El Dorado County Grand Jury
2022-2023
From the annual report
The consolidated year-end volume. The individual investigations it contains are listed separately below.
📑 Year-End Report
The full consolidated volume; individual reports are listed below.
Individual reports (6)
Findings & Recommendations
8 findings
F1:
The SBR required that a Director be employed for 5 years or more in order to receive payment for unused sick leave.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
Policies and procedures should be established that are specific to payouts for unrepresented management staff by the HR Department by December, 31, 2023.
F2:
A lack of detailed policies and procedures between HR and CAO ultimately led to a significant overpayment to the former Director of HR.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
Prior to computation of final wages due, HR should take the initial step to confirm the terms of each employee's specific agreement as it relates to unused sick leave and vacation pay due. Once eligibility is determined by HR, the information should then be forwarded to the affected departments as well as the Payroll Division. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
F3:
The payout error in this report was discovered by an unrelated inquiry, a year after it occurred.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
The HR Department should perform annual audits of past payout exit documents for benefits entitled to unrepresented employees beginning in 2023.
F4:
The CFWD was completed in error. It was reviewed and approved by three separate managers in two departments before it was forwarded to the Payroll Division for final review and payment.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4:
The Auditor Controller should establish policies and procedures which outline the chain of custody for the accuracy of the KRONOS database prior to CFWD form sign-off. These standardized procedures should be used by all County Departments. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
F5:
The departing HR Director approved their timecard in KRONOS which included the sick leave hours. The current review and approval process failed to find and correct the data entry error in KRONOS.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5:
CAO should establish policies and procedures to prohibit any employee from approving their own final payout. In the case of a resigning department head, the approval should be made by the CAO or BOS. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
F6:
The Auditor Controller's Office does not have standardized written procedures to complete the CFWD form for departing unrepresented employees. Lack of standardized written procedures in the use of the CFWD form resulted in calculation errors among different departments.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6:
The Auditor Controller should modify the CFWD form to include safeguards and/or a field designating the eligibility of an employee for specific benefits. There should be a roadblock prohibiting the continuation with the payout computation, unless the employee is, in fact, eligible for a specific payout. For example, if the bargaining unit field indicates "UD" and the years of service field is less than 5 years, the ability to continue the payout for sick leave will be blocked. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
F7:
There is no established chain of overall accountability when submitting and approving final payouts.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7:
The Auditor Controller should establish Policies and Procedures to ensure that when a County employee is erroneously overpaid, a standardized repayment process is initiated immediately. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023. June 2023 $28,149 Erroneous Overpayment
F8:
CAO Managers and the Auditor Controller's Office relied solely on the accuracy of employees who independently generated the CFWD form based on erroneous information in the KRONOS database. June 2023 $28,149 Erroneous Overpayment
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Findings & Recommendations
12 findings
F1:
The current P&C web page is not up to date with accurate and complete information regarding bids received and final amounts awarded.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
The P&C Division should develop and implement a procedure to ensure the P&C web page is up to date with accurate and complete information regarding all bids and the final award amounts for full transparency by December 31, 2023.
F2:
The Procurement Policy C-17 was last revised October 22, 2013 – seven (7) years after the policy dated October 2006 was adopted. A new updated policy was adopted on September 20,2022 with an effective date of October 20, 2022, nine (9) years after the 2013 revision. Policy review timelines have been inconsistent.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
The P&C Division should integrate the appropriate public information on their internal tracker (spreadsheet) with their web page to better provide complete and up to date information to the public by December 31, 2023.
F3:
The P&C Division’s procedural manual does not reflect changes made to the policy statement, dated effective October 20, 2022.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
Although there is a stated September 20, 2026, sunset review date of the current policy, the P&C Division should develop a process to formally review and update Procurement Policy C-17 and division procedures. The review process should be developed and implemented by December 31, 2023.
F4:
The P&C Division interfaces with most EDC departments. Many departments have unique or complex contract needs but for those departments interviewed, their input was not included in the policy update.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4:
Develop a process to review and address minor changes to procedures in compliance with the Procurement Policy without BOS approval by December 31, 2023.
F5:
The P&C Division has not updated the New Contract Development Process document, dated October 30, 2019.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5:
As a part of future policy and procedure updates, the P&C Division should seek input from internal customers and incorporate, as applicable, division-specific contract requirements.
F6:
There is a lack of an ongoing customer survey program to determine if the P&C Division is meeting the needs of both internal customers and external vendors.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6:
Finalize the update to the P&C procedural manual to reflect the changes made to the current Procurement Policy C-17, effective October 20, 2022, to be completed by October 31, 2023.
F7:
Updates throughout the contract approval process require contacting P&C directly. The P&C staff maintains an extensive spreadsheet for tracking all contract requests. Some EDC departments maintain their own internal trackers resulting in duplication of work.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7:
For future policy updates, the P&C Division should incorporate changes to their procedural manual within 90 days of BOS policy approval.
F8:
Three training sessions (April, October, and November) were offered in 2022 covering P&C procedures and P&C forms. These sessions were offered to EDC departments and outside vendors. There is no evidence that training was offered prior to these sessions and there are no training sessions scheduled for 2023.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8:
Review and update the New Contract Development Process Document (dated October 30, 2019) by December 31, 2023.
F9:
P&C Staff are not cross trained to perform both procurement and contract functions.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9:
The P&C Division should develop a customer survey program for internal EDC customers and external vendors, to determine if they are meeting the needs of their customers. There should be survey questions focused on the communication of P&C staff with all customers and vendors. Surveys should be June 2023 Procurement & Contracts reviewed by CAO and P&C management and results posted on the P&C Division web page as well as incorporated into policy and procedures updates. A customer survey program should be developed and implemented by December 31, 2023.
F10:
There is no evidence that the P&C Division is exploring, or has explored, other purchasing methods. Certain EDC departments may benefit from more tailored approaches such as Job Order Contracting.
Related Recommendations (1)
R10:
The P&C Division should identify a solution to provide timely updates throughout the contract approval process for its customers by December 31, 2023.
F11:
The Risk Management analysis is toward the end of the P&C contract review process. Positioning this critical RM review at the end of the contract review process has resulted in extended delays. June 2023 Procurement & Contracts
Related Recommendations (1)
R11:
The P&C Division should continue to develop and make available P&C training modules for EDC customers and outside vendors, focusing on how to best navigate the P&C process. An annual schedule for training should be developed by December 31, 2023.
F12:
EBIX is contracted to and paid by EDC to maintain up-to-date and accurate information regarding insurance for EDC vendors, yet RM staff spend their time tracking down up-to-date insurance certificates instead of EBIX.
Related Recommendations (1)
R12:
Develop and implement an internal training program to cross train P&C staff to perform both the procurement and contract functions of the division by December 31, 2023.
Additional Recommendations
5
Not linked to specific findings.
R13:
The P&C Division should review the JOC concept and determine its application to appropriate EDC departments, by December 31, 2023.
R14:
Risk Management should develop and implement a “Risk Assessments” class for EDC contract staff to better understand risk requirements for EDC. Changes should be adopted to help avoid lengthy delays in contract approval by December 31, 2023.
R15:
Review the EBIX contract and ensure that EBIX is providing services based on their contractual obligations by December 31, 2023.
R16:
Cooperative procurement strategy - Awarded full points
R18:
Continued pursuit of excellence - Awarded full points * The 10 points that were not awarded related to Category 14, was related to an oversight by staff to include a final evaluation scoring summary. The County does have this documentation, and this will be included with next year's application which should result in a full point award in this category. Page C-2
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Findings & Recommendations
9 findings
F1:
A mission statement does not exist for the P&B Department. Building Services and Planning Services each have separate web pages but list the same mission statement; however, they each have different and distinct functions.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
The P&B Department should develop a mission statement and refine the mission statements for both Building Services and Planning Services to more accurately reflect their respective missions. This recommendation should be completed by December 31, 2023.
