disturbing, and if you need to vent, that's who you're going to call."
Boom said the social aspect of his grand jury service was a meaningful part of the experience.
"Everything we did was as one," he said. "It's been a great process."
Monday, August 6, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
The Public Eye: El Dorado DA challenges payment to consultant
By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
A civil suit has been filed in El Dorado County against members of a political consulting firm, alleging that they engaged in illegal taxpayer-financed activities to support passage of a special tax measure.
The El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, at the direction of the county grand jury, seeks to recover $10,000 in taxpayer funds from Dan Dellinger and Christopher Alarcon of Dan Dellinger Consulting. The Lotus-based firm was hired by the Pioneer Fire Protection District to provide consulting services related to a special tax measure on the November 2011 ballot.
Measure F passed with nearly 77 percent voter approval.
According to the July 26 complaint filed in El Dorado Superior Court, an initial $29,900 contract between the fire district and Dan Dellinger Consulting included mostly taxpayer-financed campaign activities expressly advocating passage of the tax measure.
Public agencies may use taxpayer funds to provide information on topics related to district finances, revenue sources and intended uses of the proposed taxes, but government code prohibits use of taxpayer money to advocate for a tax measure.
Dellinger said his firm acted properly, providing to the district only informational materials and handling the paperwork necessary to place the measure on the ballot. Voter outreach activities that the firm conducted were covered by private donations to a campaign committee, Save Pioneer Fire, he said.
Dellinger maintains that the complaint is politically motivated. County Auditor-Controller Joe Harn requested the grand jury investigation. Dellinger said Harn and District Attorney Vern Pierson are trying to put him out of business because he has conducted successful campaigns for several political candidates that they did not support.
"This is Chicago-style politics at its worst," Dellinger said. "The public will see through this."
Harn and Pierson denied any political motives.
Pierson responded in a written statement: "Mr. Dellinger can take whatever position he wants, but the facts are that taxpayers were forced to pay for a campaign to raise taxes on themselves. State law does not allow that. Our office, as well as the El Dorado County Grand Jury and El Dorado County auditor all came to the same sim
ple conclusion – that Dan Dellinger and Christopher Alarcon violated the law." For his part, Harn said, "Routinely, I do not look at disbursements for small special districts. A member of my staff brought this to me and said, 'This seems way out of line.' "
Harn said his office raised concerns about certain payments to Dan Dellinger Consulting based on a June 2011 consulting contract with the fire district that appeared to contain services for illegal campaign activities and what appeared to be a promise of a $12,000 bonus for the firm if the measure passed.
He said the district revised the contract to eliminate the "bonus" language, and the auditor-controller's office paid $10,000 in invoices to the Dellinger firm.
Harn said he has refused to pay a remaining fee of $12,000 to the consultants for preparing documents necessary to enable the county to collect the special tax on behalf of the district, calling the amount "outrageous." He said other consultants have charged larger districts less than $400 for the service.
The grand jury report focuses on the activities of the consulting firm rather than the actions of the fire district board that authorized the contract. Deputy District Attorney James Clinchard said the grand jury's order was to recover the money that allegedly was illegally spent by the board.
Ripley Howe, secretary of the fire district board, said he believes the $10,000 was spent on legal informational activities but added that there is a gray area.
"We were completely upfront about all of this," he said. "We weren't trying to hide the fact that we were a public board in favor of a parcel tax measure." However, Howe said, "I was uncomfortable with how involved the consultants were with the campaign committee."
At one point, Howe said, he asked the consultants not to come to the campaign committee meetings, but they came anyway.
The grand jury recommended that the additional $12,000 not be paid to the consultants pending an audit of allowable vs. illegal payments.
Howe said the board will not renew its request to the auditor-controller to make that payment. The board decided not to have the consultant perform those services – which involved identifying developed and undeveloped parcels to determine their tax liabilities – after the controversy arose over use of taxpayer funds. Howe said he subsequently learned that the state limits the amount that can be charged per parcel for those services. For the Pioneer District the total is in the range of $800 to $900, he said, not $12,000.
"We're not fighting to pay that bill," Howe said.
Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2012/08/05/2313947/public-eye-el-dorado-da-challenges.html#storylink=cpy
clocke@sacbee.com
A civil suit has been filed in El Dorado County against members of a political consulting firm, alleging that they engaged in illegal taxpayer-financed activities to support passage of a special tax measure.
The El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, at the direction of the county grand jury, seeks to recover $10,000 in taxpayer funds from Dan Dellinger and Christopher Alarcon of Dan Dellinger Consulting. The Lotus-based firm was hired by the Pioneer Fire Protection District to provide consulting services related to a special tax measure on the November 2011 ballot.
Measure F passed with nearly 77 percent voter approval.
According to the July 26 complaint filed in El Dorado Superior Court, an initial $29,900 contract between the fire district and Dan Dellinger Consulting included mostly taxpayer-financed campaign activities expressly advocating passage of the tax measure.
Public agencies may use taxpayer funds to provide information on topics related to district finances, revenue sources and intended uses of the proposed taxes, but government code prohibits use of taxpayer money to advocate for a tax measure.
Dellinger said his firm acted properly, providing to the district only informational materials and handling the paperwork necessary to place the measure on the ballot. Voter outreach activities that the firm conducted were covered by private donations to a campaign committee, Save Pioneer Fire, he said.
Dellinger maintains that the complaint is politically motivated. County Auditor-Controller Joe Harn requested the grand jury investigation. Dellinger said Harn and District Attorney Vern Pierson are trying to put him out of business because he has conducted successful campaigns for several political candidates that they did not support.
"This is Chicago-style politics at its worst," Dellinger said. "The public will see through this."
Harn and Pierson denied any political motives.
Pierson responded in a written statement: "Mr. Dellinger can take whatever position he wants, but the facts are that taxpayers were forced to pay for a campaign to raise taxes on themselves. State law does not allow that. Our office, as well as the El Dorado County Grand Jury and El Dorado County auditor all came to the same sim
ple conclusion – that Dan Dellinger and Christopher Alarcon violated the law." For his part, Harn said, "Routinely, I do not look at disbursements for small special districts. A member of my staff brought this to me and said, 'This seems way out of line.' "
Harn said his office raised concerns about certain payments to Dan Dellinger Consulting based on a June 2011 consulting contract with the fire district that appeared to contain services for illegal campaign activities and what appeared to be a promise of a $12,000 bonus for the firm if the measure passed.
