Butte County Grand Jury
2020-2021
Findings & Recommendations
7 findings
F1:
The BCLEA is a comprehensive and well-run program that follows the state mandated POST curriculum. BCLEA’s classroom hours exceed POST's minimum hourly requirement. It provides a vital function to law enforcement agencies and to graduates who go on to a career in law enforcement.
F2:
and Recommendation R1. The mayor agreed with F2 and R1 but stated that the cost would be prohibitive and not financially prudent. ○ UPDATE: On June 8, 2021, the Chico City Council approved $1.2 million of the city’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Funds to upgrade the dispatch radio system to make the systems compatible, as recommended. As of September 21, 2021, the Chico City Council approved the leasing contract with Motorola for the upgraded radio system. Oroville Union High School District Athletic Facilities The BCGJ focused on two schools in the County, Oroville High School (OHS) and Las Plumas High School (LPHS). The BCGJ highlighted nine findings and offered nine recommendations. ● Oroville Union High School District (OUHSD) administration was required to respond to Findings F1 through F9 and Recommendations R1 through R9. The OUHSD Superintendent responded and offered detailed remarks for each finding and noted with each finding whether the work had been completed (F2, F8, F9), would be completed (F3, F4, F5, F7), or did not need to be addressed (F1, F6). ● OHS and LPHS administrations were each invited to respond (LPHS: F6, F7, R6, R7; OHS: F8, F9, R8, R9); no responses were received directly from either school, but the Superintendent did address all findings and recommendations. Butte Strong Butte County has endured more than the usual number of public crises since 2017: ● 2017 Oroville Dam Crisis ● 2018 Wall Fire ● 2018 Camp Fire ● 2019 Public Safety Power Shutoffs ● 2020 COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders The BCGJ wanted to review and understand how each city managed these challenges. Interviews were conducted with management from the Cities of Biggs, Chico, Gridley, Oroville, and the Town of Paradise; Butte County Supervisors from all Districts; the Chiefs of Police from Chico and Gridley; and the Paradise Irrigation District Manager. As a result of the interviews, it was clear that all municipalities managed these challenges well, though the City of Chico faces financial obstacles which produced Findings F1, F2, F3, F5 and Recommendation R1. ● The City of Chico Mayor responded in agreement with all three findings. The mayor said
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
The Butte-Glenn Community College District Board of Trustees to conduct an internal review of the allotted time assigned to each Learning Domain to determine if more time and instruction can be redirected to the topics identified in F2 by June 30, 2023. 25
F3:
The Scenario Village is a positive addition to BCLEA that enables instructors to create real life scenarios to better prepare students for experiences in the field.
F4:
Digital divides exist within Butte County between library services and those that can access them.
F5:
The Pandemic reduced volunteers which the BCL depended on to educate the public on the latest technology available. 38
F10:
and Recommendations R2-R7 and provided a response to F1 and F2. The Director disagreed with F1 and partially agreed with F2. The Director disagreed with F4 and R3, and partially agreed with F9, however, the Recommendation (R6) will not be implemented. The Director agreed with F3, F5, F6, F7, F8, R2 and R5. The Director stated that R4 was unnecessary, therefore R7 will not be implemented. Status of Government Leaders of the Butte County Information Systems, Butte County Dispatch Center, Butte County Elections Office, Butte County Hall of Records, Butte County Veterans Memorial Halls, and Chico Police Department were interviewed, and tours conducted. The BCGJ, as part of the interview and tour process, arrived at two findings and three recommendations ● Butte County Registrar of Voters agreed with Finding F5 and Recommendations R2 and
F12:
through F15 and Recommendations R3 and R4. ● The DMAD Board of Trustees was required to respond to Findings F18 and F19 and
Additional Recommendations
2
Not linked to specific findings.
R1:
would not be implemented, as the City Council did not secure the necessary five votes to place a 1% tax measure on the November 2020 election. ○ UPDATE: On September 21, 2021, the Chico City Council voted to instruct staff to prepare the necessary documents to place on the 2022 ballot a 1% sales tax increase for the City of Chico. BUTTE COUNTY SINGLE AUDIT REPORTS: YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2020 AND YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2021 The Butte County Grand Jury reviewed the Butte County Single Audit Reports for Fiscal Years 2019-20 and 2020-21, which were prepared by the Independent Auditor CLIFTON, LARSON, ALLEN, LLP. A Single Audit Report is a federal award audit of a non-federal entity that expends $750,000.00 or more in federal funds in one year. The purpose of the report is to ensure that a funds recipient organization follows all applicable compliance requirements and regulations. The report is created by an independent auditing firm, usually a CPA, hired by the organization. The Single Audit Reports are required to be made public within nine months of the close of the fiscal year or within one month after receiving them from the auditing entity, whichever occurs first. Butte County completed and posted both fiscal year reports on their website within the required time. The two main parts of the report are Financial Statements Audit and Compliance Audit. Financial Statements Audit These are the financial statements for the federal grants and loans the entity has received. The statements show the federal expenditures awarded to the entity and the end of fiscal year balances in the loan and grant accounts. The auditors found that the schedule of expenditures of federal awards is fairly stated in all material respects in relation to the financial statements as a whole. Total Federal Expenditures grew from $80,558,447.00 in 2020 to $112,180,816.00 in 2021 for an increase of $31,622,369.00 reflecting an annual growth rate of 39.25%. Increases in expenditures were attributed to the U.S. Department of Treasury, via COVID relief funds and the U.S. Department of Transportation sectors experiencing the largest increases in federal expenditures between 2020 and 2021. Treasury grew from $96,101.00 in 2020 to $22,441,104.00 in federal expenditures while Transportation went from $1,636,200.00 in 2020 to $14,460,219.00 in 2021. The report contains the opinion of the auditing firm regarding the performance of the grantee during the fiscal year. There are four opinions the auditor may express, listed below in order, from most favorable to least. ● Unqualified opinion ● Qualified opinion ● Adverse opinion ● Disclaimer of opinion In FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21, Butte County received an unqualified opinion. Compliance Audit The compliance audit reviews internal controls and the programs identified by the auditor as ‘Major Programs.’ Major Programs are subject to the compliance portion of the Single Audit. In the 2019-20 Single Audit Report, three Major Programs were identified, and in the 2020-21 Single Audit Report there were four Major Programs identified. According to the auditors, CLIFTON, LARSON, ALLEN, LLP, the County complied with the requirements of each Major Federal Program that could have a direct and material effect on each of its major programs for the year ended June 30, 2021. If the audit shows an issue of noncompliance, a finding may be written, describing the noncompliant issue. Following the finding there may be one or more recommendations for the entity to implement. There were no findings or recommendations in either of the Butte County FY 2019-20 or FY 2020-21 Single Audit Reports. BUTTE COLLEGE LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY
R3:
The BCBH to make the Get Started button on the BCBH homepage more prominent by December 31, 2022. 29