The Fresno County

Conclusions 4

• CL1 Page 24
  Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP) – during the Grand Jury’s limited visit – appeared to be a well-run correctional facility working to rehabilitate and educate inmates so they will be qualified to become productive members of their communities. Physical and mental health facilities are in place for inmates, but PVSP must remain vigilant in preventing Valley Fever among the inmate and employee populations. A new reward system promotes positive behavior with defined incentives for inmates. PVSP participates in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Go Green initiative, most recently installing solar panels to generate electricity.
• CL2 Page 40
  After carefully reviewing information obtained by the Grand Jury, observing the council in action and interviewing Sanger residents the Grand Jury concluded that the political divisions are deep and deeply personal. The Grand Jury did not receive conclusive evidence to support allegations about improprieties, which have taken on a life of their own and added to mistrust and hostility between and among City Council members and City Hall leadership. However, the Grand Jury recognizes that its investigation was not focused on the details of some complaints, especially those that took place many years ago. Had some allegations been dealt with by agencies to which they were reported, fact-based conclusions would have resulted and some old complaints would less likely be fodder for current divisive gossip. Sanger’s election-by-district setup does not have the support mechanism enjoyed elsewhere to allow City Council members to effectively and quickly deal with what constituents believe are pressing issues. Training or some other catalyst is needed to bring together the divided leaders of Sanger and harness all the good intentions for the greatest good of the community and all its residents. Absent more harmony and collaboration, some residents and businesses could choose to relocate from Sanger and others be discouraged from coming to the community. Both would be unfortunate, especially following the amount of progress in a short period of time. There is a reluctance to share decision making more broadly in setting city priorities. A minority of council members, a few city leaders and business-interest groups chart the course, but don’t include a broad spectrum of interests, nor keep the entire council in the loop. The result can be – and often is – reluctance by City Council members to go along with community-serving proposals. Delays or rejections hurt efforts to improve Sanger and lead to dysfunction that discourages progress. Sanger already is dealing with fallout from the discord between the City Council majority and city staff. The city manager resigned, saying he was unable to find middle ground with the new council majority. It would seem only a matter of time before other city employees loyal to the city manager and some elected officials who have supported him will become similarly discouraged and leave. The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office offers citizens of Sanger and the rest of Fresno County a new opportunity to bring their concerns to its new Public Integrity Unit, helping address a concern of Grand Jury witnesses that their complaints were disregarded and not investigated. Investigations would provide facts that might quiet recycled suspicions. Sanger can achieve harmonious governance, but citizens will have to demand and support it. Media could play a role in any concerted positive effort to heal the divisions by encouraging respect for diverse views, promoting civic participation to bring fresh perspectives on city challenges and insisting that city leaders be models of civility, putting aside old personal and political differences and for the common good. 9 Until residents, through greater involvement, insist upon a civil, collaborative and comprehensive effort to harness all the good intentions of elected, city and community leaders, Sanger’s dysfunctional decision making could exact a toll on advancing the broadest interests of all residents. To secure the city’s future, citizens must put aside what divides the community and develop the kind of broad- based collaboration that will ensure all Sanger residents share more than just a ZIP code.
