Colusa County Grand Jury
2021-2022
Findings & Recommendations
14 findings
F1:
The Grand Jury finds that the City violated California Health and Safety Codes §113755 and §114381.1 and Colusa County EHD policies by not obtaining the required Community Event Coordinator Permits and Temporary Food Facility Permits for its summer of 2021 events. Serving food to the public without valid permits in place posed health and safety risks to the public and introduced liability to the City.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
For all City-sponsored events, the Grand Jury recommends that the City verify that the City has submitted an Event Coordinator Application and that all contracted food vendors have each applied for a Temporary Food Facility Permit through the County EHD, and that all the required food permits have been paid for and issued by the County EHD prior to the event occurring.
F2:
The Grand Jury finds that the City's failure to obtain food permits for three of its events resulted in a loss of revenue by the Colusa County EHD for permit fees and its staff time spent coordinating with the City for applications and payment requests.
F3:
The Grand Jury finds that the City violated Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) licensing codes during its summer of 2021 events and had inaccurate information on the applications by severely underestimating the anticipated number of attendees for each event.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
For all City-sponsored events, the Grand Jury recommends that the City confirm with the qualifying non-profit organization or alcohol vender that they have applied for and been issued a valid license from ABC (for events where alcohol is planned to be served), and that the City request a copy of such license prior to the event occurring.
F4:
The Grand Jury finds that City staff purchased beer, wine, and hard liquor from a local grocery store using public monies withdrawn from the City's bank account. Additionally, the Grand Jury finds that the City sold and served alcohol at its Country in Colusa and Fourth of July events without valid special daily beer, wine, and liquor permits, thus violating ABC codes. These violations posed health and safety risks to the public and introduced liability to the City.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
For all City-sponsored events, the Grand Jury recommends that the City confirm with the qualifying non-profit organization or alcohol vender that they have applied for and been issued a valid license from ABC (for events where alcohol is planned to be served), and that the City request a copy of such license prior to the event occurring.
F5:
The Grand Jury finds that the City violated its Purchasing Policy by making large monetary purchases related to the City-sponsored summer of 2021 events without attempting to get at least three (3) competitive quotes for qualified items or utilizing local businesses first; 3 staging of purchases to avoid going to City Council for pre-approval and allowing public input on such large purchases; and not having accountability for money handling and following purchasing procedures.
F6:
The Grand Jury finds that the City violated its Purchasing Policy by making non-allowable purchases using City-issued credit cards and cash, including alcohol.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City Finance Director conduct training for its City existing staff or new hires who are authorized to have a City-issued credit card before the employee signs the Credit Card Form and agreement. The training is recommended to review the allowable and unallowable items and the purchasing and expense reimbursement procedures as outlined in the City's Purchasing Policy, Credit Card Use Policy, and any other applicable City policy.
F7:
The Grand Jury finds that the City violated its Credit Card Use Policy using a former City employee's credit card, which should have been deactivated upon the former employee's departure with the City.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City Finance Director conduct training for its City existing staff or new hires who are authorized to have a City-issued credit card before the employee signs the Credit Card Form and agreement. The training is recommended to review the allowable and unallowable items and the purchasing and expense reimbursement procedures as outlined in the City's Purchasing Policy, Credit Card Use Policy, and any other applicable City policy.
F8:
The Grand Jury finds that the City exhibited negligence and violated multiple City, County, and State policies and procedures, which exposed the City to increased liability.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City work to improve communication and transparency between all City staff and elected officials, County staff and elected officials, and the public. Routine (annual) formal training or seminars related to public relations, the Brown Act, ethics training, and other government functions is recommended for all City staff and City elected officials by independent third-party legal services.
F9:
The Grand Jury finds that the City's limited staff oversight and lack of accountability resulted in excessive spending and misuse of public funds during the planning and implementation of its summer 2021 events.
Related Recommendations (3)
R7:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City work to improve communication and transparency between all City staff and elected officials, County staff and elected officials, and the public. Routine (annual) formal training or seminars related to public relations, the Brown Act, ethics training, and other government functions is recommended for all City staff and City elected officials by independent third-party legal services.
R8:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City Finance Director conduct training for its City existing staff or new hires who are authorized to have a City-issued credit card before the employee signs the Credit Card Form and agreement. The training is recommended to review the allowable and unallowable items and the purchasing and expense reimbursement procedures as outlined in the City's Purchasing Policy, Credit Card Use Policy, and any other applicable City policy.
R9:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City conduct a forensic audit of all City finances within the next two years. Additionally, the Grand Jury recommends that the City consider conducting forensic audits on a bi-annual basis.
F10:
The Grand Jury finds that the public dissemination of financial information was delayed by the City following the events, and records with the cost breakdowns of the expenditures and revenues generated for each event were not detailed.
Related Recommendations (2)
R4:
The Grand Jury recommends that solicitations or requests for donations are not directly made by any single City staff member or official, and that specific benefactors are not purposely targeted. Furthermore, the Grand Jury recommends that the Donation Policy and requests for solicitations are directed to the general public and accessible to the public, such as the City's website, newspaper or social media articles, to improve transparency and provide an equal opportunity for local businesses or the general public to donate to a specific event or intended use by the City.
R9:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City conduct a forensic audit of all City finances within the next two years. Additionally, the Grand Jury recommends that the City consider conducting forensic audits on a bi-annual basis.
F11:
The Grand Jury finds that the new City-Sponsored and Co-Sponsored Events & Tourism Policy adopted by City Council on November 2, 2021, shows a good-faith effort on behalf 8 of the City to address previous issues with its sponsored events' planning, budgeting and accountability.
F12:
In its investigation, the Grand Jury finds that the City is understaffed in multiple departments, with some City staff fulfilling the duties and roles of multiple vacant high-level management positions, which is hindering the City's ability to operate effectively and efficiently.
Related Recommendations (4)
R5:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City Manager position be a sole role so that the employee can dedicate and focus their paid time to fulfilling the duties of that position, shall meet the minimum qualifications as outlined in the job description, and shall receive training where necessary to be able to effectively fulfill all duties of that position.
R6:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City advertise, interview qualified applicants and fulfill its vacancy for the Utilities and Public Works Director position as soon as possible.
R10:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City conduct a performance audit within the next two years to help determine the staffing needs of the City, as well as areas to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
R11:
The Grand Jury recommends that the City consider forming an organizational ombuds committee consisting of at least two members that can provide confidentiality, impartial problem-solving, conflict management, and other human-resources related services for City staff.
F13:
The Grand Jury finds that the City was delinquent in completing its CDBG CV-1 Grant Application, which was submitted after the statewide COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted and the 2021 City-sponsored events had all occurred. Furthermore, the Grand Jury finds that the City is delayed in preparing its asset inventory list of all the equipment purchased during the summer of 2021 that was intended to assist local restaurants and businesses with outdoor operation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
For all physical equipment the City purchased during the summer of 2021 that was intended to be available for public use, the Grand Jury recommends that the City prepare a complete asset inventory list and protocol for public borrowing of said equipment within ninety (90) days from the release of this of this Grand Jury report, to be included with its response to this report.
F14:
It is unclear to the Grand Jury if local businesses, if any, have utilized or were made aware of the City's purchased outdoor equipment to date. Furthermore, the Grand Jury finds that the City lacks transparency and does not have a process in place for the public and local businesses to utilize and receive benefit of said equipment.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
For all physical equipment the City purchased during the summer of 2021 that was intended to be available for public use, the Grand Jury recommends that the City prepare a complete asset inventory list and protocol for public borrowing of said equipment within ninety (90) days from the release of this of this Grand Jury report, to be included with its response to this report.
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.