Willows Unified School District Measuire B (citizens’ Bond Overslght Commlttee Meetlng Tuesday, January 30. 2018 - 5:30

The Grand Jury finds that the SMART R1. The Glenn County Grand Jury recommends Team of Glenn County is a vital asset to the the SMART team advertise its program through public. local service clubs, youth clubs, and local news- papers to bring awareness of its existence, im- portance and value to all citizens of Glenn County.

The Grand Jury finds that the SMART R2. The Glenn County Grand Jury recommends Team is an asset to the youth of our county that the Board of Supervisors provide funding for and is operating on a renewable three-year the System-wide Mental Health Assessment Re- grant. Should it expire the SMART team will sponse Treatment (SMART) team should grant need continued funding to stay in existence. funding from MHSOAC ever expire. COMMENDATION The Glenn County Grand Jury congratulates the members of the SMART Team for their hard work and dedication to making our community safer, and for showing compassion and offering help to troubled individuals who might not otherwise have gotten the help they need, for the safety and benefit of themselves and others. REQUEST FOR RESPONSES Pursuant to Penal Code section 933.05, the Glenn County Grand Jury requests a thorough and complete response statements from: Elected Officials or Heads of Agencies None Any and all persons involved in this report are invited to respond From Governing Bodies: Board of Supervisors Reports issued by the Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. Penal Code section 929 requires that reports of the Grand Jury not contain the name of any person or facts leading to the identity of any person who provides information to the Grand Jury. P AGE | 108 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | THE SMART TEAM 2017-2018 Glenn County Grand Jury Final Report—Special Districts Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Special Districts Special Districts A 2017—2018 GLENN COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT ABSTRACT Special Districts provide important functions for numerous people in Glenn County. However, a lot of confusion exists over what they are and who is re- sponsible for their function. P AGE | 109 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | SPECIAL DISTRICTS Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Special Districts The county has many Special Districts that provide a service to their community. SPECIAL DISTRICTS SUMMARY Special Districts are districts serving the community they provide a service too, governed by their elected board members, and under the Board of Supervisors who provides oversite and guidance to their operations. PURPOSE The Grand Jury wanted to understand about the operations of Special Districts; how many are in Glenn County; the services they provide within their district area; and specifically, how LAFCO interacts within the Special Districts. BACKGROUND Glenn County has 53 Special Districts including: Fire Districts, Irrigation Districts, Cemetery Dis- tricts, Levee Districts, Mosquito Abatement Districts, Storm Drain Districts, Water Districts, Air Pollution Districts and Community Service Districts. Most of these are managed by volunteers. METHODOLOGY: The Grand Jury interview the Executive Officer of LAFCO; attended LAFCO monthly meetings and reviewed the publication LAFCO 101. DISCUSSION: A Special District is a special local government body that performs a limited, single-focused public service within a specific defined geographical area, which provides a cost savings to the County through volunteer directors. Most are single purposed, but there are multi-functional special districts that can provide up to 32 functions. These are community service districts. Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) is an Independent Regulatory Agency that over- sees the Special Districts within Glenn County. LAFCo is a state mandated local agency that oversees boundary changes to cities and special districts, the formation of new agencies including incorporation of new cities, and the consolidation of existing agencies. The broad goals of the agency are to ensure the orderly formation of local government agencies, to preserve agricultural and open space lands, and to discourage urban sprawl. The Glenn Local Agency Formation Com- mission (LAFCo) was formed when the State Legislature passed the Knox-Nisbet Act of 1963. LAFCo became an independent department in 2014 and has been working since to prepare Mu- nicipal Service Reviews (MSRs). MSRs are essentially check-ups or evaluations on the health and P AGE | 110 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | SPECIAL DISTRICTS Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Special Districts structure of the Special Districts to insure their efficient operation and evaluate potential changes in function, operation or structure. As LAFCo completes the MSRs of all the Special Districts, a better picture of their health and operation will emerge. LAFCo meets once a month to review and direct current and proposed functions. LAFCo has an Executive Officer and Commission Clerk who provide hands-on work. The Grand Jury’s meeting with the LAFCo Executive Officer yielded information about the function of LAFCo as it relates to Special Districts. It became obvious that the best way to look over the operation of the many Special Districts in Glenn County was by consulting with the Executive Officer. FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS Findings Recommendations

The Grand Jury found that more R3. LAFCo needs to continue to promote and knowledge and education as to LAFCOs pur- educate the public as to the existence and pose and functions within our County to the functions of Special Districts within the services they provide needs to be known to County. the public. CONCLUSION LAFCo is doing a good job bringing the Special Districts of Glenn County up to date. REQUEST FOR RESPONSES: Pursuant to Penal Code section 933.05, the Glenn County Grand Jury requests a thorough and complete response statements from: Elected Officials or Heads of Agencies ● LAFCo Governing Bodies ● None Reports issued by the Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. Penal Code section 929 requires that reports of the Grand Jury not contain the name of any person or facts leading to the identity of any person who provides information to the Grand Jury. P AGE | 111 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | SPECIAL DISTRICTS Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Special Districts This page left intentionally blank. P AGE | 112 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | SPECIAL DISTRICTS 2017-2018 G lenn County Grand Jury Report—Orland Water Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Orland Water Orland Water 2017—2018 GLENN COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT ABSTRACT “Orland’s water price is one of the cheapest in California. To get State support funds, Orland must raise rates,” says California State Water Board. P AGE | 113 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | ORLAND WATER Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Orland Water Orland Public Water System has nine wells that are not connected with a common software while six are connected through telephone lines City-County Government — Orland Public Water System SUMMARY Orland City residents have questioned the increased cost of water over the last couple of years. These increases have affected senior citizens as well as those with low income budgets. PURPOSE The Grand Jury received verbal complaints to the rising costs of water seen in the last two years. The Grand Jury felt it necessary to investigate Orland Public Water System to be able to answer the public’s questions. METHODOLOGY The Glenn County Grand Jury interviewed the Public Water System employees and staff, City Manager and researched the Orland Public Water System Capacity Study published at http://www.cityoforland.com/_documents/OrlandWaterSystemCapacityStudy.pdf as well as on- line neighboring water district rates. BACKGROUND The water system is managed under the direction of the Orland Public Works Department. The department’s staff maintains the City water system from production at their wells through distri- bution to City water customers. The Public Works Department monitors the quality of the water that is provided to its residents and holds the responsibility of providing safe drinking water, and meeting state water quality standards. According the Orland Public Water System Capacity Study, “the City of Orland owns and operates two separate public water systems. The primary water system, Public Water System No. 1110001, serves customers principally within the limits of the city. An auxiliary water system, Public Water System No. 1105003, serves an industrial park at the Haigh Field Airport located approximately 1.2 miles southeast of the city. The auxiliary wa- ter system is not connected to the city’s primary water system and is not part of this investiga- tion.” P AGE | 114 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | ORLAND WATER Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Orland Water The City of Orland’s source of water is from six wells that are located at various areas within the City limits. These wells are continuously monitored and treated to meet or exceed State and Fed- eral requirements. The Public Works Department is responsible for all repairs, hook-ups and emergency calls. City of Orland has one clerk dedicated to utilities, water billing, receiving water bill payments, and answering questions from the public. DISCUSSION: The City Manager is employed by the Orland City Council. He oversees the Public Works Direc- tor, who is in charge of the water system. The Public Works staff consists of a lead foreman who is in middle management and eleven crew workers that perform routine tasks and emergency ser- vice calls. Of the eleven, one is currently on disability leave but is expected back soon. Water Rates: The City Council recently approved the new rate increases. The rates were raised because they have not been able to set funds aside for reserves. To apply for grant funding, the City needs to have matching funds. Building reserves would be a way to provide the matching funds. The rates will continue to increase until such a fund is established. The base rate for household use is $55.60 every two months for 15,000 gallons, and $1.50 for every 1,000 gallons used in excess of the base. For residents outside city limits, the cost is $111.20 per base of 15,000 gallons, and $3.00 for every 1,000 gallons used in excess of the base. As a comparison, CAL Water in Willows charges a residential flat rate of $72.81 per month. ** A special note to those looking at their bill and see a two-month billing of $107; the sewer charges of $52.20 is added on to the water billing. Orland does not have a discounted rate for low income or senior citizens. Late fees may be assessed. Water users have the option of paying monthly rather than bi-monthly. Orland has bill pay online or customers can use their own bank’s bill pay features. A contract is not required for water service. Orland’s water prices will continue to rise until the rate is equal to the State price average and the systems can be updated. This will allow the City to apply to the State for grants to update the wells and monitoring equipment. Operations: The software controlling the action of the wells needs updating for proper pump communication from well to well. The switches controlling the various pumps are old and need to be monitored for proper working order. P AGE | 115 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | ORLAND WATER Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Orland Water Training: All new employees receive initial training, as well as in-service training. All employees receive training in targeted safety solutions, customer service and active shooter/workplace vio- lence. Some trainings are held in house (within the City or Public Works Department) while others are held off-site with an outside agency or business. Employees receive compensation for trainings. City employees try to coordinate with Glenn County for mutually beneficial training. Employees frequently have staff lunches to go over safety, have healthy snack baskets as incen- tives, and attend webinars. The maintenance crew that does testing, well