2014-2015 Butte County Grand Jury Reports

Conclusions 2

• CL1
  The Independent Auditor’s Report indicated the County of Butte properly responded to all findings and recommendations. The Independent Auditor performed a random sampling of 40 areas, and out of these 40, he only had one finding or problem area. The County remedied the problem, meaning that the recommendation was fully implemented. The Grand Jury finds the County is doing everything it can to receive an audit with a minimum amount of negative findings. 15 The governing body indicated above should be aware that the comment or response of the governing body must be conducted subject to the notice, agenda and open meeting requirements of the Brown Act. Reports issued by the civil Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. Penal Code §929 requires that the reports of the Grand Jury do not contain the name of any person or facts leading to the identity of any person who provides information to the civil Grand Jury. 16 2014-2015 BUTTE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT CITY OF CHICO FINANCES Summary This City of Chico Finances Report is a follow-up to the 2013-2014 Grand Jury investigation. In the prior investigation, it was found that the City of Chico had a General Fund deficit of over $15 million. Since that time, many practices and policies have been changed. By 2014 the deficit was down to $7.8 million. Following the 2014 Fiscal Audit there are positive indicators indicating that a return to solvency has begun. Transparency has been addressed and is mostly resolved. The City Council and the Finance Committee are also being given many more documents than in prior years. The City Manager and the Administrative Services Director have worked hard to accomplish these improvements. Future Grand Juries need to monitor how the General Fund Restoration Plan is working.
• CL2
  Unlike the conflicts observed in the 2009-10 Grand Jury Report, the different parts of Oroville City Government work together to make the processes run smoother. In the current projected budget, the City Council requested that the Department Heads give them their top three goals for the coming year. This shows a more cooperative effort on the part of the City Council and the Departments. All the Department Heads expressed they liked their jobs and that Oroville was making strides to move forward into the future. Oroville has for the most part staved off the deficits that were prevalent when the 2012-13 Grand Jury wrote its Final Report on the financial woes of the City. It had the burden of paying back the loan they gave the Redevelopment Agency (RDA), who then, in compliance with an agreement, returned the loan to the City. Now, the State contends Oroville did not follow the regulations for the State paying the loan back to the City, thus forfeiting the loan. Besides this financial setback, Oroville has begun to get their finances on firm financial ground. Also, since the City is being forced into the annexation, it needs to look into ways for making it work to its benefit. Oroville has been challenged when it comes to finding a City Administrator who both meets the City’s needs and wants to be more than short term. In the last five years, their number stands at six. That is more than one Administrator a year. The Interim City Administrator is also the Director of Planning and Development. In the City Council Meeting that the members of the Grand Jury observed, the interim Administrator was commendable in his role as the connecting point between the Council and the Department Heads. The Council needs to be more selective when choosing the next City Administrator, by finding someone who has the experience to do the job and who wants to make Oroville a better place to live.

