Placer County Grand Jury 2022-2023 Final Report alternative options for housing at boarding facilities or on properties

Placer County Animal Services is following all local and state ordinances, laws, policies, and procedures.

laws, policies, and procedures. Placer County Animal Services is organized, well-run, dedicated, and

compassionate in carrying out its duties. Placer County Animal Services has set the standard for award-winning Recomshmelteern odpaetriaotinosns and programs. TChoep gireansd s juernyt h taos :n o recommendations. Placer County Board of Supervisors 175 Fulweiler Ave PAluabcuerrn C, CoAu n9t5y6 H03e alth and Human Services Director 3091 County Center Dr Suite 290 APluabcuerrn C, CoAu n9t5y6 H03e alth and Human Services Deputy Director 11512 B Ave APluabcuerrn C, CoAu n9t5y6 A0n3 imal Services Program Manager 11232 B Ave Auburn, CA 95603 Disclaimer In the process of preparing this report, one grand juror withdrew from the investigation due to previous interactions with Placer County Animal Servic es. Once this juror was recused, they no longer took part in the remainder of the investigation, including interviews, deliberations, writing, and approval of this report. Rescue Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Homeward Bound Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Humane Farming Association Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Humane Society Tahoe Truckee Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Itsie Bitsie Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Kitten Crossing Rescue Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Labs 2 Love Rescue Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Leaps and Bounds (rabbit rescue) Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Muttville Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter NorCal Aussie Rescue Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Norcal Boxer Rescue Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter NorCal Bully Breed Rescue Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter NorCal Cocker Rescue Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter NorCal GSP Rescue Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Northern California Border Collie Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively Rescue pulls animals from our shelter Northern California Doberman Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively Rescue pulls animals from our shelter One Planet Rescue Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Passion for Paws Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Pug Rescue of Northern California Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter Pug Rescue of Sacramento Non-Profit Animal Rescue Partner – Actively pulls animals from our shelter 71 South Placer Fire District Fiscal Challenges and Station Closures South Placer Fire District Station 15 Photo credit: Barbara Ferguson 73 as a special district. Special districts are a form of local government created by a community to meet a specific need. Inadequate tax bases and competing demands for existing taxes can make it hard for cities and counties to provide services for citizens. When landowners want new services or higher levels of existing services, they can form their own district to pay for and administer them. The South Placer Fire District has reported ongoing financial difficulties over the past several years, due in part to its operational costs increasing faster than its sources of funding. Increased administrative and operational costs, diminished revenue streams, and changing service provision demands have required Division 2 of the South Placer Fire District to make significant changes to maintain their level of community service. These challenges, however, are not unique to South Placer Fire District, as they are being reported throughout the State of California. Financial shortfalls within established revenue collections are requiring fire districts to become more creative in manpower distribution, facility usage, and asset allocations. In many instances, potential reorganization of districts is a necessary, vGialoblse ssoalruyti on, allowing for increased overall efficiency. Benefit Assessment: An amount levied to fund the cost of providing services, improvements, as well as maintenance and operation expenses to a public iCmApLr FoIvReEm: ent, which benefits the assessed property. Cost-Of-LivCianligf oArlnloiaw Daenpcaer:t ment of Forestry and Fire Protection. An increase in fees, benefits, or salaries to counteract iInnfslautriaonn.c e Services Office A company that provides statistical, actuarial, uLnodcaelr wAgrietnincgy, aFnodr mclaaitmiosn i nCfoomrmmaitsiosino ann: d analytics. A state mandated independent regulatory body whose role is to encourage the orderly formation of local governmental agencies, preserve agricultural and open space resources, and discourage urban sprawl through the review of city and special district boundary changes and the eMxutennisciiopna lo Sf ethrve isceer vRiecvesie twhe y provide. A comprehensive study performed by and designed to better inform the Local Agency Formation Commission, local agencies, and the community about the provision of municipal services. 