Ngriculture. Industry Educatio Yolo County Civil Grand Jury County of Yolo

R1

Beginning in the 2026-27 fiscal year, create the position of Yolo County Fire Warden, to: a. Establish a fire prevention and inspection program in the unincorporated portions of the County; b. Facilitate cooperation and communication among the County Fire Districts, and provide consistent and continued training to develop expertise and accountability among Fire District Chiefs; c. Act as the County’s liaison with appropriate State and Federal agencies.

R1

Beginning in the 2026-27 fiscal year, create the position of Yolo County Fire Warden, to: a. Establish a fire prevention and inspection program in the unincorporated portions of the County; b. Facilitate cooperation and communication among the County Fire Districts, and provide consistent and continued training to develop expertise and accountability among Fire District Chiefs; c. Act as the County’s liaison with appropriate State and Federal agencies.

R7

Request Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to revisit its July 28, 2022 Municipal Services Review (MSR) for fire protection agencies and initiate where feasible a process for joining adjacent fire districts. a. Request LAFCO evaluate aggregating adjacent fire districts, as suggested in the MSR (July 28, 2022). 5.2 YOLO COUNTY COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT The 2025-2026 Yolo County Grand Jury recommends that the Board of Supervisors directs the Community Services Department to:

R1

Beginning in the 2026-27 fiscal year, create the position of Yolo County Fire Warden, to: a. Establish a fire prevention and inspection program in the unincorporated portions of the County; b. Facilitate cooperation and communication among the County Fire Districts, and provide consistent and continued training to develop expertise and accountability among Fire District Chiefs; c. Act as the County’s liaison with appropriate State and Federal agencies.

R7

Request Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to revisit its July 28, 2022 Municipal Services Review (MSR) for fire protection agencies and initiate where feasible a process for joining adjacent fire districts. a. Request LAFCO evaluate aggregating adjacent fire districts, as suggested in the MSR (July 28, 2022). 5.2 YOLO COUNTY COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT The 2025-2026 Yolo County Grand Jury recommends that the Board of Supervisors directs the Community Services Department to:

R2

Direct the County Community Services Department to establish an enhanced professional ethics training program to be delivered to all Community Services staff annually, that emphasizes: a. the employee’s responsibility to protect public safety; b. recognizing and reporting on potential public safety hazards; and c. identifying and reporting potential zoning violations.

R3

Direct the County Community Services Department to provide annual training covering the County Code of Ordinances to relevant employees in the following divisions: Planning, Building, Code Enforcement, and Environmental Health. The training shall focus on the employees’ responsibilities for enforcement of codes under their purview. The training content should include pertinent sections of the following codes: a. County Fireworks Ordinance (Chapter 2, Section 4-2) b. County Zoning Code for Rural Home Occupation (Section 8-2.306ab) c. County Agricultural Zoning (Chapter 2, Sections 3) d. California Building Codes 2025 (Volumes 1 and 2, Title 24, Part 2) e. California Fire Code 2025 (Title 24, Part 9)

R2

Direct the County Community Services Department to establish an enhanced professional ethics training program to be delivered to all Community Services staff annually, that emphasizes: a. the employee’s responsibility to protect public safety; b. recognizing and reporting on potential public safety hazards; and c. identifying and reporting potential zoning violations.

R3

Direct the County Community Services Department to provide annual training covering the County Code of Ordinances to relevant employees in the following divisions: Planning, Building, Code Enforcement, and Environmental Health. The training shall focus on the employees’ responsibilities for enforcement of codes under their purview. The training content should include pertinent sections of the following codes: a. County Fireworks Ordinance (Chapter 2, Section 4-2) b. County Zoning Code for Rural Home Occupation (Section 8-2.306ab) c. County Agricultural Zoning (Chapter 2, Sections 3) d. California Building Codes 2025 (Volumes 1 and 2, Title 24, Part 2) e. California Fire Code 2025 (Title 24, Part 9)

R4

Direct the Department of Community Services to develop a monitoring program by December 31, 2026, to: a. use aerial surveys to identify new construction within the unincorporated county; and b. verify that all construction is properly permitted.

R4

Direct the Department of Community Services to develop a monitoring program by December 31, 2026, to: a. use aerial surveys to identify new construction within the unincorporated county; and b. verify that all construction is properly permitted.

R8

Document processes for all routine workflows, which should include: a. Process maps showing routine workflows; b. Standard operating procedures; c. Training/qualification programs for procedures and systems; and d. Define expected reasonable timeframes and outcomes for each process step.

R6

Starting in the 2026-27 fiscal year, create a full-time position for a County-wide Business Systems Analyst reporting to the County Chief Administrative Officer, with the responsibility of consulting with individual departments to effect operational improvements within the department and across all County services. a. The analyst’s role is to provide the following consultation services to individual departments via short-term (2-4 month) focused assignments, to: i. Assist in documenting processes: current workflows, future workflows, identify gaps, risks, waste, and opportunities for improvement; ii. Assist in the creation of standard operating procedures; iii. Design solutions to operational challenges by recommending system upgrades, or new technologies; iv. Facilitate incremental improvement projects. b. The analyst duties are to provide the following services to the County generally, to: i. Maintain a generalized understanding of all County operations; ii. Facilitate collaboration within and across departments that provide opportunities to improve County services (speed, cost, quality); iii. Work closely with IT teams to oversee the implementation of new systems or enhancements, ensuring effective integration with existing operational procedures; iv. Assist the County in defining functional requirements of digital systems and validate the implemented systems function as intended; v. Act as an intermediary with 3rd party software vendors/developers to evaluate and ensure implemented solutions meet County needs.

R9

Implement a system for tracking the completion of all routine work, which should include: a. Permanent traceable records of activities performed and decisions made; and b. Enabled auditing of metrics, activities by parcel or agent.

R10

Implement a system for tracking the administration of non-routine work, which should include: a. documenting staff training and certifications. The system should provide training metrics for individual employees and departments; b. reporting and tracking deviations from standard operating procedures or outcomes, with a permanent traceable record of activities performed, expert evaluations, and decisions made; and c. monitoring overall progress of routine workflows, and intervening as necessary to ensure work conforms to standard procedures and expectations. 5.3 YOLO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE The 2025-2026 Yolo County Grand Jury recommends the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office:

R12

Ensure appropriate metrics exist that monitor the quantity and type of ordinance violations reported by sworn officers.

R5

Starting in the 2026-27 fiscal year, augment county code enforcement by: a. one additional full-time employee (FTE) for code enforcement; and b. an additional one-half FTE as a clerical position to maintain and update the code enforcement tracking system.

R16

Prior to approving any outside employment, the Sheriff shall ensure the involved business(s) are compliant with all required local, State, or Federal operating permits. RESPONSES Recommendations from a Civil Grand Jury are not binding on the public agency being investigated. However, the governing body of any entity must respond to the Civil Grand Jury findings and recommendations of report issuance, and an elected official or agency head must respond to the Civil Grand Jury findings and recommendations The next year’s Civil Grand Jury may then evaluate and report on the required responses. 6.1 REQUIRED RESPONSES Pursuant to Penal Code section(s) 933(c) and 933.05, the Grand Jury requests responses to its

R13

Review outside employment policies with all Sheriff’s Office employees.

R14

Perform an audit of existing approvals for outside employment to ensure they are aligned with department policies.

R15

Require employees to seek approval for outside employment annually.

R11

Provide additional training to all sworn deputies on significant Yolo County Ordinances and how to report potential violations to appropriate County divisions.