readings and well repair require operator certificates. Those staff members working in the water system receive training that meets the State Water Board requirements. Water Testing: The lead foreman is the water quality tester for the City of Orland water system. He is responsible for obtaining water samples every Monday and transporting the samples to Chico for testing. The results of the tests are submitted to the State quarterly and annually. The water reports are online at the City of Orland website under Public Works Department, as well as on the Redding State Water Regional Control Board’s website. Orland does not have a water treatment plant; therefore, they treat water wells as needed. If a well does not pass a safety test inspection or returns a bad test, the well is taken off-line or shut down. Under the State Board water standards, the well must past three test samples before it can be brought back online. Water Wells: The City of Orland has nine wells with six wells currently in use. The technology of the six wells is outdated, using phone lines to communicate instructions to begin pumping or switch to another well. The older six wells do not communicate with the newer wells due to software compatibility issues with one another as a modern system. In a modern system, if one well is compromised in some manner it would shut down and the other wells would handle the load. It is time consuming to implement new wells. A series of step must be completed as required by the State Water Works Service Board. To begin the process: (1) The city must have ownership of the property; (2) a new design is drawn up by an engineer; (3) Test wells are drilled and tested; (4) A permit from the health department is obtained; (5) Bid documents are created for the construc- tion. (6) A contractor is hired to build the well and complete an environmental impact report (EIR). All the above procedures take place approximately in the same general time frame. Orland cur- rently has less than 3,000 service connections for the town. Towns with more than 3,000 connec- tions have a different set of regulations. P AGE | 116 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | ORLAND WATER Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Orland Water If a developer is not within proximity of a well, they would need drill a new well and go through the same procedures meeting the State requirements. All hook-ups would be the developers infra- structure costs. The fire department would be involved to plan for hydrants. They must coordinate with the air pollution board about well generators. Orland currently has less than 3,000 service connections for the town. Towns with more than 3,000 connec- tions have a different set of regulations. Water Towers: The water towers are over 100 years and holds 80,000 gallons of water, which is considered small and not providing the required amount of water storage as required by the California Water Works Standards. (Orland Public Water System Capacity Study, 2014). The current water towers are not considered earthquake safe as water storage systems. The City is pursuing funds for new ground storage tanks, which is expensive but needed to be updated in the future to meet the requirements of California Water Works. City Council Meetings: There is a complaint form which can be used and it goes directly to the City Manager. Customers are encouraged to go to the City Council meetings for information. The City of Orland website has a place for questions, answers and information about all city services, including water. Water employees’ biggest frustration is that the public doesn’t make use of all the access available to water practices and reports. The information is posted online, is included in bills, is posted on social media and is available at meetings. Meetings are open to the public, but there is a lack of community involvement. There is more information available than they have ever had, but the public doesn’t seem to be aware of or utilize the information. Retirement: Employees are on a PERS retirement system. Their health insurance is fully paid, although they do have a $30 co-pay. There is a gap insurance plan available. The insurance plan includes vision and dental for the employee and family. There is a deferred compensation plan available. Employee injuries are handled through Med-Core. FINDING AND RECOMMENDATION Findings Recommendations

The City of Orland has a plethora of R4. The Grand Jury recommends Orland Public information available to the general public Water Service and Public Works Department re- on their website and at their office pertain- search and implement internal and external meth- ing to water and its uses. ods of communication to provide transparency into the use of the reserves gained from the past and cur- rent raises to city homeowners. COMMENDATION The employees of the City of Orland Public Works – Public Water Services department were open, informative, and dedicated to their mission. The City of Orland’s Public Works site is easy to navigate and had the water rates listed on the first page. Other sites visited had the information buried, if it could be located at all. REQUEST FOR RESPONSES Pursuant to Penal Code Section 933.05, the Glenn County Grand Jury requests a thorough and complete response statements from: Elected Officials or Heads of Agencies Orland Public Works Department Governing Body Oland City Manager Reports issued by the Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. Penal Code section 929 requires that reports of the Grand Jury not contain the name of any person or facts leading to the identity of any person who provides information to the Grand Jury. P AGE | 118 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | ORLAND WATER 2017-2018 Glenn County Grand Jury Report—Senior Nutrition Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Senior Nutrition Program SENIOR NUTRITION PROGRAM 2017—2018 GLENN COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT ABSTRACT Glenn County Senior Centers provide valuable nutrition and health services and resources as well as community interac- tion for Seniors. P AGE | 119 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | 2016—2017 GRAND JURY