75 (1978): Proposition 13 requires assessment of each taxable property based on its fair market value and limits a property owner’s general levy tParxo tpoo 1s ipteiornce 2n1t 8o f( t1h9e9 a6s)s:e ssed value. Proposition 218 restricts local governments’ ability to impose assessments and property-related fees and requires elections to approve mSaacnrya mloceanlt goo Mveertnrmopeonlti ttaaxne Fs.i re District Provides fire protection and emergency medical services to many unincorporated areas of Sacramento County and a small pSoourttihon P olaf cPelar cFeirr eC oDuinsttyri. ct: Serves the communities of Granite Bay, Loomis, and sSopuetchiearl nA asrseeasss mofe Pnetn: ryn and Newcastle. It is comprised of two divisions. A tax levied on property owners to pay for specific local iSnpferacsiatrlu Dcitsutrrei cstesr:vices or projects. Local governments created by the people of a community to deliver specialized services essential to their health, safety, economy, and well- being. A community forms a special district to provide specialized services the local cSiptyh eorre c oouf nIntyfl duoe nncoet :p rovide. A region or concept over which a state or organization has a Blevaecl kofg erxoculunsidvi ty. South Placer Fire District (SPFD) serves the communities of Granite Bay, Loomis, and southern areas of Penryn and Newcastle, encompassing fifty-five square miles of territory and a population of more than 42,000. The district responds to structure, wildland, vehicle, and other types of fires. Medical emergencies, vehicle accidents, rescue emergencies, public service calls, and hazardous material response are all part of the services provided. Formed in 1952, SPFD was administered as part of the Citrus Heights Fire District (CHFD). The Citrus Heights Fire District operated a paid fire district and brought paid administrative staff to SPFD to oversee volunteer operations. In 1962, SPFD formally ended its agreement with CHFD, and the chiefs working at SPFD became full-time paid personnel. In 2017, Loomis Fire District consolidated with SPFD and transferred its fiscal responsibility to SPFD. Fire districts are funded by a portion of the parcel owners’ overall pro perty taxes. Special Districts include fire protection, cemetery, water, utility, community services, and park & recreation districts. Special districts receive an average of5.83 percent of the base Proposition 13 property taxes. 76 also receives a special tax assessment of seventy dollars per parcel within its area of coverage. This amount has remained unchanged since 1981. Other funds received are derived from the ambulance transport division fees, cellular tower leases, cost recovery from emergency incidents, fire prevention, and mitigation charges. The SPFD is not funded by the Placer County or the State of California. Since 19 81, the SPFD region has gone through significant levels of growth in population and residential development. The Annex Q South Placer Fire Protection District flyer (see Bibliography #3) of 2016 stated SPFD served thirty-seven square miles and 21,600 residents. As of 2022, the area of coverage is fifty-five square miles, servicing more than 42,000 residents, an increase in area and population of 69 percent and 54 percent, respectively. A major portion of this growth is in the Granite Bay area, part of Division 2 of SPFD. SPFD Neighborhood Meeting Presentation, April 25, 2022 77 of SPFD coordinated a special ballot initiative in 2022, asking district homeowners to amend and increase the seventy-dollar flat-rate special tax assessment established in 1981. This initiative Mfaieletdh tood poaslso. gy The Placer County Grand Jury (PCGJ) conducted interviews with SPFD and the Placer County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). Research documents obtained by the PCGJ, via the SPFD website, included an accounting of all revenues and expenses beginning in 2011 and annual budgets from 2019 to present. Also obtained through the SPFD and LAFCO websites, were the independent audit report prepared on the South Placer Fire District Financial Statements and the Independent Auditor’s Report (see Bibliography #5), for the year ending June 30, 2021. The 2022-2023 Preliminary Engineer’s Report on SPFD was prepared by SCI Consulting Group (see Bibliography #6). Reports, budgets, audits, and related LAFCO observations from fire districts within neighboring counties were reviewed and compared for perspective and continuity of the PCGJ’s investigation (see Bibliography). The PCGJ reviewed local news reports and articles (see DBiibslicougrsasphioyn). Since the early sixties, the SPFD has operated successfully on the primary funds obtained through property taxes from parcels within the boundaries of the fire district. These tax revenues were controlled by provisions within Proposition 13 (1978), and later by Proposition 218 (1996), which constrained local governments’ ability to raise property taxes, the mainstay of local government financing. Proposition 13 also specified if a raise in local taxes is sought to pay for specific governmental programs, this special tax assessment must be approved by a two- thirds majority of voters. Such a tax was put in place in 1981 for Division 2 of the SPFD, establishing a seventy-dollar fee assessed to property owners. No Cost-Of- Living Allowance (COLA) provision was written into the funding regulations. Following the economic downturn of 2008, budgetary concerns became more urgent. Operational costs for the fire district increased. Property development continued in the area, requiring more services to be provided, without generating tax reassessments to increase revenues. These cost increases are in direct correlation to the number of additional structures that have been built in Division 2 during the past forty years. According to the 2000 – 2020 U.S. Census reports, the housing units in Granite Bay increased by 1,317 units from 6,626 to 7,943, an increase of approximately 16.5 percent. 78 , SPFD consolidated with its neighboring fire department, Loomis Fire Protection District (now SPFD Division 1), with the support and approval of LAFCO. The consolidation of the two districts has been operationally complete for several years. Yet, there are still ongoing revenue issues including training costs, SPFD Funding Sources competitive wages, employee retention, and population growth. SPFD Neighborhood Meeting Presentation, April 25, 2022 Today, the two divisions of SPFD are governed by an independent, seven-member board of directors and serves the communities of Granite Bay, Loomis, and the southern areas of Penryn and Newcastle. The SPFD covers fifty-five square miles and serves a population of more than 42,000. It operates fire stations in Granite Bay and Loomis. The SPFD responds to over 3,500 service calls per year, including structure fires, brush fires, vehicle fires, traffic collisions, industrial accidents, hazardous materials incidents, emergency medical calls, and search and rescue. Additionally, SPFD provides fire prevention services, community education, emergency preparedness, and other safety amenities. The PCGJ’s research indicates that over the last forty years, the cost of providing fire protection and emergency services continues to grow with inflation and is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. The SCI Consulting Group report states: The cost of providing fire protection and emergency response services continues to rise each year due to increasing emergency calls, enhanced firefighter training requirements, the growing wildfire risk to the community, and substantial increase in operational costs, including fuel, utilities, equipment, insurance, and personnel over the last 40 years. 79 , 2022 The SCI Consulting Group Report supports a proposed new assessment rate to enhance existing funding sources. The proposed rates for this assessment are shown in the table below from the report. The proposed assessment rates are based on the Insurance Services Office (ISO) fire score factor and a travel time factor for each parcel. Insurance Services Office creates ratings for fire departments. These ratings determine the efficiency of fire departments in their communities. The ISO provides this score, often called the "ISO fire score," to homeowners insurance companies. Insurers then use it to help set homeowners insurance rates. Greater fire department performance directly correlates to reduced fire insurance rates. What this means to the homeowner is, the better equipped a fire department is to put out a fire, the less likely a house is to burn down. This makes your home lessP rriospkyo,s aendd A tshseersesfomree,n lte sRsa etxepse fnosri vSeo utot hin Psluarcee. r Fire Protection District Property Type Proposed Rate Single Family $214.16 Multi-Family $125.82 Commercial/Industrial $619.83 Office $434.79 Storage $1,281.47 Parking Lot $15.72 Vacant $57.41 Agriculture $8.47 RSPaFnDg Ne eLigahnbdor &ho Oodp Menee Stipnga cPere sentation, April 2$5,0 2.01272 80