Solano County Grand Jury
• 2023-2024
• Agency Response
Response to:
Fairfield Police Department
City of Fairfield Response to 2019-2020 Solano County Grand Jury Report:*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 4 findings
F1
Page 1
- Agencies' completion and filing of the Statement of Facts Roster of Public 707.428.7400 Agencies Form in Solano County, in many instances, are inconsistent, incomplete, ... inaccurate and out-of-compliance with Government Code section 53051. Review of City Attorney Gregory W. Stepanicich 111 of the most current Forms (regardless of age) on file with the County revealed the 707 428 7419 following: ... City Clerk Karen L. Rees Seventy-two agencies had a single Form on file, many dating back three a) 707.428.7384 ... decades. This represented 65% of the sampled Forms. City Treasurer Arvinda Krishnan 707.428.7036 Sixty-eight agencies' Forms were aged nine years or more, representing 61% b) of the sampled Forms. DEPARTMENTS City Manager's Office 707.428.7400 Thirteen Forms (12%) listed a P.O. Box as the official mailing address despite c) ... filing instructions indicating that a street address must be given. Update NOTE: Community Development 707.428.7461 12/2019 updated instructions now state that a P.O. Box is acceptable. ... Finance The actual legal name of the entity was inconsistent in nine instances (8%). d) 707.428.7036 ... Fire Thirty-eight Forms (34%) did not meet the regulatory reporting timeframe. e) 707.428.7375 ... Accuracy of board membership could not be independently verified on f) Human Resources 707.428.7394 seventy-one Forms (64%). ... Parks & Recreation The current status of the agency could not be validated in forty-eight g) 707.428.7465 instances (43%). ... Police 707.428.7362 CITY'S RESPONSE: ... The City agrees with this finding. Public Works 707.428.7485 www.fairfield.ca.gov CITY OF FAIRFIELD ••• 1000 WEBSTER STREET ••• FAIRFIELD, CALIFORNIA 94533-4883 ••• City of Fairfield Response to 2019-2020 Solano County Grand Jury Report: Registry of Public Agencies Filing Process September 2, 2020
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Page 2
- Approving legislative bodies in Solano County should provide guidance and training to ensure the accurate completion and filing of the required Forms. Consideration can be given to the following points: a) Suggest that governing bodies of public agencies begin to immediately use the Registry of Public Agencies Form (SF-405) available on the Secretary of State's website (See Appendix A). Process Improvement - County Clerk's Office devise and implement a process for agencies to complete and save the SF-405 Form and send it to a specified County email address for filing. Encourage the County Clerk's office to work with the Secretary of State Special Filing Unit to establish a mechanism to electronically transmit the Forms to the State. This process will have minimal impact on the County Clerk's Office and would ensure that County and State records are consistent. Upon commencement of the agency's legal existence the approving b) legislative body direct the newly formed agency's clerk and/or secretary to complete the initial filing within the 70-day requirement. Ensure the training provided by the approving legislative body directs the c) newly formed agencies to file subsequent updates within the required I 0-day timeframe. CITY'S RESPONSE: Recommendation has not yet been fully implemented but will be implemented in the next 90 days. The City of Fairfield has an updated filing of required information on the Registry of Public Agencies. However, there are related agencies to the City that need to file an updated Form SF-405. The City Clerk will be working with staff members involved with the related agencies to educate them on the filing requirements and ensuring that the Form SF-405 is filed in the next 90 days for these agencies. In the future, if the City Council forms a new agency, the City Clerk will ensure that the Form SF-405 for that new agency is timely filed and later updated as necessary.
F2
Page 2
- Comparative analysis of the most current Forms on file with the State to those on file with the County revealed 92 exceptions representing instances in which: The County Form does not match the State Form. a) b) The Form is on file with the County but not with the State. City of Fairfield Response to 2019-2020 Solano County Grand Jury Report: Registry of Public Agencies Filing Process September 2, 2020 There is no Form on file with the County but there is one on file with the C) State. CITY'S RESPONSE: The City agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2a
Page 3
- Agency governing bodies ensure accurate and timely compliance by simultaneously filing updated forms to the County and State. CITY'S RESPONSE: As explained above, the City Clerk is taking steps to ensure that all of Fairfield's related public entities file updated Form SF-405 within the next 90 days. <b>RECOMMENDATION 2b</b> - If the agency submits its information electronically or by mail, a copy of the submission should be retained as a business record to prove compliance. CITY'S RESPONSE: The City will be implementing this recommendation immediately.
F3
Page 3
-There is no comprehensive list of public agencies operating in Solano County that is accessible to residents. <b>CITY'S RESPONSE:</b> The City does not have sufficient independent information to agree or disagree with this finding.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3a
Page 3
- The County Board of Supervisors, Clerk of the Board, County Administrative Office, and local City Councils collaborate to compile an accurate listing of public agencies, boards, commissions and committees within Solano County using the existing Online Local Appointment Database maintained by the County. CITY'S RESPONSE: This recommendation has not yet been implemented but the City will implement this recommendation in cooperation with the County. Since the County will take the lead on this recommendation, the City cannot provide a timeframe for its implementation.
R3b
Page 3
- The County Board of Supervisors, Clerk of the Board, County Administrative Office, and local City Councils review Appendix B and initiate steps to encourage agencies to make the appropriate corrections by filing missing Forms, filing updates, and reporting dissolved City of Fairfield Response to 2019-2020 Solano County Grand Jury Report: Registry of Public Agencies Filing Process September 2, 2020 entities. CITY'S RESPONSE: The City has implemented this recommendation. The City has reviewed Appendix B and has initiated steps to make sure that those City related agencies that do not have an updated SF-Form 405 on file with the Secretary of State and Solano County Clerk do so within the next 90 days.
F4
Page 4
- There is currently no requirement for an agency to maintain a website, making it difficult to access current information online. However, since 2013 there has been a movement in the State to make information available and searchable online. CITY'S RESPONSE: Agree with finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Page 4
- Individual Solano County Agencies improve their transparency by establishing a website and keeping it current to benefit both agencies and citizens of the County. CITY'S RESPONSE: This recommendation has been implemented as the City maintains a comprehensive and informative website which it has done for many years. Respectfully submitted, STEFAN T. CHATWIN City Manager Attachment 1: August 11, 2020 Response with Grand Jury Report Greg Stepanicich, City Attorney CC: Karen Rees, City Clerk Cheryl Clower, Solano County Administrator
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.