F2:
Only commercial contractors can apply and pay for a simple permit online. Homeowners are unable to apply and pay for a simple permit online.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
Building Services should expand the current simple permit program to allow homeowners to request and pay for simple permits online. This recommendation should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
F3:
Commercial contractors have one point of contact throughout the process and homeowners do not. The P&B Department does not assign personnel the responsibility to manage complex permits through the permit process.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
The P&B Department should assign a single point of contact to act as the advocate for each complex permit request to champion the project through the permit and building process. This recommendation should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
F4:
A permit status dashboard providing transparency has not been developed for projects.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4:
Building Services should create tools, such as a dashboard to provide transparency of permits in its system and document the approvals and inspections (by date) requested and the current status. Criteria should be established for triggering alerts when approvals or inspections stall. Update the system to require an inspection completion date. This recommendation should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
F5:
There is an Ombudsman position, assigned to Economic Development, available to assist customers through the many layers of the permit process. The Ombudsman is also assigned additional duties within Economic Development including special projects. A job description, reflecting the actual responsibilities of the Ombudsman, has not been developed – instead, an Administrative Analyst II job description is being used.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5:
The P&B department should work with Human Resources to create a job description for the Ombudsman position commensurate with the actual duties. This would include empowering the Ombudsman to be responsible for addressing and spearheading the resolution of issues and complaints. This recommendation should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
F6:
As part of the inspection process, Building Services sometimes assigns a different inspector to conduct follow-up inspections to determine if the required corrective actions were completed.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6:
When possible, Building Services should strive to send the same inspector to conduct the follow-up inspection. If a different inspector is assigned to follow-up on corrections, the initial inspector should review the file with them. This recommendation should be implemented by December 31, 2023. June 2023 Planning & Building
F7:
Building Services conducts inspections for new fire sprinkler systems for homes as part of framing inspections. Three (3) fire districts no longer use Building Services but instead, conduct their own inspections at a higher cost to the homeowner. June 2023 Planning & Building
Related Recommendations (1)
R7:
Building Services should review the home fire sprinkler inspection process for efficiency purposes and revisit returning the responsibility for all home fire sprinkler inspections to Building Services. Recommendation to be implemented by December 31, 2023.
F8:
The permit status presentation only provided a summary of permit activity. It did not provide slides with data detailing the quantity or timelines for processing permits by permit type.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8:
The P&B Department should establish a set of benchmarks by permit type for the time expected to get through planning and building projects. A quarterly report should be created detailing the overall activity of and status of timelines for processing permits for project types against established benchmarks. This recommendation is to be implemented by December 31, 2023.
F9:
A customer satisfaction program does not exist. Customer Service Questionnaires that are received by the P&B Department are collected by the Ombudsman who then distributes them to the Director and the department manager. A summary of complaints is not captured, and follow-up has not been established. Paper Customer Service Questionnaires are dropped in a box in the Building Services Lobby.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9:
The P&B Department should develop a customer satisfaction survey program to include customer surveys. A customer survey would be sent directly to the homeowner when the building permit is approved and again, when the building project is finaled. Summarize the responses and take action as needed. This recommendation should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
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Findings & Recommendations
9 findings
F1:
The absence of a contingency plan resulted in delays in communication between the GFCSD and EDC, State, and Federal agencies which delayed emergency funding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
The GFCSD Board should develop a post Caldor Fire contingency plan to facilitate coordination and communication with the EDC Board of Supervisors, the El Dorado Water Agency, FEMA, CalOES and other agencies, as needed. This should be accomplished by December 31, 2023.
F2:
GFCSD is notified of a change in ownership of a parcel by the Assessor’s Office every six (6) months.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
GFCSD Board should request the Assessor’s office provide an update on sales of Grizzly Flats parcels to GFCSD quarterly. This should be accomplished by December 31, 2023.
F3:
A tax lien is placed on the parcel if the water service bill goes unpaid.
F4:
Every parcel with a water connection, as defined within the GFCSD Ordinance 88-1, will be billed for water service.
F5:
With the loss of two thirds of GFCSD structures, the existing water service rate is inadequate to meet the current revenue needs for the GFCSD.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
In order to avoid insolvency, the GFCSD should pursue a new rate structure and approve it pursuant to the Proposition 218 process. This should be accomplished by June 30, 2024.
F6:
Without an increase in revenue, the GFCSD will face insolvency by August 2027.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
In order to avoid insolvency, the GFCSD should pursue a new rate structure and approve it pursuant to the Proposition 218 process. This should be accomplished by June 30, 2024.
F7:
Damage to water lines by the local utility company while undergrounding electrical lines could have been minimized if an up- to-date subdivision parcel map of the water infrastructure existed.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4:
Once the Proposition 218 process is complete and a new rate structure is in place, the GFCSD should hire a licensed civil engineering firm to create an accurate water service infrastructure map. This should be accomplished by June 30, 2024.
