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Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

Santa Cruz County Grand Jury • 2023-2024

Code Compliance Division – Out of Compliance

44 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 7 findings

F1 Page 580
Understaffing over a long period of time in the Code Compliance Department means that Code Compliance Investigators are unable to complete cases in a timely manner, causing a huge backlog of cases some of which are up to 40 years old.
Related Recommendations (3)
R1
Page 580
The Planning Department should fill vacant code compliance positions by the end of the calendar year 2023. (F1)
R2
Page 580
The Personnel Department should reclassify the job description and requirements for the Code Compliance Supervisor to allow the de-facto supervisor to become the department supervisor by the end of this calendar year 2023. (F1)
R3
Page 580
The Planning Department should, , determine what steps and staff are needed to close out the backlog of code compliance cases within a two year time frame. (Consider including the County Auditing Department to assist with this process.) (F1) Code Compliance Division – Out of Compliance published June 23, 2023 2022-2023 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 573
F2 Page 580
The Code Compliance Department and the Planning Department do not routinely revise and update their departmental procedures and policies, which leads to lack of accountability to the public and inconsistent implementation and interpretation of findings in investigations.
Related Recommendations (3)
R4
Page 581
The policies and procedures manuals for the Planning Department and Code Compliance Department should be completely reviewed, updated as prescribed in the policy and procedures manual, and digitized. Each section should be dated, and all future revisions should include date markings for any changes. This process should be completed (F2)
R7
Page 581
The Code Compliance Department should institute monthly staff meetings by October 1, 2023. Meetings should include relevant educational materials, data regarding monthly activity, new challenges such as policy changes, and resolution of or issues regarding active complaints about the department. (F2)
R8
Page 581
The Code Compliance Department should formalize training and staff development requirements of Code Compliance Investigators through CACEO, use staff meetings to encourage cross training and continuing education, document staff development in employee files, and formalize it in the employee evaluation protocol by October 1, 2023. (F2)
F3 Page 580
The Code Compliance Department of the Planning Department does not have quality assurance systems in place to evaluate their own performance and effectiveness, which contributes to lack of accountability and lack of credibility and public confidence.
Related Recommendations (2)
R5
Page 581
The Code Compliance Department should create a log system that ensures that all Planning Department and Code Compliance desk interactions, phone calls, emails, text messages,complaints, and any other interactions with the public are entered into a searchable database (F3)
R6
Page 581
Data regarding public complaints about Code Compliance Investigators actions should be discussed at staff meetings. Data collected by the log system should be reviewed by Code Compliance Department management no less than quarterly. This should be instituted by October 1, 2023. (F3)
F4 Page 580
At the present time the Planning Department has limited access for the public. It is frustrating to the public to be unable to readily communicate with the staff required to assist in dealings with building, planning, and code compliance matters.
Related Recommendations (2)
R9
Page 581
The Planning Department should increase the hours that are open to the public and enforce their 24 hour policy of returning phone calls from the public (F4)
R10
Page 581
The Code Compliance Department should add recommended time frames for the Flow Chart described in the policy and procedure manual (F4)
F5 Page 580
There is a persistent public perception of inconsistent interpretation of code. The building and other various codes are complex and difficult to understand. When misinformation is communicated and portions of projects must be redone, it leads to time and money loss as well as frustration.
No recommendations for this finding
F6 Page 580
The Conflict of Interest policy does not include conflicts regarding family, friends, or prior relationships of a personal nature. This omission, and the optics in some situations, lead to misunderstanding and mistrust between the public and the Code Compliance Department as well as increasing the risk of liability to the County.
Related Recommendations (1)
R11
Page 581
Conflict of Interest policy should be rewritten to include relationships of a personal nature Use the counties of Mendocino and San Bernardino policies as a reference. (F6)
F7 Page 580
The Planning Department is by its nature supposed to be a customer-focused department, yet it operates in ways that discourage communications, undermining the public’s trust in the department.
Related Recommendations (1)
R12
Page 581
The Board of Supervisors and Community Development and Infrastructure Department Management should focus on the organizational culture within the planning department and refocus the culture in a way that fosters public trust. (F7) Code Compliance Division – Out of Compliance published June 23, 2023 574 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury