Marin County Civil Grand Jury Fy 2019-2020 Final Report Summaries Inside

Recommendations 9

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  TheMarinCountyDe- civil grand juries have recom- partmentofFinanceandthe mended the development of a CountyClerkshouldadoptthe comprehensive list of all of these newlydevelopedpublicagency agencies. Several incomplete listcontainedinthisreportand lists exist, but grand jury recom- mendations for a single compre- implementaplantomaintain hensive listhave never been fully andupdateitatleastannually. PhotoCredit:iStockPhoto One-Year Update on the Issues Covered by the 2018–2019 Marin County Civil Grand Jury Reports Each year, the Marin County andfromitsstationsanddevelop helpfundandtrainthese Civil Grand Jury investigates lo- atransfersystembetweenits officers. cal government operations and LarkspurstationandtheLarkspur Government issues reports recommending ferryterminal. Accountability areas for improvement. Pub- VapingDangers TheMarinTele- lication of these reports often TheMarinCountyOfficeof communications results in widespread media EducationandMarinschools Agency,anout- coverage, but the public rarely launchednumerouseducational learns whether the agencies im- datedindependent eventsforstudents,severalschools plement the jury’s recommenda- agency,announced installedvapingdetectorsinbath- tions. Key outcomes include the thatitwilldissolve,and rooms,andseveralmunicipalities following: itsessentialfunctionswillbe bannedtheretailsaleofvaping PhotoCredit:iStockPhoto transferredtotheMarinGeneral Wildfires productsandflavoredtobacco. ServicesAuthority,savingunnec- Anewjointpowersauthority, SchoolResourceOfficers VocationalEducation essaryexpense. theMarinWildfireProtection Careertechnicaleducation Anumberofschoolscommit- Authority,officiallycommenced PublicAgencyTransparency programshavebeenenhancedin tedtoincreasetheiruseofon- operationsonJuly1,2020. Governmenttransparency Marin,withbetterpromotionof campusschoolresourceofficers. SMARTTrain Twograntstotalingmorethan concernsraisedinthe2018–2019 vocationalopportunities,better Sonoma-MarinAreaRapid $1.2millionwereobtainedbythe GrandJury’sreportSpecialDis- trainingofacademiccounselors, Transithasmademodestprogress MarinCountyOfficeofEduca- trictsTransparencyUpdatewere andmoresupportprovidedto onrecommendationstodevelop tion,theMarinCountySheriff, notfullyaddressedbyagency Marin’sschoolsbytheMarin plansforgettingpassengersto andSanRafaelCitySchoolsto responses. CountyOfficeofEducation. • 0202-9102 YRUJDNARGLIVICYTNUOCNIRAM 6 MARINCOUNTYCIVILGRANDJURYFINALREPORTSUMMARIES Climate Change: How Will Marin Adapt? Our planet is warming, glaciers and ice sheets are melting, sea levels are rising, we are witnessing more extreme weather events and wildfires, and ecosystems are being altered. The future pace of climate change is uncertain, but the trends are ominous. In Marin, a modest 10-inch sea level rise could reach 700 buildings and 8 miles of roads along the bay, and a 60-inch rise, combined with a 100-year storm surge, could inundate 12,000 buildings and 130 miles of roads. Efforts to address climate change fall into two categories: “Mitigation” measures reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change, while “adaptation” measures such as seawalls guard against the consequences of climate change. Significant mitigation work has been done in Marin, but plans for adapting to climate change have taken a back seat and have focused almost exclusively on sea level rise. Are Marin’s county, city, and town governments doing enough to adapt to climate change? That is the question at the heart of this report. PhotoCredit:MarinCountyCivilGrandJury RECOMMENDATIONS shouldformanewofficewithin Climate&EnergyPartnership, andWaterConservationDistrict countygovernmentdevotedto shoulddeclareitssupportfor tofocusoncoastalandbayside
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  Thelinktopublicpay.ca.gov tionpolicieswithregardtoelected onactualcompensationpaidto officials. shouldbemadeconspicuouson officials,includinginformation electedofficialswasalsomissing,
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  MarinCountyshouldoffer investigation did not attempt to R6.Localgovernmentsshould tocollaboratetodevelopbest R9.Localgovernmentsshould assess the cybersecurity posture adoptapolicytoreporttofed- practicesforcybersecurityin completeananalysisofthe of other Marin agencies, but erallawenforcementanycyber- Marin’scitiesandtowns. the Grand Jury recommends securityintrusionthatresultsin feasibilityofcontractingwitha that all of them undertake a R4.Thecountyboardofsuper- financialfraudorunauthorized cybersecurityexperttobeavail- comprehensive review of their visorsandthecityandtown disclosureofinformationand abletocitiesandtownsona cybersecurity practices, if they councilsshouldrequesttheir