⚠️ 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 and Recommendations 13 findings
F1
Effective economic development is crucial to Tuolumne County, which lags behind the state in economic health.
Related Recommendations (3)
R1
Tuolumne County and City of Sonora maintain continuous investment in economic development going forward (F1).
R6
Invoice the General Manager Consultant for past GCSD payments to consultants/subconsultants that performed the job duties of the GM Consultant, and amend the 2018/2019 Budget to remove overlapping service expenses (F1, F6).
R11
Modify the November 2018 Communications Plan to target a date that the GCSD expects to transition from “crisis” mode to “regular and routine” operations mode (F1, F2, F3, F4).
F2
There are multiple instances of lack of control and oversight by the TCEDA/EPCTC Board over the agencies.
Related Recommendations (3)
R2
A new Economic Development entity be developed, and be accountable to CAO of the County (F2, F9).
R3
Tuolumne County appoint an Economic Development leader who is a County employee, under County policies and procedures, with standard County compensation packages (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6).
R11
Modify the November 2018 Communications Plan to target a date that the GCSD expects to transition from “crisis” mode to “regular and routine” operations mode (F1, F2, F3, F4).
F3
This lack of oversight from the Board of Directors allowed the TCEDA Director to be compensated at a high level compared to other counties in California, and to other employees in Tuolumne County.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3
Tuolumne County appoint an Economic Development leader who is a County employee, under County policies and procedures, with standard County compensation packages (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6).
R11
Modify the November 2018 Communications Plan to target a date that the GCSD expects to transition from “crisis” mode to “regular and routine” operations mode (F1, F2, F3, F4).
F4
The Employment Agreement for the TCEDA Director was overly broad with its benefits, travel and expense policies that surpass other County employees/managers.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3
Tuolumne County appoint an Economic Development leader who is a County employee, under County policies and procedures, with standard County compensation packages (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6).
R11
Modify the November 2018 Communications Plan to target a date that the GCSD expects to transition from “crisis” mode to “regular and routine” operations mode (F1, F2, F3, F4).
F5
Private allowance and benefit negotiations of the TCEDA Director's contract hid the true and far-reaching compensation package from other County employees, and from the public.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Tuolumne County appoint an Economic Development leader who is a County employee, under County policies and procedures, with standard County compensation packages (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6).
F6
TCEDA misused public funds.
Related Recommendations (3)
R3
Tuolumne County appoint an Economic Development leader who is a County employee, under County policies and procedures, with standard County compensation packages (F2, F3, F4, F5, F6).
R6
Invoice the General Manager Consultant for past GCSD payments to consultants/subconsultants that performed the job duties of the GM Consultant, and amend the 2018/2019 Budget to remove overlapping service expenses (F1, F6).
R7
Create a procedure regarding communications with the public that includes training of consultants/subconsultants on how to handle sensitive and difficult issues and complaints (F6, F8, F9).
F7
The majority of TCEDA/EPCTC monies were not clearly accounted for in publicly available documents for approximately 10 years.
Related Recommendations (2)
R4
The County develop measures to track progress of economic development (F7, F8).
R15
Require on-site, regularly scheduled 40 hours for a full-time General Manager (F7).
F8
There was a lack of clarity on how to define economic development and how to measure TCEDA's effectiveness to develop the County's economy.
Related Recommendations (5)
R4
The County develop measures to track progress of economic development (F7, F8).
R7
Create a procedure regarding communications with the public that includes training of consultants/subconsultants on how to handle sensitive and difficult issues and complaints (F6, F8, F9).
R8
Undertake an annual community building event (such as a picnic or potluck) that is out of the board room context and encourage open discourse among rate-payers, staff, and Board members to foster better relationships. (F8, F9).
R9
Develop a clear reporting structure for handling complaints by identifying and publishing names with contact information including phone numbers for the currently undesignated “outside consultants” identified to field complaints against the GCSD in Resolution 2019-2, 2018-2019 Grand Jury Report On Groveland Community Services District and not allow these “outside consultants” to be funded by the GM Consultant (F8, F9).
R10
Combine the public and staff complaint reporting structures for one method for handling complaints in which both the public and GCSD staff have access to the currently undesignated “outside consultants” identified in Resolution 2019-2 (F8, F9).
F9
There persisted a culture of insufficient oversight of TCEDA/EPCTC by its Governing Board over the course of ten years.
Related Recommendations (6)
R2
A new Economic Development entity be developed, and be accountable to CAO of the County (F2, F9).
R7
Create a procedure regarding communications with the public that includes training of consultants/subconsultants on how to handle sensitive and difficult issues and complaints (F6, F8, F9).
R8
Undertake an annual community building event (such as a picnic or potluck) that is out of the board room context and encourage open discourse among rate-payers, staff, and Board members to foster better relationships. (F8, F9).
R9
Develop a clear reporting structure for handling complaints by identifying and publishing names with contact information including phone numbers for the currently undesignated “outside consultants” identified to field complaints against the GCSD in Resolution 2019-2, 2018-2019 Grand Jury Report On Groveland Community Services District and not allow these “outside consultants” to be funded by the GM Consultant (F8, F9).
R10
Combine the public and staff complaint reporting structures for one method for handling complaints in which both the public and GCSD staff have access to the currently undesignated “outside consultants” identified in Resolution 2019-2 (F8, F9).
R12
Change Board meeting times and agenda items to accommodate more local residents who work during the day and limit meetings to two hours (F9, F10).
F10
Two previous Grand Jury investigations indicated significant mismanagement issues and lack of measurable effectiveness of the TCEDA, which indicates a longstanding, structural incompetency of the agency.
Related Recommendations (2)
R5
The CAO and the City Administrator educate their respective elected officials and managers on "Code of Conduct" and "Code of Ethics" expectations as public servants, by providing ethics training on an annual basis, to ensure that they understand that their primary missions are to serve the public of Tuolumne County (F10, F11, F12).
R12
Change Board meeting times and agenda items to accommodate more local residents who work during the day and limit meetings to two hours (F9, F10).
F11
The County and City acknowledged the failure of the agency by dissolving it in 2019, even before the financial and managerial audits were complete.
Related Recommendations (2)
R5
The CAO and the City Administrator educate their respective elected officials and managers on "Code of Conduct" and "Code of Ethics" expectations as public servants, by providing ethics training on an annual basis, to ensure that they understand that their primary missions are to serve the public of Tuolumne County (F10, F11, F12).
R13
Document the substance of key discussions during Board meetings in Board minutes, and insert a timestamp in Board minutes to cross reference audio recordings (F11).
F12
The TCEDA Board is responsible for countless hours spent by County Counsel and TCEDA's employee in responding to lawsuits and public records requests, and in three investigations by grand juries, because of its ongoing lack of transparency and its mismanagement.
Related Recommendations (2)
R5
The CAO and the City Administrator educate their respective elected officials and managers on "Code of Conduct" and "Code of Ethics" expectations as public servants, by providing ethics training on an annual basis, to ensure that they understand that their primary missions are to serve the public of Tuolumne County (F10, F11, F12).
R14
Update GCSD website’s Board agenda packet links to include labels with dates, active links to the Policy and Procedures Manual, and include all supporting exhibits in Resolution links (F12).
F13
A conflict of interest review of TCEDA Board members serving on multiple boards was done at the request of the 2017-2018 Grand Jury by County Counsel, but due to attorney-client privilege, none of the findings of the review are available to the 2018-2019 Grand Jury or the public.
No recommendations for this 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.