Final Report Santa Barbara County Courthouse

Recommendations 36

• R1
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County designate an individual to be accountable and responsible to oversee cyber security.
• R1a
  That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors direct the Santa Barbara County Community Services Department to publish an annual report of homeless related expenditures and outcomes.
• R1b
  That the City Councils of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Santa Maria, Solvang, Buellton, Lompoc, Guadalupe, and Carpinteria publish an annual report of their homeless related expenditures and outcomes.
• R2
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County complete a full inventory of their data, electronic and communication systems and determine the related security risks.
• R3
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County establish a written cyber security plan.
• R4
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County take substantial steps to protect data from internal and external attacks or threats.
• R4a
  That the City of Santa Barbara share the results of the “Land Development and Construction Permitting Workflow and Organizational Study” with the Community Development Department staff and direct that the Department implement appropriate recommendations for reorganization and streamlining in a timely manner.
• R4b
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to consider consolidating all Building and Zoning ministerial approval processes under one staff team, with one manager and budget.
• R4c
  That, if Recommendation 4b cannot be implemented, the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to do building and zoning review and approval before a building permit application is accepted.
• R4d
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Planning and Building and Safety Division leaders to brief their employees on each other’s functions, so there is a better understanding of where and why they need to coordinate.
• R4e
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department leadership team to make promotion of teamwork as a part of every Community Development Department annual employee performance review. 52
• R5
  That the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department review camera coverage to make sure that each camera is providing the custody deputies full views of the cells.
• R5a
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County install and maintain current antivirus software to detect malware and other threats. 16
• R5b
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County install and update all operating software regularly.
• R5c
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County periodically train employees and then test their cyber security awareness.
• R5d
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County periodically ensure electronic system- related contractors have been trained for cyber security awareness.
• R6
  That the Board of Supervisors and Sheriff consider funding for upgrade and replacement of the inmate transportation fleet within two years. 1.2 Santa Barbara County Northern Branch Jail The Northern Branch Jail in Santa Maria is being built to alleviate the overcrowding of the Main Jail as well as improving transportation efficiency. The Northern Branch Jail is an improvement in the County’s detention space, and the extra 376 beds should reduce the County’s current inmate overcrowding. A staff of 90 custody deputies will monitor the inmates. It will provide an environment that addresses safety, promotes ADA compliance, and also provides enhanced medical and mental health facilities. Construction of the new Jail was approved by the Board of Supervisors in June 2016. The Jail was originally scheduled to open in September 2018. At the time of this report the construction completion date was estimated to be May 2020, a 20-month delay. This significant delay was due to a combination of factors including a delay in the signing of the earth-moving contract, unusually wet weather, design and regulatory changes, the bankruptcy of the lead architectural firm, delays in contractor work execution, and quality deficiencies. Inmate occupancy must take place of the facility opening. The facility is currently planned to accommodate 376 rated beds with a staff of 90 custody deputies. Once occupied, this additional inmate capacity should ease the Main Jail overcrowding problem. The construction costs for the Northern Branch Jail were originally budgeted at $67 million on March 31, 2016. Amoroso Construction was awarded the winning bid of $77,720,000 on April 7, 2016.16 In June 2016, the Board of Supervisors approved the current budget of $110,857,243, to be offset with $80.0 million from the State of California. Due to project delays, unanticipated change orders, and other issues, “the final total costs of the project are now estimated to increase from the original amount of $110.8 million to a total ranging between $119.0 million and $121.0 million, which is an increase of $8.2 million to $10.2 million or 7% to 9% increase in overall project costs.”17 16 Kitchell – Construction Management and Commissioning, Northern Branch Jail Project - Bid Package 1, April 7, 2016 17 Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Agenda, March 17, 2020, D1) Hearing - Consider recommendations regarding Northern Branch Jail (NBJ) Construction Costs, 25 In May 2013, Rosser International, Inc. (Rosser) entered into a Professional Services Agreement with the County to provide architectural, engineering and related professional design services for the Northern Branch Jail Project. In June 2019, Rosser informed the County that it was going out of business, stopped working on the project, and ceased all performance of its contracted duties for the Northern Branch Jail Project. In July 2019, the County filed cost recovery litigation against Rosser to recover or mitigate the related added project costs. Overall, the Grand Jury found the facility to be impressive, with a modern architectural plan taking advantage of current