makethatintrusionpublic. sharedbasis. have not done so already. MARINCOUNTYCIVILGRANDJURYFINALREPORTSUMMARIES 5 • 0202-9102 YRUJDNARGLIVICYTNUOCNIRAM Finally—A Comprehensive List of Marin’s Public Agencies Marin County has an aston- implemented. Consequently, the ishing 152 local government 2019–2020 Marin County Civil agencies, including towns, cities, Grand Jury has developed such school districts, and a host of a list together with a proposed special districts such as com- method for maintaining it. Pub- munity service agencies, joint lic access to this information is powers authorities, and agencies important to enable taxpayers to providing fire, sanitary, water, understand and track the agen- recreation, lighting, and other cies they fund. public services. It is hard for tax- payers to track all of them. That RECOMMENDATION is why several Marin County
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  Agenciesshouldincludea sitesforcompliancewithallthe easilyandquicklyratherthanhav- annuallypostadetailedreporton linkontheirboardorcouncil recommendationsmadeto the ingtodigthroughmeetingminutes thecompensationoftheirelected webpagesthatleadsdirectlyto listedagencies. orpolicymanualsthatmayormay officials. • 0202-9102 YRUJDNARGLIVICYTNUOCNIRAM 4 MARINCOUNTYCIVILGRANDJURYFINALREPORTSUMMARIES Cyberattacks:AGrowingThreattoMarinGovernment Local governments are targets of opportunity for cybercriminals. Hackers seek unauthorized access to computer networks so they can install ransomware, steal personal information, benefit from fraudulent payments, and disrupt government operations. As our government agencies become more reliant on online systems and remote work capabilities, cybersecurity awareness and best practices are increasingly critical. Unbeknownst to the public, the Marin County government and most of Marin’s municipalities have suffered financial frauds or debilitating network breaches in recent years. The county lost almost $250,000 in a wire fraud scheme in 2018. More than half of Marin’s 11 cities and towns—Corte Madera, Fairfax, Larkspur, Novato, Sausalito, and Tiburon—have fallen victim to PhotoCredit:iStockPhoto successful breaches, and these RECOMMENDATIONS managersreport,atleastan- R7.Localgovernmentsshould are just the ones disclosed to the Marin County Civil Grand Jury. R1.MarinCountyshouldcreate nually,ontheircybersecurity implement:mandatoryuser Our government leaders anongoingprogramtoshare profileandanymeasuresbeing training,emailflaggingandfil- have not disclosed most usereducationinformation, takentoimproveit. tering,passwordmanagement, of these incidents to other othercybersecuritypractices, andbackup.
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  Localgovernmentsshould Marin agencies or the public, andupdateswithcitiesand conveneperiodicdiscussions, leaving us underinformed and towns. R8.Localgovernmentsshould atleastannually,inapublicfo- underprepared. completeananalysisofthe The Grand Jury focused its R2.MarinCountyshould rum,regardingtheimportance feasibilityofimplementing investigation on the security completeaplanforenhancing ofgoodcybersecuritypractices theremainderofthepractices of the computer systems MIDAStoimprovecybersecu- forourgovernment,residents, describedintheBestPractices used by Marin’s county and rityforitsusers. andotherorganizations. municipal governments. This sectionofthisreport.
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  Agenciesshouldpublishan eachwebsite. aboutwages,healthandretire- difficulttofind,orinsufficient.In annualreportdetailingthecom- mentbenefits,andreimbursement manycases,itwasdifficulttofind R3.Agenciesshouldmodify pensationactuallypaidtotheir policies.Thereisawidevariance informationaboutcompensa- theirexistingpublicpay.ca.gov electedofficialsfortheprevious incompensationpoliciesandthe tionpoliciesforelectedofficials. linkssothattheyprovideadi- calendaryearonline. totalamountsandbenefitspaidto Incontrast,theMarinMunicipal rectlinktotheircurrentcom-
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  Agenciesnotauditedinthis electedofficials.Thepublicshould WaterDistrict(MMWD)andthe pensationdataonthestatesite. reportshouldreviewtheirweb- beabletoaccessthisinformation NorthMarinWaterDistricteach
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  Local governments should leaving us underinformed and towns. at least annually, in a public fo- underprepared. complete an analysis of the
• R9
  Local governments should adopt a policy to report to fed- assess the cybersecurity posture practices for cybersecurity in complete an analysis of the eral law enforcement any cyber- of other Marin agencies, but Marin's cities and towns. feasibility of contracting with a the Grand Jury recommends security intrusion that results in that all of them undertake a cybersecurity expert to be avail- financial fraud or unauthorized