⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F3
Findings and Recommendations 10 findings
F1
Page 1
The County General Plan Housing and Safety Elements are out of date and need to be updated. The respondent agrees with the finding. These elements of the General Plan are in the process of being updated.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
Page 1
There are insufficient County plans or procedures to mitigate fire dangers for existing residential properties. The respondent disagrees wholly with the finding. The County has recently passed Ordinance 1820, which mandates defensible space requirements for residences within the unincorporated County. This should be adequate without being overbearing to mitigate dangers.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
Page 2
The County has insufficient staffing for grant programs that support fire safety in the County. The respondent agrees with the finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Page 4
The Grand Jury recommends that the County consider taking over more direct responsibility and accountability for fire protection and not rely on less accountable non-profit and nongovernmental entities. (F5/6) The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. This question gets to the core of fire protection for Amador County, and whether the consolidation of fire protection services is better than the service that is provided by the smaller districts and cities providing service for themselves and assisting their neighbors as possible. The County has encouraged consolidation in the past, but that course of action has not been supported locally. As such, the various districts and the cities are responsible for their own fire protection.
F5
Page 2
The AFSC, a non-profit organization, is focused and active in fire mitigation and protection within the County. Several County officials referred the Grand Jury to AFSC for information, despite AFSC being a non-profit organization unaffiliated with the County. We commend AFSC for its service to the community, The respondent agrees with the finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Page 2
There is insufficient County-level accountability or funding for fire safety enforcement in the County. The respondent disagrees wholly with the finding. CalFire is the agency that is responsible for inspecting the requirements of this Ordinance, which they do without charging the homeowners for this service. If the County begins assuming responsibility for the enforcement, then CalFire's participation in this process will stop, and the County will need to invest more of the extremely limited resources into this process.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Page 2
There are insufficient funds to enforce County Ordinance No. 1820. The respondent disagrees wholly with the finding. CalFire is the agency that is responsible for inspecting the requirements of this Ordinance, which they do without charging the homeowners for this service. If the County begins assuming responsibility for the enforcement, then CalFire's participation in this process will stop, and the County will need to invest more of the extremely limited resources into this process.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
Page 2
There is insufficient communication within the County fire related agencies, due to the lack of staffing and funding. The respondent partially disagrees with the finding. As always, the allocation of funds is a challenge, given the limited population served in the unincorporated County and the splintering of Fire Districts within the unincorporated County. More funding would not solve this problem without solid cooperation from all fire agencies, and that cooperation is not currently present. Amador County Board of Supervisors County Administration Center 810 Court Street Jackson, California 95642 Telephone (209) 223-6470 - FAX (209) 257-0619
No recommendations for this finding
F9
Page 3
There is no County department devoted to finding, applying for, and managing grant funding. The respondent agrees with the finding. The Board of Supervisors has tasked the Economic Development staff with the task of securing a contract with a consultant that will perform these tasks.
No recommendations for this finding
F10
Page 3
The County provides the public insufficient fire-safety resources that are reliable, current, and educational. As a result, the Grand Jury finds the County is not meeting its General Plan Safety Element Goal S-2 to reduce fire risks to current and future structures. The respondent disagrees wholly with the finding. The County information is not perfect, but taken as a whole, the information available to the average homeowner is adequate. The County should not have to take on the entire task of homeowner education, given the level of resources currently available from the State and the other fire districts.
No recommendations for this finding
F11
Page 3
The Grand Jury finds that information on fire safety and prevention websites are fragmented and not current. Many links for resources are not useful or functioning. The respondent agrees with the finding. Improvements are being made as opportunity provides.
No recommendations for this finding
Commendations 1
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CM1 Page 2We commend the BOS for passing Ordinance No. 1820, which the County recently adopted. The respondent agrees with the finding.
* 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.