2012-2013 Grand Jury Final Report: On the Integrity of Grand Jury Investigations

R1

That the County Board of Supervisors, the City Council of each incorporated jurisdiction, the County Counsel and every publicly elected official not under the authority of the foregoing provide instruction to all county employees within their jurisdiction regarding their duties and responsibilities towards the grand jury process and that said instruction be completed prior to the end to this calendar year. REPORT: (1) The recommendation has already been implemented... As Napa County's elected Assessor from January 1987 through January 9, 1998 and as the elected Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk from January 10, 1998 through today, it has been my policy to instruct our staff on their duties and responsibilities towards the grand jury process. In this grand jury cycle I immediately transmitted via e-mail to our entire staff the introduction letter received from the grand jury on September 20, 2012 (Attachments 1 and 2). When the issue of possible violation of the Grand Jury's secrecy admonition was disseminated by County Counsel in January 2013, I sent a follow-up communication to the staff (Attachment 3) as well as a copy of the letter I have sent to each newly-impaneled Grand Jury for the past 26 years (Attachment 4.) RESPONSE OF JOHN TUTEUR ASSESSOR RECORDER COUNTY CLERK TO NAPA COUNTY 2012-2013 GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT "ON THE INTEGRITY OF GRAND JURY INVESTIGATIONS" ATTACHMENT 1 – ELECTRONIC TRANSMITTAL OF INTRODUCTION LETTER From: Tuteur, John Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 9:28 AM To: 'Victor Connell' Cc: - Assessor; - Recorder; - Elections Subject: 2012-2013 Napa County Grand Jury Review Mr. Connell, I look forward to meeting with you to begin the Grand Jury's review of our operations. I have copied our staff with the introduction letter so that they are aware of the process your committee will be following. John Tuteur Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk-Registrar of Voters From: Victor Connell [mailto: Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2012 7:13 PM <b>To:</b> Tuteur, John; Assessor Department Mailbox (Website) Cc: Victor Connell Subject: Napa County Grand Jury Meeting Mr. Tuteur, Please see attached letter from the Napa County Grand Jury. If possible, we would like to schedule an initial meeting with you sometime during the first week of October. We request that the meeting be about 2 hours long and would include yourself and about 5-6 GJ members. As you are aware, our meetings are confidential, so we could either meet in a private area of your office or at the GJ Office. Please let me know about your availability. Respectfully, Vic Connell Napa County Grand Jury Email: Phone: RESPONSE OF JOHN TUTEUR ASSESSOR RECORDER COUNTY CLERK TO NAPA COUNTY 2012-2013 GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT "ON THE INTEGRITY OF GRAND JURY INVESTIGATIONS" ATTACHMENT 2 – GRAND JURY INTRODUCTION LETTER SENT VIA E-MAIL TO STAFF 9-21-2012 2012-13 NAPA COUNTY GRAND JURY P.O. BOX 5397 NAPA, CALIFORNIA 94581-0397 September 20, 2012 RE: INTRODUCTION LETTER Mr. John Tuteur, Registrar of Voters-Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk County of Napa 1195 3rd Street Napa, California 94559 Dear Mr. Tuteur, The 2012-13 Napa County Grand Jury will conduct an investigation which involves your departments. The Chairperson of this committee is Vic Connell. In order to fulfill the Jury's mandate to "investigate all branches of local governments, to be assured that they are being administered efficiently, honestly, and in the best interest of Napa County's citizens," the committee will be soliciting information from you, your staff, and others with pertinent information. Staff input is an essential part of the Grand Jury's review and your staff should feel completely comfortable in speaking openly and honestly with us. Therefore, on behalf of the Grand Jury, I request your cooperation in this process by informing your staff that they should provide Jurors with requested information, either written or verbal, as the situation dictates. As with all Grand Juries, the participation, and comments made by any citizen or agency employee during a Grand Jury review are confidential. There should, of course, be no admonishment of, or interference with, or inference drawn from an individual's appearance before the Grand Jury, nor should the individual be interrogated about or reprimanded for such appearance or because of any findings reported by the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury is further tasked to "...investigate and