Calaveras County Grand Jury

2023-2024

6 reports

Findings & Recommendations 2 findings
F1: Calaveras County schools are doing an excellent job in providing Career Technical Training opportunities.
F2: There is a dedicated staff of educators at our county high schools that are facilitating these programs and engaging students.
Findings & Recommendations 7 findings
F1: The five-year rate increase is disproportionately spread by meter size and usage, which has caused the 5/8” and 3/4" meter customers to bear a greater percentage of the overall rate increase.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, Calaveras County Water District follow their own policy and recalculate the base and usage rates so that the smaller meter customers are not subsidizing the larger meter customers. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response None.
R1a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors request that the California State Controller conduct a review of CCWD’s internal control system to determine the adequacy of CCWD’s controls for conducting its operations, preparing financial reports, safeguarding of assets, and ensuring proper use of public funds. Government Code Section 12422.5 authorizes the State Controller to “audit any local agency for purposes of determining whether the agency’s internal controls are adequate to detect and prevent financial errors and fraud.” Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
F2: The Lease-To-Own Program has not resulted in the purchase ownership of any vehicles, despite what was stated in Calaveras County Water District’s community presentations.
Related Recommendations (2)
R2: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, Calaveras County Water District publish a correction to the statement made in their community presentations. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response None.
R2a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors request that the California State Controller conduct a review of CCWD’s internal control system to determine the adequacy of CCWD’s controls for conducting its operations, preparing financial reports, safeguarding of assets, and ensuring proper use of public funds. Government Code Section 12422.5 authorizes the State Controller to “audit any local agency for purposes of determining whether the agency’s internal controls are adequate to detect and prevent financial errors and fraud.” Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
F3: Vehicle Lease-To-Own programs are not always the most effective use of funds.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the management of Calaveras County Water District, by December 31, 2024, re-evaluate the effectiveness of the Lease To-Own Program by initiating a study that compares the cost of leasing and subsequently returning vehicles, versus the ownership of vehicles throughout a reasonably expected useful lifespan. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response None.
R3a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors request that the California State Controller conduct a review of CCWD’s internal control system to determine the adequacy of CCWD’s controls for conducting its operations, preparing financial reports, safeguarding of assets, and ensuring proper use of public funds. Government Code Section 12422.5 authorizes the State Controller to “audit any local agency for purposes of determining whether the agency’s internal controls are adequate to detect and prevent financial errors and fraud.” Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Director of Operations Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
F4: The practice of assigning district vehicles to management personnel is unnecessary to operations and creates additional expense and liability.
Related Recommendations (2)
R4: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, all Calaveras County Water District vehicles be used by personnel only within the scope of their job descriptions during business hours with exceptions of after-hours by on-call and emergency response personnel. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
R4a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors request that the California State Controller conduct a review of CCWD’s internal control system to determine the adequacy of CCWD’s controls for conducting its operations, preparing financial reports, safeguarding of assets, and ensuring proper use of public funds. Government Code Section 12422.5 authorizes the State Controller to “audit any local agency for purposes of determining whether the agency’s internal controls are adequate to detect and prevent financial errors and fraud.” Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
F5: The Enterprise Resource Planning software integration issues cause unnecessary inefficiencies in day-to-day operations.
Related Recommendations (3)
R5: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, Calaveras County Water District contract with an information technology firm that has the expertise to identify and provide an action plan to resolve the current system integration issues. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Business Services Manager Calaveras County Water District General Manager Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
R5a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors request that the California State Controller conduct a review of CCWD’s internal control system to determine the adequacy of CCWD’s controls for conducting its operations, preparing financial reports, safeguarding of assets, and ensuring proper use of public funds. Government Code Section 12422.5 authorizes the State Controller to “audit any local agency for purposes of determining whether the agency’s internal controls are adequate to detect and prevent financial errors and fraud.” Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Business Services Manager Calaveras County Water District General Manager Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
R5b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, a process and timeline be created for the migration of other standalone applications at Calaveras County Water District into their Enterprise Resource Planning platform. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Business Services Manager Calaveras County Water District General Manager
F6: Given the fear of retaliation, rank and file employees at Calaveras County Water District do not feel they can express their concerns to their superiors.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6: Calaveras County Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, an outside human resource consultant be contracted to address the root of workplace culture issues with all Calaveras County Water District management and employees. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Human Resources Manager
F7: Regularly scheduled employee performance reviews are not being completed in a timely or consistent manner, causing a lack of accountability at all levels of the workforce.