technologies. The Northern Branch Jail is designed with thermal and recycled water efficiencies. While the new Jail has adequate backup plans in the event of power failures, the facility does not have a solar system that could provide longer-term coverage and cost savings. The building is designed to help normalize social relations by direct supervision. A custody deputy will be in the housing unit with the inmates. The deputy can model positive behavior and intervene quickly and effectively if there is trouble. The Jury noted that the exercise facilities for cell modules were limited in size. Considering the potentially long sentences for some inmates, these small enclosures are inadequate. The inmate entrance to the facility will have a body scanner system capability planned to reduce contraband. Personal visitations will be performed exclusively via video screens from booths. There will be larger rooms available for a family unification process planned to prepare inmates for reentry into society once sentences are completed. When inmate sentences are completed and they are released, there is no transportation available to a Santa Maria city center location, which is more than ten miles away. This is important considering the 24-hour release schedule and the distance from the Northern Branch Jail to the Santa Maria city center. The Sheriff’s Office liaison, County General Services managers, and escort custody deputies were enthusiastic, well-informed, courteous, professional and optimistic about the positive impact this new state-of-the-art facility will make for the County. 26
• R6a
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County create and implement a full backup and recovery plan.
• R6b
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County regularly update and test their backup and recovery plan.
• R7
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County secure adequate cyber insurance.
• R7a
  That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors direct the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department Director, in conjunction with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, to eradicate all cannabis grown on acreage claimed under Legal Non-Conforming status when the cannabis operator fails to demonstrate to the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission that the planting of cannabis occurred prior to January 19, 2016.
• R7b
  That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors direct the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department Director to deny permits for the growth of cannabis on acreage claimed under Legal Non-Conforming status when the cannabis operator fails to demonstrate to 162 the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission that the planting of cannabis occurred prior to January 19, 2016.
• R8
  That each public entity within Santa Barbara County that is unable to allocate adequate funds for cyber security develop a cybersecurity working group to establish best practices and share costs for education, expertise, and insurance. 17
• R8a
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to review and update the training requirements, including customer service, for each position within the department.
• R8b
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to develop comprehensive training programs for all staff positions with target dates to complete new, refresher and cross training.
• R8c
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to develop a strong mentoring program within the Department. 53
• R9
  That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors require that the Sheriff-Coroner’s Bureau meet the standards for accreditation set by the National Association of Medical Examiners and the National Academy of Sciences, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice.
• R9a
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to develop, conduct and update building code training sessions for all Department employees that have occasion to use or apply codes, with refreshers when there are code changes.
• R9b
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department upper management to identify a building code expert from within the Department who can answer employee technical questions and settle in a timely manner any internal application issues that might arise.
• R9c
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department upper management to ensure that all building codes are interpreted consistently.
• R10
  That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors separate the Santa Barbara County Coroner position and make it independent from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff when the current Sheriff-Coroner’s term expires.
• R11
  That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors provide the Behavioral Wellness Department with additional continuous funding to ensure the needed staff-to-client ratios in the County supportive housing facilities. 104
• R12a
  That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors establish, staff and empower an independent Ethics Commission with oversight over the Board and its staff members.
• R12b
  That the independent Ethics Commission develop a Code of Ethics, review Board activities on a periodic and as needed basis for compliance, and share its findings with the public. 163
• R12c
  That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors require all its members to publicly disclose receipt of campaign contributions from donors who have matters pending a decision by the Board.
• R12d
  That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors require those members receiving campaign contributions from donors with matters pending a decision, to recuse themselves from those matters or return the campaign contributions. This report was issued by the Grand Jury with the exception of a grand juror who wanted to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest. That grand juror was excluded from all parts of the investigation, including interviews, deliberations, and the writing and approval of this report.