report on the needs of county officers, including offices and equipment for ... performing the duties of county offices." Accordingly, the Grand Jury looks forward to learning more about your departments, and hopes that this review will be mutually beneficial. Sincerely, Horlest Die David B. Gilbreth, Foreperson 2012-13 Napa County Grand Jury RESPONSE OF JOHN TUTEUR ASSESSOR RECORDER COUNTY CLERK TO NAPA COUNTY 2012-2013 GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT "ON THE INTEGRITY OF GRAND JURY INVESTIGATIONS" ATTACHMENT 3 – FOLLOW UP ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION WITH STAFF From: Tuteur, John Sent: Monday, January 07, 2013 11:57 AM To: - Assessor; - Recorder; - Elections Cc: 'Vic Connell'; Tran, Minh; Lieberstein, Gary A. Subject: 2012-2013 Napa County Grand Jury Review Team, I am recirculating the Grand Jury introduction letter that was sent out as soon as we knew that our divisions would be reviewed as part of the Grand Jury's cyclical reviews. I have also attached the letter that I have sent to every grand jury for the past 26 years confirming my support both as a citizen and as an elected official of the important service they render to our community. As the department head, I strongly endorse the following statements made in the Grand Jury's introduction letter. My intent in circulating the letter on September 21 was to inform all staff members that cooperation with the Grand Jury is in everyone's best interest. Staff input is an essential part of the Grand Jury's review and your staff should feel 1) completely comfortable in speaking openly and honestly with us. Therefore, on behalf of the Grand Jury, I request your cooperation in this process by informing your staff that they should provide Jurors with requested information, either written or verbal, as the situation dictates. As with all Grand Juries, the participation, and comments made by any citizen or 2) agency employee during a Grand Jury review are confidential. There should, of course, be no admonishment of, or interference with, or inference drawn from an individual's appearance before the Grand Jury, nor should the individual be interrogated about or reprimanded for such appearance or because of any findings reported by the Grand Jury. Because some of you were not here in 1997 when the last Grand Jury comprehensive review of the then Assessor-only department took place, I have attached a copy of the 1997 report. The department is required to submit a response to the report if there are recommendations which require one. I want to thank each of you who meet with the Grand Jury for being open and honest during the interview so that the report will cover any issues that need to be addressed. John Tuteur Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk-Registrar of Voters RESPONSE OF JOHN TUTEUR ASSESSOR RECORDER COUNTY CLERK TO NAPA COUNTY 2012-2013 GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT "ON THE INTEGRITY OF GRAND JURY INVESTIGATIONS" ATTACHMENT 4 – 2012-2013 LETTER TO NEWLY-IMPANELED GRAND JURY Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk Assessor Division 1127 First Street, Suite 128 Napa, CA 94559-2931 (707) 253-4459 Fax: (707) 299-4440 JOHN TUTEUR A Tradition of Stewardship ASSESSOR-RECORDER-COUNTY CLERK A Commitment to Service August 1, 2012 DAVID B. GILBRETH, FOREPERSON NAPA COUNTY GRAND JURY P.O. BOX 5397 NAPA, CA 94581-0397 Dear Foreperson Gilbreth: My congratulations to you for your willingness to serve again as the Foreperson and to the other members of the Grand Jury on their selection as 2012-2013 Grand Jurors. As an elected official with 40 plus years of experience with Napa County, I appreciate the role that the Grand Jury plays in reviewing the operations of the agencies in the county. I, and the members of the staff of our three divisions, Assessor, Recorder-County Clerk, and Elections, are available at any time if you or individual Grand Jurors have any questions about our operations. I have enclosed multiple copies of a brochure which covers the basic operations of the Assessor Division. I would respectfully ask that you distribute a copy of this letter with each brochure to the members. There are other articles that I have written on a variety of topics on the assessor home page of the Napa County Website which can be accessed on the left menu of that page at this address: http://www.countyofnapa.org/Assessor/ - ____ Please call me at <math>707.253.4459</math> (direct line) or e-mail me at <math>\underline{john.tuteur@countyofnapa.org}</math> if you or any member of the Grand Jury wishes further information on any topic. Sincerely, JOHN TUTEUR ASSESSOR-RECORDER-COUNTY CLERK .