Related Recommendations (2)
R7a: Calaveras County Grand Jury recommends that all employees in a supervisory level position review the District employee performance evaluation policy and comply with that policy by December 31, 2024. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Human Resources Manager Calaveras County Water District General Manager
R7b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, the Calaveras County Water District Human Resources Department document and enforce the execution of regularly scheduled employee performance reviews. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Human Resources Manager Reports issued by the Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. Penal Code §929 requires that reports of the Grand Jury not contain the name of any person or facts leading to the identity of any person who provides information to the Grand Jury. REFERENCE SOURCES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED INCREASED RATES AND CHARGES FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICES. posted July 24, 2023 https://ccwd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Final-Prop-218-Notice.pdf CCWD website as of April 2024 Bi-Monthly Water Base Rate Charges by Meter Size effective in 2018 -2022 https://ccwd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CCWD-Water-and-Wastewater- Rates_Approved-May-2018.pdf CCWD website as of April 2024 Bi-Monthly Water Base rate Charges by Meter Size effective 2023-2027 https://ccwd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Rate-Ordinance-Exhibit-1-Adopted-9-13.pdf https://ccwd.org/rate-study-23-28/ CCWD website as of April 2024 Calaveras County Water District – 2023 Cost-of-Service Study pg6 Posted on 9-25-23 https://ccwd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Calaveras-County-Water-District-2023-Cost- of-Service-Study-9-25-2023.pdf CCWD Website as of April 2024 Presentation-Reasons for the Rate Increase (CCWD Workshop-Presentation-Full) https://ccwd.org/rate-study-23-28/ California Special Districts Association https://csda.net/home Parker, Mike - Pros & Cons of Leasing vs. Buying a Vehicle – Hearst Newspaper – Chron Newsletters Molnar, Dani – Lease or Buy? 05/05/2013 Acima Leasing - What Does Lease-to-Own Mean – April 12, 2022 Microsoft Bing, Copilot - Leasing, Buying, Conclusion Truck Leasing 101: What is an Equity Lease – Wilmar client portal Merchants Fleet Leasing https://www.merchantsfleet.com/ Kagan, Julia & James, Margaret - Open-End Lease: What it is, How it Works – 05/26/2021 FleetNet America Lease vs. Buy: A Decision Guide and Cost Analysis for Fleets – 11/13/ 2017 Enterprise Fleet Management website https://www.efleets.com/ Hackett, Trenda. B. – Employer-provided and company-owned vehicles – The Tax Adviser 11/01/2022 Vines, Joan & Sharara, Norma – Taxation of Employees’ Personal Use of Company Vehicles – 11/11/2021 BDO USA Toni Hoy – Fiduciary Responsibility: A Complete Guide with Examples – March 21, 2023 California Constitution Article XIII C & D California Government Codes 53755, 53756 California Labor Code 1102.5 Calaveras County Board Resolution 2003-67 Various Agendas, Agenda Packages, and Minutes from past Calaveras County Water District Board Meetings
Findings & Recommendations 1 findings
F1: The Animal Services website needs improvements for the public to use it as an information resource.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that Animal Services update its website with current information and improved user-friendly operations as suggested in the Discussion – Website portion of this report by November 1, 2024.
Findings & Recommendations 4 findings
F1: The current level of staffing at Child Welfare Services risks decreasing the department’s ability to properly meet the needs of our community due to employee burnout and turnover.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, a task force be established by Calaveras County Health and Human Service Agency, with representatives from Child Welfare Service, and Calaveras County Economic and Community Development Department to create a campaign to attract and recruit qualified candidates for Social Work positions in Calaveras County.
R1b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends the resulting Health and Human Services task force implement the campaign by March 31, 2025.
F2: Operating under the current county contract procedure can sometimes delay or prevent the ability to provide prompt access to health providers, which can be detrimental to clients in need of services.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that Calaveras County Health and Human Services create standardized contracts with language previously approved and then tailored to the requirements of each individual division of Health and Human Services Agency by March 31, 2025.
F3: A shortage of pre-approved service providers can delay access to much-needed services for clients.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, HHSA establish a process of prequalifying and pre-approving anticipated health care providers prior to an immediate need.
R3b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, HHSA streamline the process of renewing contracts with established service providers prior to contract expiration dates.