Commendations 4

• CM1
  The Butte County Board of Supervisors; a response to Recommendation R6, R8 and R9. The Grand Jury invites the following individuals to respond.
• CM2
  The Butte County Information Services Director to Recommendations R1, R5, R7 and R8.
• CM3
  The Sheriff of Butte County to Recommendations R2, R3 and R4.
• CM4
  The Director of Emergency Management to Recommendations R1 and R7. 48 http://www.buttecounty.net/Portals/19/PrinterFriendlySpecialNeeds.pdf, retrieved April 17, 2015. 114 Attachment A Butte County Office of Emergency Management Basic Disaster Supplies Kit Checklist Disasters happen anytime anywhere. When disaster does strike you may not have much time to respond so it is important to prepare prior to an event. Be aware of the hazards in your community and how to react if things go bad. A highway spill of hazardous material could mean instant evacuation or shelter in place. A winter storm could confine your family at home. An earthquake, flood, wildfire could cut off basic services—gas, water, electricity and telephone—for days or even weeks. Water 3 to 7 day supply (one gallon a day per person). Additionally, in determining adequate quantities, take the following into account: ⎕Individual needs vary, depending on age, physical condition, activity, diet, and climate. Children, nursing mothers, and ill people need more water. Very hot temperatures can double the amount of water needed. A medical emergency might require additional water. Food Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food. Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking and little or no water. If you must heat food pack a can of sterno or other heating systems. Select foods that are compact and lightweight. Be sure to inspect and rotate supplies regularly. Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables (don’t forget a non-electric can opener) ⎕ Canned juices, milk, soup (if powdered, store extra water) Staples—Sugar, salt, pepper ⎕ High energy foods—peanut butter, jelly, crackers, granola bars, trail mix ⎕ Vitamins ⎕ Foods for infants, elderly persons or persons on special diets ⎕ Comfort/stress foods—cookies, hard candy, sweetened cereals, lollipops,instant ⎕coffee, tea bags ⎕Clothing and Bedding Sturdy shoes or work boots Long sleeve shirt and pants Rain gear ⎕ ⎕ Blankets or sleeping bags ⎕ Hat, gloves and sunglasses ⎕ Thermal underwear ⎕ ⎕ 115 First Aid Kit Assemble a first aid kit for your home Scissors and one for each car. A basic first aid Tweezers ⎕ kit should include: Tube of petroleum jelly or other ⎕ Sterile adhesive bandages in lubricant ⎕ assorted sizes Assorted sizes of safety pins ⎕ 2-inch sterile gauze pads (4-6) Cleansing agent/soap ⎕ 4-inch sterile gauze pads (4-6) Medical grade non-latex gloves (2 ⎕ ⎕ Hypoallergenic adhesive tape pair) ⎕ ⎕ Triangular bandages (3) ⎕ 2-inch sterile roll bandages (3 rolls) ⎕ 3-inch sterile roll bandages (3 rolls) ⎕ Non-prescription drugs Moistened towelettes ⎕ Aspirin or non-aspirin pain reliever Antiseptic ⎕ Anti-diarrhea medication Thermometer ⎕ ⎕ Antacid (for upset stomach) Tongue Depressor ⎕ ⎕ Syrup of Ipecac and activated Sunscreen ⎕ ⎕ charcoal (use if advised by the Poison Bug repellant ⎕ ⎕ Control Center) ⎕ Laxative Needle ⎕ Tools and Supplies Plastic sheeting ⎕ Mess kits, or paper cups, plates and Shut-off wrench, to turn off ⎕ plastic utensils household gas and water ⎕ ⎕ Emergency preparedness manual Pliers Battery operated radio (NOAA Tape ⎕ ⎕ weather alert capability) Compass ⎕ ⎕ Flashlight and extra batteries Matches in a water proof container ⎕ Cash or traveler’s checks, change Aluminum foil ⎕ ⎕ Non-electric can opener Signal Flare ⎕ ⎕ Fire extinguisher: ABC type Local area map ⎕ ⎕ Tent ⎕ ⎕ Plastic storage containers ⎕ Paper, pencil ⎕ Needles, thread ⎕ Medicine dropper ⎕ Whistle ⎕ ⎕ 116 Attachment B FARADAY CAGE Faraday cages, or shields, are used all throughout our society. Some are used in the scan-rooms of MRI machines, in which the “cage” effect prevents radio frequency signals from being added to the data from the patient’s image. Some electrical linemen wear “Faraday suits” when working on live, high-voltage power lines to prevent accidental electrocution. Many people buy Faraday bags to protect their cell phones and laptops both from electrical surges and from unwanted surveillance or tracking. According to the National Weather Service, an automobile is essentially a Faraday cage, and it’s the metal surrounding you, not the rubber tires, that protects you from lightning (as long as you’re not touching metal inside the car). A smaller example is a microwave oven, which is a Faraday cage in reverse, trapping the waves inside the device instead of keeping them out. In fact, an old microwave oven makes a good Faraday cage for small electronics! Typical items that can be stored in a Faraday cage include Laptop or notebook computers o Thumb drives or external hard drives o Cell phones o Ipads, iPods, and e-readers o Portable AM/Shortwave radios, ham radio equipment, and walkie-talkies o DC/AC inverters o Battery-powered radios o How to Make a Faraday Cage To be effective, a Faraday cage must: Be covered with conductive metal or mesh. Copper is the most conductive metal, o followed by aluminum. (Well--gold and silver are better, but we assume you won’t be covering your cage with those!) Be properly grounded (according to some experts, to prevent shocks when o touched) Adequately surround whatever it’s protecting. o In addition, whatever is inside should be adequately insulated from the cage itself, such as being placed on wood, in a cardboard box, or on a rubber mat so that it doesn’t touch any metal. 