San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury • 2014-2015

San Luis Obispo County 2014-2015 Grand Jury Final Report

Published: July 28, 2015 127 pages Consolidated Report

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⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.

⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.

Findings 12 findings

The community of Cambria faces a severe fire threat due to a combination of environmental, geographical and demographic factors.

The plan for public evacuation in the event of a wildland-urban interface fire or other emergency is not well understood or publicized within the community.

While the execution of the emergency evacuation plan is ultimately the responsibility of the Sheriff’s Department, the promotion of the plan is the responsibility of the Cambria Community Services District.

Work on improving fire breaks and removing dead trees or other fire hazards would lessen the fire risk.

There is an opportunity for enhanced career development and training for existing fire and paramedic personnel as part of a larger organization.

There is an opportunity for improved emergency services by aligning Cambria FD, CCHD and CAL FIRE emergency response. MAKING THE CASE FOR EFFICIENCY: MAXIMIZING EMERGENCY SERVICES IN CAMBRIA

There is an opportunity for improved emergency services if Cambria FD and CCHD were to investigate centralizing ambulance services at the Cambria FD station.

There is an opportunity to reduce overhead by merging organizations and use the savings to establish equipment replacement funds or to pay for other activities such as training, fire prevention and public education.

The county loses revenue when property owners or managers operate unlicensed vacation rentals and do not pay relevant taxes and fees.

F10

The county loses revenue when individuals obtain transient occupancy tax certificates and then do not use them since this effectively blocks others from obtaining such certificates and using them.

F11

Increased enforcement of vacation rental license compliance and associated tax and fee revenue collection would generate funds to cover the costs of such activity.

F12

The Planning Department and the Office of the Auditor, Controller, Treasurer and Tax Collector (Tax Collector) do not coordinate with one another on issues of unlicensed vacation rentals or with licensed vacation rentals which pay little or no transient occupancy taxes. WORKING OR NOT: CHALLENGES IN ENFORCIN G COASTAL VACATION RENTAL REGULATIONS

Recommendations 8

R1

The Cambria Community Services District should request that a local emergency be declared regarding the fire risk and forward it to the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors for ratification.
R2

If the Cambria Community Services District fails to request a local emergency, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors should do so on its own.
R3

The Cambria Community Services District should take additional action to raise public awareness locally and with relevant county, state and federal emergency management agencies. Such actions might include conducting community drills, conducting a new campaign for reverse 911 sign-ups for mobile phones and mailing the wildfire evacuation plan to residents.
R4

The Cambria Community Services District should obtain funding to improve forest management. 2014-2015 San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury Final Report 8 IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY? ASSESSING FIRE RISK IN CAMBRIA
R5

The Cambria Community Services District should use the funding to:
R6

Cambria Community Services District and Cambria Community Healthcare District should determine how to best utilize firefighters and EMS personnel within a common management structure. MAKING THE CASE FOR EFFICIENCY: MAXIMIZING EMERGENCY SERVICES IN CAMBRIA
R7

The Planning Department should determine and fund a way to monitor whether advertised vacation rentals are properly licensed, thus ensuring collection of related taxes and fees, which can more than cover these costs. WORKING OR NOT: CHALLENGES IN ENFORCIN G COASTAL VACATION RENTAL REGULATIONS
R8

The county, whether by clinic staff, interns, temporary or part-time employees, should institute contact with those clients awaiting appointments to decrease the number of no-shows who prevent the scheduling of another client. This could also determine if the severity of the individual’s condition has improved/stabilized/worsened and if the client has transportation.