F8:
The GFCSD lacked the resources to pursue available funding sources.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5:
The EDC Board of Supervisors should assign a dedicated resource for a six-month period to seek out and apply for grants from local, State and Federal sources, in assistance to the GFCSD. This should be accomplished by June 30, 2024.
F9:
There is no published contingency plan in the event that the GFCSD becomes insolvent.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6:
The EDC BOS should develop, in conjunction with the GFCSD, a contingency plan should the GFCSD become insolvent. This should be accomplished by December 31, 2023.
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Findings & Recommendations
1 findings
F1:
Follow-up actions specified in the responses have been completed or are in the process of being implemented, except in the case of the Auditor-Controller for Case #21-02 and Case #21-06. <b>RECOMMENDATIONS</b>
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
The incoming Grand Jury should review the 2021-22 reports and responses for information.
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Findings & Recommendations
12 findings
F1:
The SBR required that a Director be employed for 5 years or more in order to receive payment for unused sick leave.
F2:
A lack of detailed policies and procedures between HR and CAO ultimately led to a significant overpayment to the former Director of HR.
F3:
The payout error in this report was discovered by an unrelated inquiry, a year after it occurred.
F4:
The CFYWDw as completed in error. It was reviewed and approved by three separate managers in two departments before it was forwarded to the Payroll Division for final review and payment.
F5:
The departing HR Director approved their timecard in KRONOS which included the sick leave hours. The current review and approval process failed to find and correct the data entry error in KRONOS.
F6:
The Auditor Controller’s Office does not have standardized written procedures to complete the CFWD form for departing unrepresented employees. Lack of standardized written procedures in the use of the CFWD form resulted in calculation errors among different departments.
F7:
There is no established chain of overall accountability when submitting and approvingf inal payouts.
F8:
CAO Managers and the Auditor Controller's Office relied solely on the accuracy of employees who independently generated the CFWD form based on erroneous information in the KRONOS database. June 2023 $28,149 Erroneous Overpayment El Dorado County 2022-2023 Grand Jury
F9:
P&C Staff are not cross trained to perform both procurement and contract functions.
F10:
There is no evidence that the P&C Division is exploring, or has explored, other purchasing methods. Certain EDC departments may benefit from more tailored approaches such as Job Order Contracting.
F11:
The Risk Management analysis is toward the end of the P&C contract review process. Positioning this critical RM review at the end of the contract review processh as resultedin extendedd elays. June 2023 Procurement & Contracts El Dorado County 2022-2023 Grand Jury Report
F12:
EBIX is contracted to and paid by EDC to maintain up-to-date and accurate information regarding insurance for EDC vendors, yet RM staff spend their time tracking down up-to-date insurance certificates instead of EBIX.
Additional Recommendations
17
Not linked to specific findings.
R1:
Policies and procedures should be established that are specific to payouts for unrepresented management staff by the HR Department by December, 31, 2023.
R2:
Prior to computation of final wages due, HR should take the initial step to confirm the terms of each employee's specific agreement as it relates to unused sick leave and vacation pay due. Once eligibility is determined by HR, the information should then be forwarded to the affected departments as well as the Payroll Division. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
R3:
The HR Department should perform annual audits of past payout exit documents for benefits entitled to unrepresented employees beginning in 2023.
R4:
The Auditor Controller should establish policies and proceduresw hich outline the chain of custody for the accuracy of the KRONOS database prior to CFWD form sign-off. These standardized procedures should be used by all County Departments. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
R5:
CAO should establish policies and procedures to prohibit any employee from approving their own final payout. In the case of a resigning department head, the approval should be made by the CAO or BOS. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
R6:
The Auditor Controller should modify the CFWD form to include safeguards and/or a field designating the eligibility of an employee for specific benefits. There should be a roadblock prohibiting the continuation with the payout computation, unless the employee is, in fact, eligible for a specific payout. For example, if the bargaining unit field indicates “UD” and the years of service field is less than 5 years, the ability to continue the payout for sick leave will be blocked. This should be implemented by December 31, 2023.