117 Faraday Box # 1—The Galvanized Trash Can You will need A galvanized metal trash can with a tight-fitting lid o Several boxes of heavy-duty aluminum foil o Enough metal screening or mesh to wrap around the top of the can and fit over the o lip Cardboard boxes of assorted sizes that fit inside the can o Plastic garbage bags or plastic wrap o Cloth pieces to wrap items o Wrap the items you wish to protect first in cloth, then plastic, then 3-4 layers of heavy-duty foil, being sure that the foil is molded to the shape of the item and that each layer completely covers the previous one, with no tears or holes. Place your wrapped items in cardboard boxes. Tape shut, then wrap the entire box with 2 layers of foil. Line the trash can with cardboard, including the bottom, making sure there are no gaps. The foil- wrapped boxes must not touch the metal of the can. Set the can on wood or cardboard, not touching any other metal. Several experts say that simply putting the lid on the can, even if it fits tightly, is an insufficient seal. They suggest folding a sheet of metal screening around the top of the can and over the top lid and then forcing the lid over that to maintain a constant, tight-fitting metallic connection. Remember, this is for long-term storage of the appliances inside, not something that you can take your appliances out of to use and then return to the container without a great deal of trouble. A good idea is to look around for good deals on duplicates of things you use every day. Another important thing to remember is that you will need some type of charger—hand-cranked or solar- powered—to power up your devices once a crisis has passed. If you can wrap and store one of these in a protected Faraday container, you’ll be glad to have it. 118 Faraday Cage # 2—A Metal-Clad Box Any box made of non-conductive material such as plywood, and then totally covered with metal, metal mesh, or metal screening can serve as a Faraday cage. The metal must touch at all the corners and over and all around any opening for the protection to be complete, as an electrical charge will find its way through any gaps or crevices in the construction. The smaller the holes in the mesh or screen, the better the protection—but either mesh or screen is believed to work better than solid metal. The metal can be attached to the wood with staples or screws, whichever seems to work best for you. You might consider applying the metal mesh so that it folds around the corners. Then let the next piece overlap the edge of the first, securely fastened together and to the wood so that there is no break in the conductive shield. There are many uncertainties about exactly what would happen in the case of an enormous release of electromagnetic energy in our civilized, plugged-in world. We can hope that nothing will happen to damage our electronics, but in case our hopes are vain, we’ll be happy for every measure we've taken to prepare! http://beprepared.com/blog/tag/faraday-cage/#sthashnqwIbaa7.dpuf 119 [This page left blank intentionally] 120 2104-2015 BUTTE COUNTY GRAND JURY MANAGING BUTTE COUNTY GROUNDWATER: EMPHASIZING DROUGHT YEARS 2012 THROUGH 2014 Summary Water is important to Butte County. During drought years, groundwater takes on a significance it doesn’t have during years of normal precipitation. For example, during a normal year the percentage of total water use (i.e., agricultural, urban, and managed wetlands) met by groundwater is about 30 percent, in drought years the percentage could increase to 50 percent or more. During a drought, groundwater surface levels rapidly decrease, wells go dry and, sometimes, cities and towns are obligated, by law, to cut water use. Moreover, tapping groundwater is analogous to tapping a savings account and if income (i.e., precipitation) isn’t forthcoming, Butte County, with its agriculturally-based economy could become especially vulnerable. With that in mind, Butte County, and the Department of Water and Resource Conservation, in particular, has done an excellent job of managing Butte County groundwater for its citizens, the economy and the environment.

No Responses Found 7

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