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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.
El Dorado County Grand Jury
• 2014-2015
EL Dorado County Grand Jury 2014-2015 the EL Dorado County Charter:
⚠️ 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 11 findings
F1
The Board of Supervisors is required to convene a Charter Review Committee within five years of the last charter review.
F2
The 2014 Charter Review Committee was required to “…make recommendations for amendments to or revisions of the charter to the Board.” The Charter Review Committee was not limited to reviewing amendments suggested to it by the Board of Supervisors.
F3
The 2014 Charter Review Committee had the responsibility to conduct a comprehensive review of the charter and should have given meaningful consideration to the two Grand Jury reports recommending changes to the county charter.
F4
The 2014 Charter Review Committee failed to consider recommendations made by either the 2013-14 Grand Jury or the 2008-09 Grand Jury and it made no findings regarding those
F5
The Charter Review Committee met only six times. The first meeting was devoted to organization and introduction. This is insufficient time for a substantive review of the county charter, insufficient time to allow members of the public to propose amendments for the committee’s consideration and insufficient time for the public to have meaningful input.
F6
The charter creates an imbalance between the power exercised by the Board of Supervisors and the elected department heads, rendering the Board of Supervisors unable to govern the county.
F7
The Charter imposes responsibilities on the Chief Administrative Officer as the chief executive officer of the County but does not give this official the authority necessary to perform those responsibilities.
F8
The above deficiencies in the Charter have promulgated dysfunction in county government so that the county cannot attract the best candidates for either elected or appointed positions.
F9
Some members of the Board of Supervisors do not appreciate the importance of the expertise offered by their professional staff and do not understand the role staff can and should play in implementing policies established the Board for effective functioning of county government.
F10
Members of the Board of Supervisors are in need of training to help them be effective.
F11
Members of the Board of Supervisors have not availed themselves of training offered by the California State Association of Counties.
Recommendations 7
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R1The El Dorado County Charter should be repealed and county government structured as a general law county pursuant to the California Government Code. In the alternative the El Dorado County Charter should be amended to: Repeal term limits for members of the Board of Supervisors. Redefine the authority of the Chief Administrative Officer as set forth in the 2013-14 Grand Jury report.
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R2The Board of Supervisors should immediately convene a special charter review committee to perform the work not done by the 2014 Charter Review Committee. This committee and any future charter review committees should be created with recognition of the importance of their work. The committee should be composed of citizens with experience in the complexities of large organization management, whether public, private or volunteer. They should be given sufficient time to perform a thorough review of the charter, to thoroughly consider whether it should be revised to better serve the citizens of El Dorado County, and to allow substantive involvement of the interested public.
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R3Members of the Board of Supervisors should define the direction for the county and should adopt appropriate policies to implement that direction and direct the Chief Administrative Officer to implement those policies.
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R4Members of the Board of Supervisors should work through the Chief Administrative Officer and should not be involved in the day to day administration of county governance.
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R5The Board of Supervisors should establish procedures for bringing issues before the board and for interdepartmental relationships. They should then follow those duly adopted procedures and require all county officers, elected and appointed, to follow them as well.
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R6Each member of the Board of Supervisors should enroll in and complete the New Supervisors Institute (Course No. 110) offered by the California State Association of Counties.2
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R7Members of the Board of Supervisors should enroll in additional courses offered by the California State Association of Counties.2 ATTACHMENTS 2008-09 Grand Jury Report, Case GJ-08-005, El Dorado County Charter Review 2013-14 Grand Jury Report, Case GJ-13-20, The El Dorado County Charter: A Prescription for Dysfunction 2 http://www.counties.org/course-description/csac-institute-course-descriptions RESPONSES Responses to both findings and recommendations in this Report are required by law in accordance with California Penal Code §933 and §933.05. Address responses to: The Honorable Suzanne N. Kingsbury Presiding Judge of the El Dorado County Superior Court 1354 Johnson Blvd. South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 This Report has been provided to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. The Presiding Judge of the El Dorado County Superior Court additionally requests that the responses be sent electronically as a Word or PDF file to facilitate the economical and timely distribution of such responses. Please email responses to the El Dorado County Grand Jury at: courtadmin@eldoradocourt.org