Nevada County Grand Jury • 2023-2024

Ollow the Oney Fire Safe Council’s Accountability Problems from 2022 Continue

Published: April 08, 2024 19 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 12 findings

F1
FSC does not properly account for large amounts of county (and other gov- ernmental) funding. This makes it impossible to follow the money.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
FSC’s Board of Directors needs to reform FSC’s financial prac- tices to ensure greater protection against fraud.
F2
FSC does not publish all and may not have conducted some annual finan- cial audits. This makes it more difficult to follow the money.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
FSC’s Board of Directors needs to establish consistent account- ing practices.
F3
FSC’s Board of Directors has allowed other questionable financial prac- tices, such as voting on large non-agenda purchases, voting on audit documents not before the Board, and having pre-signed checks.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
FSC’s Board of Directors needs to adopt accounting practices that allow accurate tracking of county funding through expenditures.
F4
FSC’s day-to-day financial practices do not adequately protect against risk of fraud.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
FSC’s Board of Directors needs to ensure retention of qualified financial staff.
F5
FSC does not appear to have appropriate California contractor’s licenses for the work that it performs.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
FSC’s Board of Directors needs to ensure that qualified financial staff are allowed appropriately to monitor and enforce consistent, proper accounting prac- tices.
F6
FSC has reduced transparency, making it difficult for the public and the county to monitor and verify proper use of county funding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
FSC’s Board of Directors should hire an external consultant to determine the cause(s) of the frequent turnover of financial personnel and make recom- mendations.
F7
From at least April 2019 through January 2022, FSC, knowing it was sub- ject to the Brown Act, appears to have violated it numerous times.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
FSC’s Board of Directors needs to establish clear policies govern- ing financial management within the corporation.
F8
FSC has violated its own bylaws.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
FSC’s Board of Directors needs to ensure that all board members receive training on their responsibilities, including overseeing proper financial practices and accountability, and timely receipt of all reports and budgets.
F9
Fire Safe Council of Nevada County is not a responsible, accountable, or appropriate recipient for county (and other governmental) funding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
FSC’s Board of Directors needs to ensure greater transparency so that Nevada County and the public are able to confirm proper use of county funding.
F10
It appears that the county has awarded multiple contracts to FSC, without verifying that FSC had required licenses.
Related Recommendations (1)
R10
FSCs needs to obtain appropriate contractor’s licenses for the work it performs for the county.
F11
The county has not been sufficiently diligent about confirming the validity of contractors’ invoices.
Related Recommendations (1)
R11
FSC’s Board of Directors needs to ensure that FSC follows its own bylaws.
F12
FSC has had frequent, unexplained turnover of key financial personnel.
Related Recommendations (1)
R12
The county should ensure that contractors have required li- censes before awarding contracts.

Additional Recommendations 3

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.

No Responses Found 1

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Nevada County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office