F4: Child Welfare Services and Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office have different understandings of what security is needed for social workers in the field during volatile or hazardous calls.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, representatives from Calaveras County Health and Human Services Agency, Child Welfare Services, and Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office meet to establish a mutual understanding regarding these anticipated situations and meet quarterly thereafter.
Findings & Recommendations 2 findings
F1: The Ebbetts Pass Veterans Memorial District Board of Directors has demonstrated a lack of adequate training in the Ralph M. Brown Act.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends all current board members be trained regarding public meetings by taking Brown Act training by September 1, 2024.
R1b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends any newly appointed or elected board member be trained regarding public meetings by taking Brown Act training within three (3) months of taking the oath of office.
F2: Because Ebbetts Pass Veterans Memorial District’s website has not been updated due to technical difficulties, important information, such as Board member contact information and reliable meeting date schedules and locations, is not being disseminated to the public.
Related Recommendations (2)
R2a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends Ebbetts Pass Veterans Memorial District have their new website deployed, with appropriate ADA compliance, no later than January 1, 2025.
R2b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends Ebbetts Pass Veterans Memorial District create a standard means for the public to submit agenda items, in a clear and concise process, by January 1, 2025.
Findings & Recommendations 7 findings
F1: The Animal Services website needs improvements for the public to use it as an information resource.
Related Recommendations (3)
R1: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that Animal Services update its website with current information and improved user-friendly operations as suggested in the Discussion – Website portion of this report by November 1, 2024.
R1a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors request that the California State Controller conduct a review of CCWD’s internal control system to determine the adequacy of CCWD’s controls for conducting its operations, preparing financial reports, safeguarding of assets, and ensuring proper use of public funds. Government Code Section 12422.5 authorizes the State Controller to “audit any local agency for purposes of determining whether the agency’s internal controls are adequate to detect and prevent financial errors and fraud.” Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
R1b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends any newly appointed or elected board member be trained regarding public meetings by taking Brown Act training within three (3) months of taking the oath of office.
F2: The Lease-To-Own Program has not resulted in the purchase ownership of any vehicles, despite what was stated in Calaveras County Water District’s community presentations.
Related Recommendations (3)
R2: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, Calaveras County Water District publish a correction to the statement made in their community presentations. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response None.
R2a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors request that the California State Controller conduct a review of CCWD’s internal control system to determine the adequacy of CCWD’s controls for conducting its operations, preparing financial reports, safeguarding of assets, and ensuring proper use of public funds. Government Code Section 12422.5 authorizes the State Controller to “audit any local agency for purposes of determining whether the agency’s internal controls are adequate to detect and prevent financial errors and fraud.” Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
R2b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends Ebbetts Pass Veterans Memorial District create a standard means for the public to submit agenda items, in a clear and concise process, by January 1, 2025.
F3: Vehicle Lease-To-Own programs are not always the most effective use of funds.
Related Recommendations (3)
R3: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the management of Calaveras County Water District, by December 31, 2024, re-evaluate the effectiveness of the Lease To-Own Program by initiating a study that compares the cost of leasing and subsequently returning vehicles, versus the ownership of vehicles throughout a reasonably expected useful lifespan. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response None.
R3a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors request that the California State Controller conduct a review of CCWD’s internal control system to determine the adequacy of CCWD’s controls for conducting its operations, preparing financial reports, safeguarding of assets, and ensuring proper use of public funds. Government Code Section 12422.5 authorizes the State Controller to “audit any local agency for purposes of determining whether the agency’s internal controls are adequate to detect and prevent financial errors and fraud.” Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Director of Operations Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
R3b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, HHSA streamline the process of renewing contracts with established service providers prior to contract expiration dates.
F4: The practice of assigning district vehicles to management personnel is unnecessary to operations and creates additional expense and liability.
Related Recommendations (2)
R4: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, all Calaveras County Water District vehicles be used by personnel only within the scope of their job descriptions during business hours with exceptions of after-hours by on-call and emergency response personnel. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
R4a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors request that the California State Controller conduct a review of CCWD’s internal control system to determine the adequacy of CCWD’s controls for conducting its operations, preparing financial reports, safeguarding of assets, and ensuring proper use of public funds. Government Code Section 12422.5 authorizes the State Controller to “audit any local agency for purposes of determining whether the agency’s internal controls are adequate to detect and prevent financial errors and fraud.” Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
F5: The Enterprise Resource Planning software integration issues cause unnecessary inefficiencies in day-to-day operations.
