Trinity County Grand Jury • 2008-2009

File Jul 2 - 2009 Superior Court of California County of Trinity By: Donna FlAr:.0VER i.a2.PUTY Clerk Trinity County

Published: June 01, 2009 27 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 11 findings

F1
— Reduction in Force The investigation determined that a position had been eliminated from the Building Department due to budgetary deficiencies. The reduction in force had been accomplished using reasonable management practices and was performed using established county guidelines.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
None Response: None Required
F2
- Building Department Director The committee's investigation determined that the previous Director of the Building Department created a hostile workplace. He is no longer in the Director position. It appears that his current job will be eliminated due to budget cutbacks and seniority.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
It is recommended that this former director should not be considered for rehire in any position by Trinity County in the future.
F3
— County Reorganization of Departments The D/E Committee looked at the reorganization of the Planning, Building, and Airport departments within the county that took place in the spring/summer of 2008. Considering the budgetary constraints the county was facing, this investigation found that the reorganization was done appropriately. The reorganization has -3- saved the county money and had to be done in a timely manner. During the investigations, however, it was found that some departments that have to work together closely were spread out over several buildings making communication more difficult.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The committee understands that the reorganization will continue to be modified as needed. Functions of the Building, Planning, Long Range Planning and Environmental Health Departments need improved communications to assure smooth development in the county.
F4
- Misuse of Funds It was determined that due to expediency, a decision was made to allow a vendor to remove scrap material without an attempt to recover some value from that material. Although the action was outside of normal county procedures, there was no intention of fraud.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
None Response: None required
F5
- Unavailability of County Organizational Chart The committee's investigation determined that due to reorganization efforts occurring over the past two years, there have been periods of time when up-to- date organizational charts have not been available. Now that the reorganization has settled, there is an up-to-date chart available.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
None Response: None required
F6
- County Employee Complaint Processes The county was slow to respond to an employee complaint about the hostile workplace. Verbal complaints were poorly handled and were dealt with inadequately. There was no adequate paper trail and issues were not handled in a timely manner. The committee determined that the process has some complexity due to defined different handling for each type of employee complaint. There is no central repository for complaints, and, therefore, complaints can get mishandled or lost. There is no defined function within the county that is responsible for the handling and final resolution of an employee complaint. -4- The committee found an example of a hostile work environment being allowed to exist where employees feared for their jobs, a complaint was mishandled, and the hostile environment was allowed to continue. Employees were reluctant to further pursue having the problem investigated for concern of their own employment status or believing that it was not their problem but some other department's problem. The committee found that besides internal department complaint systems, there are three major complaint categories that are detailed in the Trinity County Employee Handbook. This document is received by every new county employee and is reviewed by every employee each year as part of a mandatory meeting. The three major complaint categories are: 1. Sexual harassment (Sexual Harassment Policy) 2. Hostile workplace (Workplace Violence Policy) 3. Unethical/illegal behavior (Policy Statement: Report of Unethical or Illegal Activity) County policy allows for the complaint to be handled on an informal basis upon verbal permission of the complainant.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
A form for sexual harassment should be defined and made part of the employee handbook. The complaint forms should be reviewed for reasonable content of the format and information and reissued as revisions. The form should include details of where the employee complaint should be sent. The handling process for each type of complaint should be detailed in the employee handbook so that an employee can set his/her expectations as to when a complaint will be handled. Copies of the three complaint forms should be made readily available to all employees at their work locations. Supervisors should advise any employee with a complaint to put it in writing or no action can be made. The employee should be provided with the appropriate form, or alternatively, the manager or fellow employee can assist in completing the complaint form. All complaints should be sent to the Personnel Department. The Personnel Department should register the complaint into a central database or ledger. A -5- hard or electronic copy of the complaint should be filed. Depending on the type of complaint, the Personnel Department should enlist the assistance of the appropriate authority to investigate the complaint. The Personnel Department is responsible for timely handling of every complaint. The County Administrative Officer (CAO) should report statistics to the Board of Supervisors on a monthly basis with regard to new complaints, open previously reported complaints, and closed complaints by type of complaint and by department. Investigations of open complaints that are late in resolution must be highlighted to the board. The BOS can determine if it needs further information in closed session for any employee complaints. Annual employee retraining should include discussion highlighting the point that all employees are responsible for the county's entire work environment — not just their department or location. The Workplace Violence Policy training should emphasize that it covers a hostile work environment where no physical violence has occurred, but verbal abuse and threatening physical gestures and postures have occurred.
F7
— Annual Review Due Dates This committee determined that the personnel officer is not aware of missing or late annual reviews.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
The personnel officer must provide tracking for all county employees with respect to their annual review due dates.
F8
The content of the annual review meeting with the employee is not specified for managers. The performance appraisal portion of the meeting is standardized by nature of the form used, but there is no requirement to review the employee's pay grade, pay status, and future outlook for pay increases. Response: We do not agree with the finding. One of the main reasons for the performance evaluation is review pay grades and is a requirement when employees have increases in pay grade and status. Future growth is a part of each evaluation.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
A salary review should be part of the review meeting. An employee's pay status, and future pay increase must be reviewed verbally and discussed.
F9
This committee found that successful and timely completion of annual reviews is explicitly required for managers. Employee annual performance appraisals are not necessarily reviewed for appropriateness and informational value. One set of appraisals for an employee was observed to have not been changed in content for three years in a row. Response: We agree
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
Upper management must review written employee performance appraisals written by subordinate managers. The CAO is ultimately responsible for all employees' annual reviews being performed in a timely manner and that the written performance appraisals are of a quality that provides valuable feedback to the employee.
F10
This committee found that employees are not afforded the knowledge and experience of the involved manager with regards to future job enhancement through change in job area, outside education, or county-supplied training. Response: We disagree, part of the employee evaluation process is a review of the opportunities for advancement and training. —13—
Related Recommendations (1)
R10
The written performance appraisal should include an area for the reviewing manager to make recommendations for future enhancement of the employee's career.
F11
Since the annual reviews are a product of the manager and qualitatively reflect that manager's ability and training, manager training on providing quality annual reviews is required in the current county administrative environment. It was not found to be part of the required manager training at this time. Response: We agree that there should be more training for managers in how to properly perform the employee evaluation.
Related Recommendations (1)
R11
Managers should have a required periodic training session on providing quality annual reviews for employees. The training material should meet specific county requirements. CONCLUSION: Most remedies for the observed situations are part of existing county policies and procedures. County administration needs to update policies regarding employee complaint and reviews and to provide more specific required training for managers on policies and procedures. Policies and procedures currently on the books need to be followed consistently. RESPONSES REQUIRED: Entity Finding/Recommendation Respond in Board of Supervisors 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 90 days Building Department 2, 3 60 days Personnel Department 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 60 days CAO 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 60 days TRINITY COUNTY Office of the County Administrator DERO B. FORSLUND County Administrative Officer P.O. BOX 1613, WEAVERVILLE, CALIFORNIA 96093-1613 PHONE (530) 623-1382 FAX (530) 623-8365 RECEIVED SEP 2 1 2009 TRINITY COUNTY inaruivoR oouRr TO: The Honorable James Woodward, Presiding Judge of the Superi Court FROM: Dero B. Forslund, CAO SUBJECT: Response to Recommendations of 2008-09 Grand Jury Development and Environment Committee Final Report Re: Trinity County Building Department DATE: 09/18/2009 The Grand Jury Development and Environment Committee has requested a written response to their final report on the Trinity County Building Department. In my capacity as County Administrative Officer, my response is as follows:

Conclusions 4

No Responses Found 2

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

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