• CL3 Page 81
  The Parlier Unified School District has undertaken many courses of action under a new superintendent that have done little to help improve student success and much to benefit administrators and trustees financially. Since June 2013, Parlier Unified administrators and trustees have traveled throughout California and across the country; charged thousands of dollars in restaurant meals; increased the administrative staff; given themselves raises; paid millions for consultants and programs; and run up big legal bills. By not speaking out at meetings, trustees seem to accept poor performance of students and the extra expense of appointing a growing cadre of administrators, few of whom have a direct role in improving student outcomes. Trustees don’t question contracts with vendors, some of whom have done business for years with the district but have not changed the performance of students. Many contracts have no performance metrics and some are for services usually performed by staff in other Fresno County districts. Still others appear to duplicate services for which other vendors are being paid. The superintendent and Board of Trustees talk about being accessible to the public and about overall transparency in operations. However, the superintendent and board have acted to sharply limit citizen access and stifle free speech at board meetings. Some administrative practices and policies seem to hide information and decisions from public view and possibly even from trustees, especially those trustees concerned more about cutting time from their elective service than about asking questions about items they vote on. The trustees have regular meetings only half as frequently as they did at the start of the 2014-15 school year; yet the meeting schedule is as busy as before because of special and rescheduled meetings that often are held at times that could hinder public participation. Various venues are scheduled for the meetings, making it more difficult for citizens to participate. The Grand Jury’s review found that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent sending trustees, the superintendent and his top administrators to out-of-district conferences a practice in need of review. The request process often doesn’t provide accurate or complete information to trustees authorizing such travel and occasionally results in piecemeal information that’s difficult to track. More troubling was the practice of approving trip expenditures after trips had taken place, although the district policy suggests advance approval is necessary. Trustees either don’t know about or aren’t concerned with the amount of money spent by the superintendent and themselves dining at restaurants to conduct meetings that might be conducted at Fresno County Grand Jury 2014-15 Report #3, page 22 no cost in district offices. The Grand Jury was told that some trustees and the superintendent believe dining out is a reward for their service. The district’s per diem meal allowance seems to be followed by employees below the administrative level, but not by the administrators or trustees, yet there is no effort made to collect the difference between the allowable and what’s actually spent. The Grand Jury found in the district’s warrant lists many examples of expenditures that should raise trustee questions. One is the exodus of students to other schools. Every month warrants are issued to reimburse parents – even one top district administrator – to transport their children outside Parlier Unified. In nearly two years, though, Parlier Unified Board of Trustees minutes do not reflect any discussion of that fact or how many district students go elsewhere or the financial impact. Another issue unaddressed by the trustees is the superintendent’s expansion of the district’s administrative staff. Parlier Unified is challenged by an inexperienced superintendent who did not meet the minimum criteria in the job posting. He also seems too close with a few trustees, and in his two years as superintendent has not been able to measurably improve student achievement. The superintendent freely spends district money on his own dining and traveling and seems to reward his allies and relatives at district expense. Parlier Unified trustees seem to think of public service as something you do only when there’s some spare time. They limit public access, disrespect the citizens at meetings, expend district resources on themselves and don’t hold anyone accountable for an ongoing history of underachievement. Trustees behave like cheerleaders for the superintendent, not representatives of the citizens who elected them. And citizens are marginalized and disrespected in the significantly less time that trustees allow for their comments at the regular board meetings. Unless many fundamental aspects of governance in the Parlier Unified School District change quickly, the district can be expected to continue its history of underperformance, which harms its children first and foremost.
• CL4 Page 116
  The City of Fresno’s housing blight challenges have been brought forcefully to public attention by individual citizens and community organizations, resulting in the appointment of a Mayor‐ City Council Code Enforcement Task Force. The impact of blight is felt in many ways. It diminishes property values, thereby cutting tax revenue, and it causes public safety and health issues, including increased use of vacant properties by vagrants and by drug dealers and users. The visual impact of clearly abandoned or neglected buildings is demoralizing and presents a poor image of the city, especially in long‐established neighborhoods where revitalization is in progress, Improperly boarded‐up houses and apartments and insufficiently maintained landscaping pose fire, health and safety hazards that already have cost the City hundreds of thousands of dollars, threatening the safety of neighboring people and properties. The Grand Jury was given no data to indicate that any efforts have been made to levy and collect financial penalties nor to move in any substantive way against multi‐property holders in violation of blight codes. In almost a full year of meetings, only one issue brought about by the special task force was addressed: vacant housing blight. The City Council must approve funding for sufficient staff and support equipment to enforce the revised vacant property ordinance. Fresno County Grand Jury 2014‐15 Report #4, page 7 City of Fresno staff repeatedly indicates that lack of resources is to blame for the lack of code enforcement and delayed response to housing blight. The mayor and Fresno City Council must partner to provide adequate funding to the Development and Resource Management Division to address these issues and division managers must use those resources effectively.