He said the district revised the contract to eliminate the "bonus" language, and the auditor-controller's office paid $10,000 in invoices to the Dellinger firm.
Harn said he has refused to pay a remaining fee of $12,000 to the consultants for preparing documents necessary to enable the county to collect the special tax on behalf of the district, calling the amount "outrageous." He said other consultants have charged larger districts less than $400 for the service.
The grand jury report focuses on the activities of the consulting firm rather than the actions of the fire district board that authorized the contract. Deputy District Attorney James Clinchard said the grand jury's order was to recover the money that allegedly was illegally spent by the board.
Ripley Howe, secretary of the fire district board, said he believes the $10,000 was spent on legal informational activities but added that there is a gray area.
"We were completely upfront about all of this," he said. "We weren't trying to hide the fact that we were a public board in favor of a parcel tax measure." However, Howe said, "I was uncomfortable with how involved the consultants were with the campaign committee."
At one point, Howe said, he asked the consultants not to come to the campaign committee meetings, but they came anyway.
The grand jury recommended that the additional $12,000 not be paid to the consultants pending an audit of allowable vs. illegal payments.
Howe said the board will not renew its request to the auditor-controller to make that payment. The board decided not to have the consultant perform those services – which involved identifying developed and undeveloped parcels to determine their tax liabilities – after the controversy arose over use of taxpayer funds. Howe said he subsequently learned that the state limits the amount that can be charged per parcel for those services. For the Pioneer District the total is in the range of $800 to $900, he said, not $12,000.
"We're not fighting to pay that bill," Howe said.
Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2012/08/05/2313947/public-eye-el-dorado-da-challenges.html#storylink=cpy
(LA) After scandals, Grand Jury scrutinizes charter cities
By Ben Baeder - San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Many of the county's charter cities lack strategic planning, have spotty financial controls and have few methods of measuring whether they are reaching goals, according to a recently released 2011-12 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury report.
The county has 25 charter cities, including Arcadia, Temple City, Whittier, Pasadena, Irwindale, Alhambra and Industry.
Three of the four California cities that have taken steps toward bankruptcy recently - San Bernardino, Compton and Stockton - have charters.
And scandals in the charter cities of Temple City, Bell and Vernon led to criminal convictions of city officials.
In light of the investigations, the Grand Jury conducted a year-long analysis of the county's charter cities.
Of the 22 small-to-medium-size cities analyzed in the Grand Jury report, only five had balanced budgets in the 2009-10 fiscal year. Others had dangerously low asset-to-debt ratios. Still others had few checks to make sure their city had sound loads of debt relative to income.
Charter cities can take more risks than General Law cities, according to Bob Stern, a consultant who was formerly the director of the Center for Governmental Studies and a longtime watchdog of government finance.
"There is a big difference between the two types of cities," he said. "Charter cities have more leeway. They can take more risks. But they also can get more benefits."
Charter cities are more likely to run utilities and to pursue riskier investment strategies, Stern said.
Of area cities covered in the Civil Grand Jury Report, only Industry had an asset-to-debt ratio low enough to worry the Grand Jury. The city in 2010 had $1.34 billion in assets and about $755 million in debt, according to the report. Its 1.72 asset-to-liability ratio was dangerously low, according to the Grand Jury. Cities should not have ratios lower than two, the report stated.
Industry City Manager Kevin Radecki did not return calls for comment on this story.
The Grand Jury report found Industry also was lacking several checks on abuse, such as a way for employees to report fraud. Arcadia also was deemed deficient in several controls, such as a mechanism for reporting fraud, a rule about having at least two months of reserves and a procedure for negotiating good prices for the city from contractors, the Grand Jury report stated.
Even without the checks, Arcadia was one of the most fiscally sound charter cities, according to data from the study. Temple City also scored well for its fiscal health.
Arcadia Councilman Bob Harbricht was councilman in Duarte in the 1970s before he moved to Arcadia. Duarte was governed by General Law, and Arcadia has a charter.
Harbricht said he saw almost no difference between how the two communities operate.
"I can't recall any cases where I felt constrained in Duarte because we were a General Law city and where I felt more free in Arcadia," he said.
The key to running a good city is to refrain from taking drastic action in good times or in bad, he said.
"If you have programs that are ongoing and then you have a big drop in city income, you don't tear everything apart and then put it all back together again when times are good," Harbricht said. "Arcadia is a smooth-running city. We just don't rock the boat much."
Like Harbricht, other local elected officials say they don't see a relationship between operating under a charter and the wave of scandals and proposed bankruptcies affecting charter cities.
"It could be bad, or it could be good," said Joe Vinatieri, a Whittier councilman who works as a municipal tax law attorney. "It gives you more flexibility, but it depends on how the City Council uses that flexibility."
He said he prefers the charter city model, saying it gives a city the latitude to quickly change course during tough times.
A General Law city uses a governing template outlined by the state legislature. In Los Angeles County, 72 percent of cities operate under General Law.
Charter cities customize their laws, giving officials more flexibility.
Charter cities can more easily borrow money, pay city officials more, give the mayor more power, or more easily form special districts, among other things.
Municipal finance experts said that a charter in itself is not a bad thing.
The model they feared most was the "strong mayor" arrangement, which gives a city's mayor decision-making power independent of the City Council.
One area finance director, who requested anonymity for fear of losing his job, said it was unwise to put that much power in the hands of one person, especially if that person is not familiar with how government finance works.
San Bernardino and Stockton both have "strong mayor" governments.
In every San Gabriel Valley and Whittier-area city, a mayor's vote counts the same as the rest of the City Council.
Although the Grand Jury's report did not find obvious red flags in area cities, it did find a lack of measurable goals that residents could use to hold a city accountable.
Arcadia, Industry, and Temple City had no measures of performance, the Grand Jury found.
And while other cities claimed to have goals, they were unable to produce documents that outlined the goals or showed whether the city was reaching them. Without goals, the public cannot measure if a city is performing as promised, the report found.
The Grand Jury also said that many charter cities didn't have competitive bidding for contracted services. Others had no requirements that the city use a different accountant for its audit than it used for other accounting services.
The study also dinged communities for failing to establish an audit committee to periodically check up on city finances.
Alhambra, Arcadia, Industry, Irwindale, Temple City and Whittier did not have audit committees, according to the report. And nearly every city used the same outside auditor again and again, which could lead to complacency or collusion, according to government experts.
It may be an old theme, but an involved, well-informed electorate is the secret to maintaining an honest City Hall, said Owen Newcomer, a Whittier councilman and former political science professor at Rio Hondo College.
"The key is you need people making right decisions for the right reasons," he said. "I don't know how you make a rule requiring that."
If a city were to put in all the checks and balances recommended by the Grand Jury, cities would spend a lot of time and money, he said.
"It would be costly," Newcomer said. "We would have to go through recommendation by recommendation, and find if the benefit is worth the cost."
Many of the county's charter cities lack strategic planning, have spotty financial controls and have few methods of measuring whether they are reaching goals, according to a recently released 2011-12 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury report.
The county has 25 charter cities, including Arcadia, Temple City, Whittier, Pasadena, Irwindale, Alhambra and Industry.
Three of the four California cities that have taken steps toward bankruptcy recently - San Bernardino, Compton and Stockton - have charters.
And scandals in the charter cities of Temple City, Bell and Vernon led to criminal convictions of city officials.
In light of the investigations, the Grand Jury conducted a year-long analysis of the county's charter cities.
Of the 22 small-to-medium-size cities analyzed in the Grand Jury report, only five had balanced budgets in the 2009-10 fiscal year. Others had dangerously low asset-to-debt ratios. Still others had few checks to make sure their city had sound loads of debt relative to income.
Charter cities can take more risks than General Law cities, according to Bob Stern, a consultant who was formerly the director of the Center for Governmental Studies and a longtime watchdog of government finance.
"There is a big difference between the two types of cities," he said. "Charter cities have more leeway. They can take more risks. But they also can get more benefits."
Charter cities are more likely to run utilities and to pursue riskier investment strategies, Stern said.
Of area cities covered in the Civil Grand Jury Report, only Industry had an asset-to-debt ratio low enough to worry the Grand Jury. The city in 2010 had $1.34 billion in assets and about $755 million in debt, according to the report. Its 1.72 asset-to-liability ratio was dangerously low, according to the Grand Jury. Cities should not have ratios lower than two, the report stated.
Industry City Manager Kevin Radecki did not return calls for comment on this story.
The Grand Jury report found Industry also was lacking several checks on abuse, such as a way for employees to report fraud. Arcadia also was deemed deficient in several controls, such as a mechanism for reporting fraud, a rule about having at least two months of reserves and a procedure for negotiating good prices for the city from contractors, the Grand Jury report stated.
Even without the checks, Arcadia was one of the most fiscally sound charter cities, according to data from the study. Temple City also scored well for its fiscal health.
Arcadia Councilman Bob Harbricht was councilman in Duarte in the 1970s before he moved to Arcadia. Duarte was governed by General Law, and Arcadia has a charter.
Harbricht said he saw almost no difference between how the two communities operate.
"I can't recall any cases where I felt constrained in Duarte because we were a General Law city and where I felt more free in Arcadia," he said.
The key to running a good city is to refrain from taking drastic action in good times or in bad, he said.
"If you have programs that are ongoing and then you have a big drop in city income, you don't tear everything apart and then put it all back together again when times are good," Harbricht said. "Arcadia is a smooth-running city. We just don't rock the boat much."
Like Harbricht, other local elected officials say they don't see a relationship between operating under a charter and the wave of scandals and proposed bankruptcies affecting charter cities.
"It could be bad, or it could be good," said Joe Vinatieri, a Whittier councilman who works as a municipal tax law attorney. "It gives you more flexibility, but it depends on how the City Council uses that flexibility."
He said he prefers the charter city model, saying it gives a city the latitude to quickly change course during tough times.
A General Law city uses a governing template outlined by the state legislature. In Los Angeles County, 72 percent of cities operate under General Law.
Charter cities customize their laws, giving officials more flexibility.
Charter cities can more easily borrow money, pay city officials more, give the mayor more power, or more easily form special districts, among other things.
Municipal finance experts said that a charter in itself is not a bad thing.
The model they feared most was the "strong mayor" arrangement, which gives a city's mayor decision-making power independent of the City Council.
One area finance director, who requested anonymity for fear of losing his job, said it was unwise to put that much power in the hands of one person, especially if that person is not familiar with how government finance works.
San Bernardino and Stockton both have "strong mayor" governments.
In every San Gabriel Valley and Whittier-area city, a mayor's vote counts the same as the rest of the City Council.
Although the Grand Jury's report did not find obvious red flags in area cities, it did find a lack of measurable goals that residents could use to hold a city accountable.
Arcadia, Industry, and Temple City had no measures of performance, the Grand Jury found.
And while other cities claimed to have goals, they were unable to produce documents that outlined the goals or showed whether the city was reaching them. Without goals, the public cannot measure if a city is performing as promised, the report found.
The Grand Jury also said that many charter cities didn't have competitive bidding for contracted services. Others had no requirements that the city use a different accountant for its audit than it used for other accounting services.
The study also dinged communities for failing to establish an audit committee to periodically check up on city finances.
Alhambra, Arcadia, Industry, Irwindale, Temple City and Whittier did not have audit committees, according to the report. And nearly every city used the same outside auditor again and again, which could lead to complacency or collusion, according to government experts.
It may be an old theme, but an involved, well-informed electorate is the secret to maintaining an honest City Hall, said Owen Newcomer, a Whittier councilman and former political science professor at Rio Hondo College.
"The key is you need people making right decisions for the right reasons," he said. "I don't know how you make a rule requiring that."
If a city were to put in all the checks and balances recommended by the Grand Jury, cities would spend a lot of time and money, he said.
"It would be costly," Newcomer said. "We would have to go through recommendation by recommendation, and find if the benefit is worth the cost."
Saturday, August 4, 2012
(Santa Clara Co) City drafts response to Grand Jury's findings about puffed-up public employee benefits
by Carly Gelsinger Staff Writer - Gilroy Dispatch
Mayor Al Pinheiro has written a response to the June 13 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report that highlighted seven recommendations to reduce Gilroy’s public employee benefits, noting that the City “shares the Grand Jury’s concerns.”
City Council will vote to approve the letter, which is currently in draft form, during its regular Monday, Aug. 6 meeting.
“The Gilroy City Council is also committed to continuing to review ways to appropriately reduce employee costs in the future; as we work to ensure that the public gets the maximum value for their tax dollar,” the letter reads.