R7:
The Auditor Controller should establish Policies and Procedures to ensure that when a County employee is erroneously overpaid, a standardized repayment process is initiated immediately.T his should be implemented by December 31, 2023 June 2023 $28,149 Erroneous Overpayment El Dorado County 2022-2023 Grand Jury
R8:
Review and update the New Contract Development Process Document (dated October 30, 2019) by December 31, 2023,
R9:
The P&C Division should develop a customer survey program for internal EDC customers and external vendors, to determine if they are meeting the needs of their customers. There should be survey questions focused on the communication of P&C staff with all customers and vendors. Surveys should be June 2023 Procurement & Contracts El Dorado County 2022-2023 Grand Jury Report reviewed by CAO and P&C management and results posted on the P&C Division web page as well as incorporated into policy and procedures updates. A customer survey program should be developed and implemented by December 31 , 2023.
R10:
The P&C Division should identify a solution to provide timely updates throughout the contract approval process for its customers by December 31, 2023.
R11:
The P&C Division should continue to develop and make available P&C training modules for EDC customers and outside vendors, focusing on how to best navigate the P&C process. An annual schedule for training should be developed by December 31, 2023.
R12:
Develop and implement an internal training program to cross train P&C staff to perform both the procurement and contract functions of the division by December 31, 2023.
R13:
The P&C Division should review the JOC concept and determine its application to appropriate EDC departments, by December 31, 2023.
R14:
Risk Management should develop and implement a “Risk Assessments” class for EDC contract staff to better understand risk requirements for EDC. Changes should be adopted to help avoid lengthy delays in contract approval by December 31, 2023.
R15:
Review the EBIX contract and ensure that EBIX is providing services based on their contractual obligations by December 31, 2023.
R16:
Cooperative procurement strategy - Awarded full points
R18:
Continued pursuit of excellence - Awarded full points * The 10 points that were not awarded related to Category 14, was related to an oversight by staff to include a final evaluation scoring summary. The County does have this documentation, and this will be included with next year’s application which should result in a full point award in this category. PageC -2 mR W EL DORADOC OUNTY lb :+ iS! < h t GRAND JURY 2022-2023 + &;’F6€4 • qb+/ el + aUnUb Building Projects- Can You Help Me, .... PLEASE? Case #22-23 GJ03 June 30. 2023 GLOSSARY BOS Board of Supervisors CC&Rs Codes, Covenants, and Restrictions EDC ) EDC department, including external departments, such as a local fire district or school district EL DORADO COUNTY 2022–2023G RAND JURY PLEASE? Building Projects – Can You Help Me? Case #22-23G J03 SUMMARY The 2022-2023 Civil Grand Jury (Grand Jury) learned of delays for building projects encountered by El Dorado County (EDC) residents which prompted an investigation into Building Services and its processes and procedures. For simple permits, such as replacing a water heater or a reroof, the Grand Jury found that licensed contractors can apply and pay for a permit online, while homeowners could not. Homeowners need to apply in person at Building Services. For complex permits, which the Grand Jury defined as permits that require approvals from multiple agencies, i.e., Environmental Management, or a local fire district, Building Services does not assign an advocate to monitor the progress of a residential and/or a small business permit through the process. Currently, there is a Planning & Building (P&B) Ombudsman whose role is not clearly defined. S/he is simply available to answer questions, but does not resolve permit, planning, or building issues. Following the permit application through the process is difficult because current county systems do not automatically document progress. There is little or no assistance or communication from the County, leaving homeowners to navigate the complex and unfamiliar maze of the building permit process on their own. TRAKiT is the Workflow Software utilized by EDC departments to automate the management of project development, permitting, and code compliance. The TRAKiT contract was signed in January 2017 with implementation estimated to take 17 months. EDC encountered implementation issues delaying the final buy-off of the TRAKiT System until 2023, after more than six (6) years. The TRAKiT software continues to contribute to the delays in the permitting process due to the fact that TRAKiT was not successfully implemented. Building Services had to create and is still using manual workarounds to keep the system operational. Additional dedicated resources from the EDC Information Technologies Department continue to be deployed to address ongoing deficiencies in the software. Due to time constraints, the Grand Jury was unable to complete the extensive research required to write a comprehensive report on TRAKiT. June 2023 Planning & Building Page1 El Dorado County 2022-2023 Grand Jury Report The Grand Jury investigation focused on the following areas: mission statements, the permit process, permit process challenges, the role and duties of the Ombudsman, building inspections, home fire sprinkler inspections, performance measurements, and customer satisfaction.
* 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.