RESPONSES Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Senior Nutrition Program A dependable resource for Glenn County seniors Picture taken from Glenn County Senior Centers web page. Many Seniors gather at the Orland and Willows Centers for lunch, social gather- ings, and activities. Glenn County Senior Centers and Senior Nutrition Program PURPOSE The Grand Jury wanted to know more about the operations and management of the Senior Cen- ters and Nutrition Program. BACKGROUND Glenn County Senior Centers is a 501C3 non-profit organization that administers the two Senior Centers in Glenn County located in Orland at 19 Walker Street and Willows at 556 East Sycamore Street. The nutrition program for senior lunches is administered and run by the Glenn County Office of Education (GCOE) and receives financial assistance through Passages Area 3 Agency on Aging located in Chico to assist in purchasing equipment. The partnership with GCOE dates back over 31 years. METHODOLOGY Interviews were conducted by members Glenn County Grand Jury questioning key individuals responsible for the implementation of the senior programs. Passages Area 3 Agency on Aging provided financial information to the Grand Jury. Passages on Aging Area 3 can be found at www.passagescenter.org. DISCUSSION Glenn County Senior Centers provides for the facilities, utilities, and operational costs of the Sen- ior Centers in Orland and Willows. On occasion and as needed, they also contribute to the cost of P AGE | 120 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | 2016—2017 GRAND JURY RESPONSES Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Senior Nutrition Program the nutrition/meal expenses. GCOE provides for the nutrition personnel (one chef and one direc- tor) sharing the cost of meals with Passages Area 3 Agency on Aging. Fundraiser such as Senior- Rama, Glenn County Realtors Association Spaghetti, and the thrift store located in Willows pro- vides additional income for the centers. The chart below shows funding from Passages Area 3 Agency on Aging and the breakdown of yearly and daily congregate and home delivered meals per year. The five year trend shows the home delivered meals declining as the congregate meals shows minor changes. Funding to Glenn County Office of Education Senior Nutrition and Transportation 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 Congregate Meals $53,697 $54,683 $53,644 $54,911 $59,811 Home Delivered Meals $67,774 $66,024 $64,582 $63,996 $56,048 One Time Only Funds: Congregate $6,021 $7,603 Home Delivered $12,953 $3,521 $4,236 $2,571 Total Nutrition Funding $121,471 $139,681 $121,747 $130,746 $118,430 Transportation $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 $8,970 $9,126 Total Funding $129,471 $147,681 $129,747 $139,716 $127,556 Meals Served: Congregate 6745 9519 9904 11570 14509 Home Delivered 9893 15988 15263 12012 11479 Total Meals Served 16638 25507 25167 23582 25988 P AGE | 121 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | 2016—2017 GRAND JURY RESPONSES Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Senior Nutrition Program Note: Above figures for 2017-2018 are for nine months. Average Daily Congregate 34 36 38 44 56 Average Daily Home Deliv- 50 61 58 46 44 ered The Senior Nutrition Center provides other services and activities such as flu and pneumonia vac- cine administration as well as blood pressure check by a nurse from the County Health Department; exercise classes conducted by volunteers; and as- sistance in tax preparation by volunteer tax profes- sionals, etc. GCOE administration is responsible for the kitchen nutritional services and the management of the pro- gram as it has evolved over the years to keep up with the ever-changing demands of nutritional guidelines. The senior nutrition meal guidelines are aligned to State and Federal specifications, and nutrition spe- cialists at Chico State. The kitchen is also regularly inspected by the Glenn County Health Department. Photos from Senior Nutrition Facebook site Every week the meal menu is published in the local newspaper and periodically flyers are distrib- uted highlighting upcoming events or services occurring or being offered at one or both of the centers. The meals for both Senior Centers are prepared at the Orland Senior Center kitchen. The meals for the Willows Senior Center are trans- ported to Willows by the director and volunteer drivers in specialized containers keeping the food at proper temperatures. At the Orland Senior Center, local vendors, stores or farmers deliver various food donations. These items are put on tables for seniors to take at will. These donated items are not used for the preparation of food for the regular nutrition meals that are served due to not being able to meet- ing State and Federal guidelines. Both Senior Nutrition Centers serve one meal per day, at lunchtime, serving five meals a week at a cost of $2.50 per meal and homeless people receive lunch at $2. No one is turned away if they are unable to pay for lunch. Guests are invited and the suggested fee is $5 per person. The director is responsible for money collection, meal service statistics, and general operation involving meal distribution and arrangement of other services and events. P AGE | 122 GRAND JURY FINALREPORT | 2016—2017 GRAND JURY RESPONSES Glenn County Grand Jury Report | Senior Nutrition Program The director and volunteers make deliveries to homebound seniors. Leftover meals may be frozen and delivered to or taken home by seniors. Future Plans: The Glenn County Office of Education is exploring ways to improve upon meal preparation and delivery for the senior nutrition program. One suggestion that is promising is the development of a student vocational education program that trains high school students in the food service and restaurant industry. This could expand the meal program to include a restaurant that could contribute to the expense coverage of the program and still be an integral part of senior nutrition provision. An advantage to this proposal is that the Willows Senior Center kitchen can be utilized to provide fresh meals to Willows congregate and home delivery instead of being trans- ported from the Orland center. FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS Findings Recommendations