The Grand Jury’s seven recommendations include: increasing retirement age, increasing the amount public employees pay into their benefits, adopting pension plan caps to close the “unfunded liability burden” that cities have “pushed to future generations.”
“Additional changes to the pension benefits may be a subject of future negotiations with bargaining units,” Pinheiro’s response reads.
The City said it will take the Grand Jury’s recommendations “into consideration for any future benefit changes,” but pointed to all the cuts to public employee benefits they have achieved already, such as requiring police and fire employees to pay 9 percent into their own retirement and the plan that attempts to defer public employee retirement age by cutting pensions for younger retirees.
If Council approves the response after discussion and public comment, the letter will be sent to the Grand Jury on or before Sept. 14, the final deadline to submit a formal response.
Mayor Al Pinheiro has written a response to the June 13 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report that highlighted seven recommendations to reduce Gilroy’s public employee benefits, noting that the City “shares the Grand Jury’s concerns.”
City Council will vote to approve the letter, which is currently in draft form, during its regular Monday, Aug. 6 meeting.
“The Gilroy City Council is also committed to continuing to review ways to appropriately reduce employee costs in the future; as we work to ensure that the public gets the maximum value for their tax dollar,” the letter reads.
The Grand Jury’s seven recommendations include: increasing retirement age, increasing the amount public employees pay into their benefits, adopting pension plan caps to close the “unfunded liability burden” that cities have “pushed to future generations.”
“Additional changes to the pension benefits may be a subject of future negotiations with bargaining units,” Pinheiro’s response reads.
The City said it will take the Grand Jury’s recommendations “into consideration for any future benefit changes,” but pointed to all the cuts to public employee benefits they have achieved already, such as requiring police and fire employees to pay 9 percent into their own retirement and the plan that attempts to defer public employee retirement age by cutting pensions for younger retirees.
If Council approves the response after discussion and public comment, the letter will be sent to the Grand Jury on or before Sept. 14, the final deadline to submit a formal response.
(San Mateo) Grand jury: Pension costs out of control
The Almanac News
A recent grand jury report dissects a topic near and dear to many hearts in San Mateo County: "Controlling the County's Escalating Pension Costs."
According to the report, released July 23, the county's contribution to the retirement fund, which covers 10,582 current and retired employees, will jump by another $13 million next year. The county already carries $842 million in unfunded liability, the difference between expected benefit plan payments and current assets over time.
While initially projecting a return of 7.75 percent on investments, the county's retirement system, SamCERA, has now lowered that to 7.5 percent over 15 years.
The report suggests that the county deal with the problem by employing fewer people through service cuts, attrition and outsourcing; negotiating lower costs with unions; and considering withdrawal from Social Security. County manager John Maltbie said staff is researching whether that last option is even legally possible.
Click here to download the PDF document and read the report.
A recent grand jury report dissects a topic near and dear to many hearts in San Mateo County: "Controlling the County's Escalating Pension Costs."
According to the report, released July 23, the county's contribution to the retirement fund, which covers 10,582 current and retired employees, will jump by another $13 million next year. The county already carries $842 million in unfunded liability, the difference between expected benefit plan payments and current assets over time.
While initially projecting a return of 7.75 percent on investments, the county's retirement system, SamCERA, has now lowered that to 7.5 percent over 15 years.
The report suggests that the county deal with the problem by employing fewer people through service cuts, attrition and outsourcing; negotiating lower costs with unions; and considering withdrawal from Social Security. County manager John Maltbie said staff is researching whether that last option is even legally possible.
Click here to download the PDF document and read the report.
Friday, August 3, 2012
San Francisco to hire sleuth to track down missing city art
by Matt Smith - California Watch
San Francisco is hiring a sleuth to track down its artwork and the city has imposed a moratorium on art donations from the public after a Civil Grand Jury report scolded the city Arts Commission for losing track of portions of a collection valued at $90 million.
Leaders of the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury [PDF], however, remain skeptical about city officials’ commitment to reforms, such as a long-promised inventory of their eclectic 4,000-piece public art collection. Its existing items range in importance from Edvard Munch lithographs to local handicrafts like a pair of brown woolen bowties.
“We don’t know if it would require adding one, five or 10 new employees,” said Mario Choi, foreman pro tem of the grand jury, which spent much of this year investigating the arts commission. “But it’s not been progressing because it’s not high-priority for them.”
In 1932, city officials worried that the Great Depression was drying up philanthropy. Officials that year launched the Civic Art Collection and in 1935 created a subsidy for the city’s symphony.
Amid city-supported museums such as the de Young Museum and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the separate city collection never became well known. Much of its current trove was acquired from exhibitors at city art fairs from 1946 to 1986. Further expanding the collection, the 1969 Art Enrichment Ordinance mandated that 2 percent of public works contracts go toward public art.
The current collection includes sculptures and monuments, as well as 2,500 paintings and other movable works used to decorate public buildings. Although the arts commission has money for adding to its collection, it has had only two staff members assigned to look after it. And a portion – nobody seems to know how large – has gone unaccounted for.
In April 2011, The Bay Citizen described how the city in 1972 acquired 496 artworks to decorate San Francisco General Hospital, of which 141 were missing. A 2008 count of the city’s modernist jewelry collection found 19 of 58 pieces missing, the article reported.
Those discoveries added to San Francisco’s reputation as a sometimes unreliable curator. In the late 1950s, the city lost a mural by Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias, appraised at more than $1 million. During the late 1990s, Golden Gate Park gardeners cut up and used for landscaping stones the dismantled Santa Maria de Ovila, a 12th-century Spanish monastery the city had acquired with plans to rebuild it as a museum.
Tom DeCaigny, the arts commission’s director of cultural affairs, acknowledged mismanagement complaints in The Bay Citizen and the grand jury reports. But he blamed his predecessor, saying he was hired in December to clean things up. DeCaigny also suggested that the significance of the missing artwork problem might have been exaggerated.
“We certainly know where the most valuable pieces are,” he said.
DeCaigny is adding a third person to look after the art collection. The new employee, an expert in art conservation, will visit city buildings to make sure works are where they’re supposed to be. In cases where they’re missing, the employee will conduct art-world detective work. He or she will undertake an 18-month inventory project to pinpoint where missing works have ended up.
“We are looking at smaller works, works of less financial value,” DeCaigny said, adding that the commission also will be “double-checking our database and making sure things are where we thought they were.”
In the meantime, the city plans to build new storage space in the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center near City Hall. And although San Francisco will continue to acquire works under the Art Enrichment Ordinance, the city has temporarily stopped accepting donated pieces outside of that program.
Mort Raphael, who led the grand jury committee investigating the arts commission, is not convinced that the combined efforts are a match for the depth of the problem.
“They keep saying they’ll do something, but the proof is in the pudding,” he said. “It’s a huge $90 million arrangement of art materials – paintings, jewelry, handicrafts, sculpture. It’s a big deal. It’s the city’s property. And they have let it get out of control.”
San Francisco is hiring a sleuth to track down its artwork and the city has imposed a moratorium on art donations from the public after a Civil Grand Jury report scolded the city Arts Commission for losing track of portions of a collection valued at $90 million.
Leaders of the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury [PDF], however, remain skeptical about city officials’ commitment to reforms, such as a long-promised inventory of their eclectic 4,000-piece public art collection. Its existing items range in importance from Edvard Munch lithographs to local handicrafts like a pair of brown woolen bowties.
“We don’t know if it would require adding one, five or 10 new employees,” said Mario Choi, foreman pro tem of the grand jury, which spent much of this year investigating the arts commission. “But it’s not been progressing because it’s not high-priority for them.”
In 1932, city officials worried that the Great Depression was drying up philanthropy. Officials that year launched the Civic Art Collection and in 1935 created a subsidy for the city’s symphony.
Amid city-supported museums such as the de Young Museum and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the separate city collection never became well known. Much of its current trove was acquired from exhibitors at city art fairs from 1946 to 1986. Further expanding the collection, the 1969 Art Enrichment Ordinance mandated that 2 percent of public works contracts go toward public art.
The current collection includes sculptures and monuments, as well as 2,500 paintings and other movable works used to decorate public buildings. Although the arts commission has money for adding to its collection, it has had only two staff members assigned to look after it. And a portion – nobody seems to know how large – has gone unaccounted for.
In April 2011, The Bay Citizen described how the city in 1972 acquired 496 artworks to decorate San Francisco General Hospital, of which 141 were missing. A 2008 count of the city’s modernist jewelry collection found 19 of 58 pieces missing, the article reported.
Those discoveries added to San Francisco’s reputation as a sometimes unreliable curator. In the late 1950s, the city lost a mural by Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias, appraised at more than $1 million. During the late 1990s, Golden Gate Park gardeners cut up and used for landscaping stones the dismantled Santa Maria de Ovila, a 12th-century Spanish monastery the city had acquired with plans to rebuild it as a museum.
Tom DeCaigny, the arts commission’s director of cultural affairs, acknowledged mismanagement complaints in The Bay Citizen and the grand jury reports. But he blamed his predecessor, saying he was hired in December to clean things up. DeCaigny also suggested that the significance of the missing artwork problem might have been exaggerated.
“We certainly know where the most valuable pieces are,” he said.
DeCaigny is adding a third person to look after the art collection. The new employee, an expert in art conservation, will visit city buildings to make sure works are where they’re supposed to be. In cases where they’re missing, the employee will conduct art-world detective work. He or she will undertake an 18-month inventory project to pinpoint where missing works have ended up.
“We are looking at smaller works, works of less financial value,” DeCaigny said, adding that the commission also will be “double-checking our database and making sure things are where we thought they were.”
In the meantime, the city plans to build new storage space in the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center near City Hall. And although San Francisco will continue to acquire works under the Art Enrichment Ordinance, the city has temporarily stopped accepting donated pieces outside of that program.
Mort Raphael, who led the grand jury committee investigating the arts commission, is not convinced that the combined efforts are a match for the depth of the problem.
“They keep saying they’ll do something, but the proof is in the pudding,” he said. “It’s a huge $90 million arrangement of art materials – paintings, jewelry, handicrafts, sculpture. It’s a big deal. It’s the city’s property. And they have let it get out of control.”
(SF) Civil Grand Jury: “Culture Shock” Needed to Improve “Poorly Organized Technology Governance Structure”
Written by Luke Thomas - FogCityJournal.com
Citing wasteful spending and duplicative efforts, a San Francisco Civil Grand Jury today released a critical report of the City’s technology infrastructure.
The report follows a Fog City Journal investigation in April that unearthed myriad problems with the City’s aging and decentralized technology systems.
“San Francisco government, claiming to be a national leader in technology, continues to be mired in an ineffective and poorly organized technology governance structure that has led to wasteful spending and duplicative efforts, despite more than a decade of reports urging its change,” wrote Patricia Kilkenny, Deputy Jury Commissioner for the Superior Court of California. “The Civil Grand Jury believes that, for any real progress to be made, the Mayor must provide the same leadership in meeting the internal technological needs of City government that he has shown in establishing San Francisco as an ‘innovative capital.’”
The press release continues:
The Jury found a decentralized department culture that reinforces technological ineffectiveness, such as:
• The continued existence of seven email systems, nine data centers, and multiple wide area networks, with City departments resistant to consolidation and change.
• The stalled completion of various inter-departmental projects, one of which is now 15 years old and way over budget.
• The absence of a citywide technology budget and staffing plans.
• Hurdles to the hiring of highly qualified candidates in a competitive technology marketplace.
• Blatant non-compliance with the Administrative Code and City policies.
The Jury recommends the introduction of a functional working relationship between the City Chief Information Officer and departmental technology units. This will allow for the development of a citywide strategy for technology that can take advantage of economies of scale while, at the same time, providing for unique departmental requirements.
Overcoming the basic problems within citywide technology can only be brought about by the passionate leadership of the Mayor. Only he can bring about the culture shock that is needed to transform City technology to the level he talks about. If he has the will, there’s a way.
Responding to the report, Mayor Ed Lee spokesperson Christine Falvey wrote via email: “The mayor thanks the Civil Grand Jury for producing their report on the City’s technology and we will be reviewing their recommendations with an eye toward implementing the best ideas. While we can always improve, there have been significant steps already taken to better organize and streamline technology systems and governance. In the past year, we have lowered IT costs, established a Five-Year Technology Plan and passed legislation to strengthen IT governance for the City. We look forward to reviewing these recommendations and continuing our discussions with our City departments to keep ensuring that San Francisco is taking the most effective and innovative approaches to serving our residents.”
