Modoc County Grand Jury Report

R1

The ACSD Board should meet regularly to discuss ACSD – Adin Community Service District and shape the issues facing them. BACKGROUND R2. The ACSD Board and community should be aware of the long term needs of the district, and prepare The Grand Jury received a complaint that the ACSD has for them. not been meeting very often, if at all, for months. Further- more, the complainant claimed that the creeks and ditches R3. The ACSD Board should seek alliances with the were not being maintained. Because the system is old, it resources listed in F3 to facilitate the planning will someday need major overhauls, but the Board of Di- for future upgrades. rectors is not making provision for its replacement. Reports issued by the Grand Jury do not identify individuals inter- viewed. Penal Code section 929 requires that reports of the Grand

R2

The Board needs to be sure that the administrative positions are filled with competent personnel. ADIN COMMUNITY SERVICE DISTRICT

R3

The administration must provide accurate and June 12, 2015 timely financial documents at each regular monthly meeting. SUMMARY

R4

The Board needs to require that the CEO bring the The Adin Community Service District has an aging sewer audits up-to-date as soon as possible. system. The 2014-2015 Grand Jury recommends that they - Modoc County Grand Jury Report, 2015 DISCUSSION sufficient funds to continue at the present level. The re- sults of this analysis helped guide some changes made in The Surprise Valley Health Care District (SVHCD) pro- personnel, salaries and administration. Employees were vides a critical access hospital, a provider-based rural also asked to help with problem solving. They volunteered health clinic, a distinct-part skilled nursing facility (SNF) to take a 10% pay cut, and the Board accepted their of- and a basic life-support ambulance service to residents fer. In July 2014, the Department Heads and Management who reside in Ft. Bidwell, Lake City, Cedarville and Ea- Team recommended closing the Clinic one day a week. gleville. SVHCD is the largest employer in the valley. All parties appeared to be working toward solutions. SVHCD receives funds from a tax assessment on the resi- dents who live in its service area. To comply with federal mandates, SVHCD started using a software program that would combine all medical and During the Modoc Grand Jury investigation it quickly be- financial records. In order to save money, the economi- came apparent that there was concern throughout Surprise cal option selected, at a cost exceeding $400,000, did not Valley about the future of the District. The Grand Jury include technical support and training. When the staff learned that the lack of job training for management and encountered problems, there was no one to offer advice. the lack of training for Board members have led to a slow Switching to this program on June 1, 2014, before the end decline in employee morale and in their trust of the lead- of the fiscal year, caused additional problems. Both em- ership provided by the administration and by the Board. ployees and former Board members have mentioned the These and other factors have contributed to the current transition to this software as a major problem facing the situation. District. Mismanagement of the SVHCD has been evident for at In order to continue receiving support from MMC, the least the past five years. Not enough financial information SVHCD Board adopted a pre-employment drug screen- was presented to the Board, and audits were not kept cur- ing policy, based on MMC’s policy. The Leadership Team rent. Consequently the SVHCD Board made some unin- did not implement it because it had not been revised to formed decisions. As a result poor practices ensued, such fit SVHCD’s situation; therefore total compliance would as continued payment of insurance benefits for former em- be impossible. Furthermore, while the Board claimed to ployees, overstaffing, and employment of undocumented have adopted the policy, the current CEO points out that immigrants. Some employees felt that the Board was the minutes show no record of a vote. micro-managing and began to distrust the Board’s man- agement decisions. Many employees felt that the Board The rural health districts of the region have agreed to form wanted to “shut down” the hospital, which made for very a Joint Power Interstate Authority (JPIA). As proposed, tense situations. The Board members themselves were each district will maintain its fiscal autonomy, but share stressed. resources, such as expensive medical equipment, billing services, Information Technology services and more. This The former administrator resigned in July 2014. SVHCD’s is projected to be an effective cost saving measure for all Board requested assistance from Modoc Medical Center four districts: Mayers Memorial Hospital District of Fall (MMC). MMC agreed to allow their CAO to contract River Mills, Lake Hospital District of Lakeview, MMC with SVHCD to serve as interim CAO for three months, and SVHCD. one day per week to help with finances and administration. Many employees interpreted his presence as a way for During this Grand Jury’s tenure, the entire SVHCD Board MMC to either take over the hospital or to close it down resigned, and as of April 6, 2015, five new board members completely. have been appointed. The former Board resigned one at a time so the District could continue to function. As each SVHCD used funds from the Vesper Society to engage Board member resigned, a new member was appointed in AKT, CPAs and Business Consultants, to analyze the Dis- his/her place. As of June 1, 2015, the Board has elected trict’s organizational and financial situation. AKT found officers and has begun the task of governing the District. that SVHCD was over-staffed in some areas and lacked Modoc County Grand Jury Report, 2015 - all new employees and to all staff at least every two years. L ocaL G overnment - S v H c D REQUEST FOR RESPONSES urpriSe aLLey eaLtH are iStrict Pursuant to Penal Code section 933.05, the Grand Jury SURPRISE VALLEY HEALTH CARE requests responses as follows: June 12, 2015 From the following individuals:

R5

The Board of Supervisors should continue annual