Related Recommendations (3)
R5: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, Calaveras County Water District contract with an information technology firm that has the expertise to identify and provide an action plan to resolve the current system integration issues. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Business Services Manager Calaveras County Water District General Manager Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
R5a: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors request that the California State Controller conduct a review of CCWD’s internal control system to determine the adequacy of CCWD’s controls for conducting its operations, preparing financial reports, safeguarding of assets, and ensuring proper use of public funds. Government Code Section 12422.5 authorizes the State Controller to “audit any local agency for purposes of determining whether the agency’s internal controls are adequate to detect and prevent financial errors and fraud.” Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Business Services Manager Calaveras County Water District General Manager Calaveras County Board of Supervisors
R5b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, a process and timeline be created for the migration of other standalone applications at Calaveras County Water District into their Enterprise Resource Planning platform. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Business Services Manager Calaveras County Water District General Manager
F6: Given the fear of retaliation, rank and file employees at Calaveras County Water District do not feel they can express their concerns to their superiors.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6: Calaveras County Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, an outside human resource consultant be contracted to address the root of workplace culture issues with all Calaveras County Water District management and employees. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Human Resources Manager
F7: Regularly scheduled employee performance reviews are not being completed in a timely or consistent manner, causing a lack of accountability at all levels of the workforce.
Related Recommendations (2)
R7a: Calaveras County Grand Jury recommends that all employees in a supervisory level position review the District employee performance evaluation policy and comply with that policy by December 31, 2024. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Human Resources Manager Calaveras County Water District General Manager
R7b: Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury recommends that, by December 31, 2024, the Calaveras County Water District Human Resources Department document and enforce the execution of regularly scheduled employee performance reviews. Required Response Calaveras County Water District Board of Directors Invited Response Calaveras County Water District Human Resources Manager Reports issued by the Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. Penal Code §929 requires that reports of the Grand Jury not contain the name of any person or facts leading to the identity of any person who provides information to the Grand Jury. REFERENCE SOURCES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED INCREASED RATES AND CHARGES FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICES. posted July 24, 2023 https://ccwd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Final-Prop-218-Notice.pdf CCWD website as of April 2024 Bi-Monthly Water Base Rate Charges by Meter Size effective in 2018 -2022 https://ccwd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CCWD-Water-and-Wastewater- Rates_Approved-May-2018.pdf CCWD website as of April 2024 Bi-Monthly Water Base rate Charges by Meter Size effective 2023-2027 https://ccwd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Rate-Ordinance-Exhibit-1-Adopted-9- 13.pdf https://ccwd.org/rate-study-23-28/ CCWD website as of April 2024 Calaveras County Water District – 2023 Cost-of-Service Study pg6 Posted on 9-25-23 https://ccwd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Calaveras-County-Water-District- 2023-Cost-of-Service-Study-9-25-2023.pdf CCWD Website as of April 2024 Presentation-Reasons for the Rate Increase (CCWD Workshop-Presentation-Full) https://ccwd.org/rate-study-23-28/ California Special Districts Association https://csda.net/home Parker, Mike - Pros & Cons of Leasing vs. Buying a Vehicle – Hearst Newspaper – Chron Newsletters Molnar, Dani – Lease or Buy? 05/05/2013 Acima Leasing - What Does Lease-to-Own Mean – April 12, 2022 Microsoft Bing, Copilot - Leasing, Buying, Conclusion Truck Leasing 101: What is an Equity Lease – Wilmar client portal Merchants Fleet Leasing https://www.merchantsfleet.com/ Kagan, Julia & James, Margaret - Open-End Lease: What it is, How it Works – 05/26/2021 FleetNet America Lease vs. Buy: A Decision Guide and Cost Analysis for Fleets – 11/13/ 2017 Enterprise Fleet Management website https://www.efleets.com/ Hackett, Trenda. B. – Employer-provided and company-owned vehicles – The Tax Adviser 11/01/2022 Vines, Joan & Sharara, Norma – Taxation of Employees’ Personal Use of Company Vehicles – 11/11/2021 BDO USA Toni Hoy – Fiduciary Responsibility: A Complete Guide with Examples – March 21, 2023 California Constitution Article XIII C & D California Government Codes 53755, 53756 California Labor Code 1102.5 Calaveras County Board Resolution 2003-67 Various Agendas, Agenda Packages, and Minutes from past Calaveras County Water District Board Meetings Calaveras County Civil Grand Jury Ebbetts Pass Veterans Memorial District The Value of Transparency June 30, 2024 Photo courtesy of Victoria Plaugher