Citing wasteful spending and duplicative efforts, a San Francisco Civil Grand Jury today released a critical report of the City’s technology infrastructure.
The report follows a Fog City Journal investigation in April that unearthed myriad problems with the City’s aging and decentralized technology systems.
“San Francisco government, claiming to be a national leader in technology, continues to be mired in an ineffective and poorly organized technology governance structure that has led to wasteful spending and duplicative efforts, despite more than a decade of reports urging its change,” wrote Patricia Kilkenny, Deputy Jury Commissioner for the Superior Court of California. “The Civil Grand Jury believes that, for any real progress to be made, the Mayor must provide the same leadership in meeting the internal technological needs of City government that he has shown in establishing San Francisco as an ‘innovative capital.’”
The press release continues:
The Jury found a decentralized department culture that reinforces technological ineffectiveness, such as:
• The continued existence of seven email systems, nine data centers, and multiple wide area networks, with City departments resistant to consolidation and change.
• The stalled completion of various inter-departmental projects, one of which is now 15 years old and way over budget.
• The absence of a citywide technology budget and staffing plans.
• Hurdles to the hiring of highly qualified candidates in a competitive technology marketplace.
• Blatant non-compliance with the Administrative Code and City policies.
The Jury recommends the introduction of a functional working relationship between the City Chief Information Officer and departmental technology units. This will allow for the development of a citywide strategy for technology that can take advantage of economies of scale while, at the same time, providing for unique departmental requirements.
Overcoming the basic problems within citywide technology can only be brought about by the passionate leadership of the Mayor. Only he can bring about the culture shock that is needed to transform City technology to the level he talks about. If he has the will, there’s a way.
Responding to the report, Mayor Ed Lee spokesperson Christine Falvey wrote via email: “The mayor thanks the Civil Grand Jury for producing their report on the City’s technology and we will be reviewing their recommendations with an eye toward implementing the best ideas. While we can always improve, there have been significant steps already taken to better organize and streamline technology systems and governance. In the past year, we have lowered IT costs, established a Five-Year Technology Plan and passed legislation to strengthen IT governance for the City. We look forward to reviewing these recommendations and continuing our discussions with our City departments to keep ensuring that San Francisco is taking the most effective and innovative approaches to serving our residents.”
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
(Los Angeles) Civil Grand Jury report: Downey had highest-paid employee among cities examined
by Ben Baeder - The Downey Beat
A just-released Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury report found that Downey had the highest paid city employee of any charter city in the county during the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
Downey paid then Fire Department Chief Jeff Turner $406,000, which was $66,000 more than the Torrance city manager, the next-highest paid employee of the of the 23 charter cities studied by the 2011-2012 Civil Grand Jury.
The report found that four members of the city’s fire command staff earned a combined $1.025 million in the time covered by the report.
Click here to read the report (the part on employee pay is on page 87)
That report did not include another approximately $90,000 in pension payments Turner earned the first six months of 2010. In all, the public paid Turner about $496,000 from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, according to figures from Downey and the California Public Employees Retirement System.
Turner collected pension pay during the first six months of 2010 because he officially retired in December 2009 and then signed up for a special plan that allowed him to collect his pension while he continued to work for the city on a part-time basis.
A number listed in the phone book for Turner was disconnected.
Downey has been in the news several times for is generous payouts. In 2009, former Police Chief Roy Campos was the highest-paid public employee in the state, earning $624,000.
The payouts are due to a city practice that allows employees to bank sick, holiday, vacation and comp time and then cash out the saved time at close to their highest rate of pay when they retire.
It’s not uncommon for Downey to pay out more than $100,000 in unused time when employees retire.
Click here for another story on Downey’s retirement payouts.
Councilman David Gafin said the city has dramatically scaled back how much vacation employees can save up.
Most employees can now only bank about two years’ worth of vacation, and sick time has also been capped.
They big payouts date back to contract negotiations in the 1990s and 2000s that gave major concessions to employee groups in cities all over the state, Gafin said.
“Those were back when times were great and money was flowing through cities,” he said. “When the downturn came, the employees worked with us to make things a little more realistic.”
As of the end of the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the city owed about $15 million in unused leave time to employees, which is nearly a quarter of the city’s $65 million general fund budget, according to financial statements filed by the city.
As for Turner, he was paid $185,372 in regular work pay during the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
He also cashed out $$41,974 in unused vacation time, $151,839 in unused sick time and another $26,787 in unused comp time, according to figures from the city. The sick time was deposited tax free into an account that can only be used for health expenses. The rest of the money was regular taxable pay.
Since he officially retired in December 2009, Turner is paid $189,987.84 annually from his pension, according to CalPERS. Turner, who worked for the city for more than three decades, was replaced by current Fire Chief Lonnie Croom.
Downey’s firemen’s union has recently criticized the city for employing too many commanders for the city’s fire department. The union is pushing for the city to consider contracting fire service from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Savings could be realized by reducing the number of administration staff, Downey
Firemen’s Association President Steve Davis has said.
Davis declined to comment on the pay for Turner.
The Civil Grand Jury’s report was focused on fiscal controls in charter cities. Charter cities are governed by a homemade city constitution instead of the boilerplate “general law” city constitution used by most cities.
In all, nine Downey employees earned more than $200,000 during the fiscal year covered by the report, a figure not outside the norm for a city of Downey’s size.
A just-released Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury report found that Downey had the highest paid city employee of any charter city in the county during the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
Downey paid then Fire Department Chief Jeff Turner $406,000, which was $66,000 more than the Torrance city manager, the next-highest paid employee of the of the 23 charter cities studied by the 2011-2012 Civil Grand Jury.
The report found that four members of the city’s fire command staff earned a combined $1.025 million in the time covered by the report.
Click here to read the report (the part on employee pay is on page 87)
That report did not include another approximately $90,000 in pension payments Turner earned the first six months of 2010. In all, the public paid Turner about $496,000 from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, according to figures from Downey and the California Public Employees Retirement System.
Turner collected pension pay during the first six months of 2010 because he officially retired in December 2009 and then signed up for a special plan that allowed him to collect his pension while he continued to work for the city on a part-time basis.
A number listed in the phone book for Turner was disconnected.
Downey has been in the news several times for is generous payouts. In 2009, former Police Chief Roy Campos was the highest-paid public employee in the state, earning $624,000.
The payouts are due to a city practice that allows employees to bank sick, holiday, vacation and comp time and then cash out the saved time at close to their highest rate of pay when they retire.
It’s not uncommon for Downey to pay out more than $100,000 in unused time when employees retire.
Click here for another story on Downey’s retirement payouts.
Councilman David Gafin said the city has dramatically scaled back how much vacation employees can save up.
Most employees can now only bank about two years’ worth of vacation, and sick time has also been capped.
They big payouts date back to contract negotiations in the 1990s and 2000s that gave major concessions to employee groups in cities all over the state, Gafin said.
“Those were back when times were great and money was flowing through cities,” he said. “When the downturn came, the employees worked with us to make things a little more realistic.”
As of the end of the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the city owed about $15 million in unused leave time to employees, which is nearly a quarter of the city’s $65 million general fund budget, according to financial statements filed by the city.
As for Turner, he was paid $185,372 in regular work pay during the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
He also cashed out $$41,974 in unused vacation time, $151,839 in unused sick time and another $26,787 in unused comp time, according to figures from the city. The sick time was deposited tax free into an account that can only be used for health expenses. The rest of the money was regular taxable pay.
Since he officially retired in December 2009, Turner is paid $189,987.84 annually from his pension, according to CalPERS. Turner, who worked for the city for more than three decades, was replaced by current Fire Chief Lonnie Croom.
Downey’s firemen’s union has recently criticized the city for employing too many commanders for the city’s fire department. The union is pushing for the city to consider contracting fire service from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Savings could be realized by reducing the number of administration staff, Downey
Firemen’s Association President Steve Davis has said.
Davis declined to comment on the pay for Turner.
The Civil Grand Jury’s report was focused on fiscal controls in charter cities. Charter cities are governed by a homemade city constitution instead of the boilerplate “general law” city constitution used by most cities.
In all, nine Downey employees earned more than $200,000 during the fiscal year covered by the report, a figure not outside the norm for a city of Downey’s size.
Friday, July 27, 2012
(San Mateo Co) Grand jury: Electronic monitoring of pretrial inmates can save San Mateo County money and relieve packed jail
By Bonnie Eslinger - Palo Alto Daily News Staff Writer
San Mateo County could reduce the number of inmates at its packed Redwood City jail and save money by electronically monitoring those awaiting trial, according to a grand jury report released Thursday.
Although the county plans to build a new $160 million jail in Redwood City that could eventually accommodate up to 768 beds, it won't open for years from now and conditions at the existing Maguire Correctional Facility, meanwhile, are dangerously overcrowded, San Mateo Civil Grand Jury Foreman Bruce MacMillan told The Daily News.
The state-designated capacity for Maguire is 688 inmates, according to the report, but in 2011 the average daily population there was 856. And the vast majority -- an average of 649 -- were pretrial detainees.
MacMillan stressed that the grand jury isn't calling for the release of high-risk criminals.
"But if there are individuals charged with non-violent, non-aggressive crimes, they might be suitable for this (electronic monitoring)," he said. "If we have over 600 persons in the county jail that are awaiting trial, there must be some of them eligible for electronic release."
It would cost the county $7 to $10 a day to electronically monitor someone, compared to $169 a day to lock that person up, according to the grand jury.
Santa Clara, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties all have electronic monitoring programs for pretrial detainees, the report says, but San Mateo County uses it only for some inmates who have been convicted and sentenced.
The sheriff's office told the grand jury it does not want to electronically monitor pretrial inmates because they could endanger the public, Assistant Sheriff Trisha Sanchez said.
In a written response to the grand jury report, Sheriff Greg Munks said studies of the pretrial population show that "only a handful of inmates would even qualify for such a program." Munks was unavailable for comment.
Asked how many actual pretrial inmates would qualify, Sanchez referred to an April 21, 2012 jail count that indicated 572 of 950 inmates were awaiting trial. Of those, 230 were eligible for bail and the sheriff's office would only consider 19 as qualified candidates for electronic monitoring, Sanchez said.
When tallying supervision, equipment and administrative costs, electronic monitoring runs about $163 per person a day, she added.
Three county supervisors interviewed about the grand jury's findings said they're open to exploring the use of electronic monitoring for some pretrial inmates.
"Maybe for some lower-level ones," board President Adrienne Tissier said. "But I don't think we should do it willy-nilly."
Supervisor Dave Pine said there could be other advantages besides cost in electronically monitoring people. "Research shows that minor offenders can be turned into more serious future offenders when they spend time in jail where they're exposed to more serous offenders," he said.
Board Vice President Don Horsley, the county's former sheriff, noted that people charged with serious crimes are released on bail with no monitoring. "What's better? Somebody who posts bail and they're out, or having them on electronic monitoring?"
The grand jury recommends that the sheriff's office do an "objective" study on the feasibility of an electronic monitoring program and issue a report.
Emily Harris, an organizer for Californians United for a Responsible Budget, which seeks to reduce prison and jail spending, said Munks should investigate any solution that might reduce the need for a new jail. She noted that money from a proposed half-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot would be used to reduce a budget deficit that's partially the result of costs for a new jail.
"I am not surprised that Sheriff Munks would be ignoring proven cost-effective strategies for reducing the jail population, especially those that are used in other counties," she said. "He's so committed to building this jail."
San Mateo County could reduce the number of inmates at its packed Redwood City jail and save money by electronically monitoring those awaiting trial, according to a grand jury report released Thursday.
Although the county plans to build a new $160 million jail in Redwood City that could eventually accommodate up to 768 beds, it won't open for years from now and conditions at the existing Maguire Correctional Facility, meanwhile, are dangerously overcrowded, San Mateo Civil Grand Jury Foreman Bruce MacMillan told The Daily News.
The state-designated capacity for Maguire is 688 inmates, according to the report, but in 2011 the average daily population there was 856. And the vast majority -- an average of 649 -- were pretrial detainees.
MacMillan stressed that the grand jury isn't calling for the release of high-risk criminals.
"But if there are individuals charged with non-violent, non-aggressive crimes, they might be suitable for this (electronic monitoring)," he said. "If we have over 600 persons in the county jail that are awaiting trial, there must be some of them eligible for electronic release."
It would cost the county $7 to $10 a day to electronically monitor someone, compared to $169 a day to lock that person up, according to the grand jury.
Santa Clara, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties all have electronic monitoring programs for pretrial detainees, the report says, but San Mateo County uses it only for some inmates who have been convicted and sentenced.
The sheriff's office told the grand jury it does not want to electronically monitor pretrial inmates because they could endanger the public, Assistant Sheriff Trisha Sanchez said.
In a written response to the grand jury report, Sheriff Greg Munks said studies of the pretrial population show that "only a handful of inmates would even qualify for such a program." Munks was unavailable for comment.
Asked how many actual pretrial inmates would qualify, Sanchez referred to an April 21, 2012 jail count that indicated 572 of 950 inmates were awaiting trial. Of those, 230 were eligible for bail and the sheriff's office would only consider 19 as qualified candidates for electronic monitoring, Sanchez said.
When tallying supervision, equipment and administrative costs, electronic monitoring runs about $163 per person a day, she added.
Three county supervisors interviewed about the grand jury's findings said they're open to exploring the use of electronic monitoring for some pretrial inmates.
"Maybe for some lower-level ones," board President Adrienne Tissier said. "But I don't think we should do it willy-nilly."
Supervisor Dave Pine said there could be other advantages besides cost in electronically monitoring people. "Research shows that minor offenders can be turned into more serious future offenders when they spend time in jail where they're exposed to more serous offenders," he said.
Board Vice President Don Horsley, the county's former sheriff, noted that people charged with serious crimes are released on bail with no monitoring. "What's better? Somebody who posts bail and they're out, or having them on electronic monitoring?"
The grand jury recommends that the sheriff's office do an "objective" study on the feasibility of an electronic monitoring program and issue a report.
Emily Harris, an organizer for Californians United for a Responsible Budget, which seeks to reduce prison and jail spending, said Munks should investigate any solution that might reduce the need for a new jail. She noted that money from a proposed half-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot would be used to reduce a budget deficit that's partially the result of costs for a new jail.
"I am not surprised that Sheriff Munks would be ignoring proven cost-effective strategies for reducing the jail population, especially those that are used in other counties," she said. "He's so committed to building this jail."
Thursday, July 26, 2012
(San Bernardino Co) Exclusive: California city could face SEC lawsuit
By Ronald Grover and Tim Reid - REUTERS
In a case that illustrates the mounting risks facing cash-strapped California cities and their lenders, the desert city of Victorville is bracing for possible litigation amid allegations that it improperly shifted funds among different city-controlled entities.
The Victorville city council was told by its attorney last week that it faced "significant exposure to litigation" relating to a little-publicized Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its financial practices, the city attorney acknowledged in a statement to Reuters.
City attorney Andre de Bortnowsky denied that Victorville had violated any laws, and said "it almost appears as if the SEC is on a fishing expedition."
The exact focus of the SEC investigation is not known. The SEC declined to comment.
In late June, a civil grand jury report alleged that Victorville may have violated state laws by transferring property taxes dedicated to its sanitation department to its general fund budget. Civil grand juries are investigative bodies that are not empowered to bring charges.
Harvey M. Rose Associates, a San Francisco-based public sector management consulting firm, said in its report to the civil grand jury that Victorville had mismanaged projects, made poor decisions on contracts and loaned $38 million to its municipal utility and its local airport. The report said repayment of those loans was "highly questionable."
The report said the utility is insolvent, with $32 million in assets and $108 million in liabilities.
Bortnowsky, in an email to Reuters, said the city "takes issue with respect to many of the statements contained in the Grand Jury report, especially those pertaining to purported violations of state and local laws and resolutions."
He said a full response to the grand jury allegations would be "forthcoming shortly."
Victorville, with a population of about 115,000, had a total of $407 million in bond debt as of June 30, 2011.
The city's auditors said in February that there "was substantial doubt about the city's ability to continue as going concern" due to "recurring losses" in its general fund and lack of liquidity in funds for its utility and the airport.
The city council in late June adopted a $47 million budget for its general fund that included a $74,992 surplus.
Three California cities have filed or said they would file for bankruptcy since June 28, when Stockton filed for Chapter 9 protection to restructure more than $700 million in debt.
On July 2, the city of Mammoth Lakes filed to shield itself from a $43 million court judgment. The San Bernardino city council voted on July 18 to seek bankruptcy protection.
In both Stockton and San Bernardino, poor financial controls and shuffling of money among different city entities appear to have contributed to their respective financial crises.
In a case that illustrates the mounting risks facing cash-strapped California cities and their lenders, the desert city of Victorville is bracing for possible litigation amid allegations that it improperly shifted funds among different city-controlled entities.
The Victorville city council was told by its attorney last week that it faced "significant exposure to litigation" relating to a little-publicized Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its financial practices, the city attorney acknowledged in a statement to Reuters.
City attorney Andre de Bortnowsky denied that Victorville had violated any laws, and said "it almost appears as if the SEC is on a fishing expedition."
The exact focus of the SEC investigation is not known. The SEC declined to comment.
In late June, a civil grand jury report alleged that Victorville may have violated state laws by transferring property taxes dedicated to its sanitation department to its general fund budget. Civil grand juries are investigative bodies that are not empowered to bring charges.
Harvey M. Rose Associates, a San Francisco-based public sector management consulting firm, said in its report to the civil grand jury that Victorville had mismanaged projects, made poor decisions on contracts and loaned $38 million to its municipal utility and its local airport. The report said repayment of those loans was "highly questionable."
The report said the utility is insolvent, with $32 million in assets and $108 million in liabilities.
Bortnowsky, in an email to Reuters, said the city "takes issue with respect to many of the statements contained in the Grand Jury report, especially those pertaining to purported violations of state and local laws and resolutions."
He said a full response to the grand jury allegations would be "forthcoming shortly."
Victorville, with a population of about 115,000, had a total of $407 million in bond debt as of June 30, 2011.
The city's auditors said in February that there "was substantial doubt about the city's ability to continue as going concern" due to "recurring losses" in its general fund and lack of liquidity in funds for its utility and the airport.
The city council in late June adopted a $47 million budget for its general fund that included a $74,992 surplus.
Three California cities have filed or said they would file for bankruptcy since June 28, when Stockton filed for Chapter 9 protection to restructure more than $700 million in debt.
On July 2, the city of Mammoth Lakes filed to shield itself from a $43 million court judgment. The San Bernardino city council voted on July 18 to seek bankruptcy protection.
In both Stockton and San Bernardino, poor financial controls and shuffling of money among different city entities appear to have contributed to their respective financial crises.
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