⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F8, F9, F10
Findings 20 findings
F1
There has been a "Finance Committee" in Nevada City government in one form or another for at least 15 years.
F2
On 2/25/09 the City Council of Nevada City voted unanimously to prepare Resolution No. 2009-09, consenting to the dissolution of the Finance and Administration Committee.
F3
As a result of the City Council's dissolution action on 2/25/09 (above), the City Treasurer tendered his resignation to the City Council on 3/6/09, citing an inability to make further contributions without the Finance Committee.
F4
On 3/11/09 the City Council of Nevada City voted unanimously to pass and adopt Resolution 2009-09, abolishing its Finance and Administration Committee, which was made up of the City Treasurer, three appointed members of the public, and two City Council members.
F5
The Jury was not provided with clear and/or compelling rationale to explain the City Council's action to abolish its Finance Committee.
F6
The Jury was told that the City Council, City Manager and City Financial Officer will fill the void left by the Finance Committee. A entitled NEVADA CITY
F7
In the 2006-2007 Grand Jury Report GOVERNMENT: Asleep at the Wheel, which was generally critical of overall city management, the Jury made the following recommendation under the section titled "The City Council should exercise diligent oversight of the City's "Finances": financial resources and take steps to assure its members understand the relevant processes and are given timely periodic reports." \frown Both the City Manager and Mayor responded to the above Recommendation with the following statement: "The City agrees and is in the process of implementing. Diligent oversight of the financial resources is being provided by the Council directly through two finance-experienced Council members serving full-time on the Finance Committee and Finance Manager and City Treasurer reports to the City Council, and additionally through the Finance Committee's citizen expertise and detailed oversight and reporting back to City Council." The 2007-2008 Grand Jury Report entitled Nevada City Government, which was a 9 follow-up to the previous year's Report, applauded the City in finding that, "Detailed ٠._ oversight of City finances is provided by the Finance Committee, consisting of the Mayor, one other Council member, the elected City Treasurer, and three citizens appointed by the Mayor."
F11
The Mayor has the discretion to name the Chair and appoint members to the City's various committees.
F12
The Finance Committee had no written charter or mission statement from the City Council. It was clear and broadly recognized that the Committee could make
F13
The City Treasurer has no written description of duties or responsibilities other than the generic description that exists in State Code.
F14
Persons interviewed by the Jury had diverse opinions regarding the role and responsibilities of the City Treasurer.
F15
For at least the past several years, Finance Committee meetings were publicly noticed and open to the public, complying with the Brown Act and the Committee was transparent in its business.
F16
Other than the City Treasurer, members of the Finance Committee were not paid.
F17
City staff time to prepare information requested by the Finance Committee may have added to the workload, but did not significantly add cost.
F18
In the past several years the Finance Committee spent time reviewing City and Department budgets as well as other aspects of City finances. The Committee also brought important financial matters, some of them previously unknown, to the attention of the City Council and others. Conclusions
F19
Since the Jury investigation began, all outstanding permits on the property involved have been closed with a final inspection, except for one. This remaining permit, open since 2003, is a subject of the original complaint to the Jury. The work required for the permit has not yet been completed.
F20
Building does not always use its authority to double inspection fees in cases in which construction was initiated without a permit.
F21
Building is considered a fee-based department. Money collected by this department for building permits and inspection fees is used to fund Building.
F22
Code is not a fee-based division. Only ½ of 1% of the budget comes from fines resulting from infraction level citations issued by Code officers.
F23
Code has only three case officers; each officer averages between 80 and 100 active cases at any one time. Conclusions
Recommendations 14
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R1The Nevada County Clerk Recorder should direct staff to include additional time in the training for dealing with all types of voters not listed on the precinct roster. Nevada County Presidential Election - November 2008 Grand Jury Reports 2008-09
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R2On 2/25/09 the City Council of Nevada City voted unanimously to prepare Resolution No. 2009-09, consenting to the dissolution of the Finance and Administration Committee. Agree
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R3As a result the City Council's dissolution action on 2/25/09 (above), the City Treasurer tendered his resignation to the City Council on 3/06/06, citing an inability to make further contributions without the Finance Committee Agree
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R4On 3/11/09 the City Council of Nevada City voted unanimously to pass and adopt Resolution 2009-09, abolishing its Finance and Administration Committee, which was made up of the City Treasurer, three appointed members of the public, and two City Council Members. Agree
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R5The Jury was not provided with clear and/or compelling rationale to explain the City Council's action to abolish the Finance Committee. Disagree While this statement is a matter of opinion, it is important to consider the following: Then Mayor, Barbara Coffman, explained to the Jury members present the reasons the Finance Committee had been dissolved. Ms. Coffman urged the Jury to speak with Councilmember Sally Harris who had served on the Finance Committee for several years, had been a citizen member of the Finance Committee, had been the chairman during her time as mayor, and had a background in finance. Ms. Coffman explained that Ms. Harris would be able to be more articulate on the subject and better able to answer the Jury's questions. The Jury chose not to speak to Ms. Harris, or any other sitting council member. The jury also chose not to speak to the City Manager or the Finance Director as requested by Ms. Coffman. Ms. Coffman also urged the Jury to obtain video of the meeting and listen to each councilmember's reasoning. Apparently, the Jury chose not to avail themselves of that video. It would appear the Jury elected not to pursue the council's rationale for the dissolution of the Finance Committee.
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R6The Jury was told the City Council, City Manager and City Financial Officer will fill the void left by the Finance Committee. Disagree While it is unknown as to what others told the Grand Jury, Ms. Coffman did not state that dissolution of the Finance Committee created a void. Rather, she informed the Grand Jury 11-4 that the City Finance Director, City Manager, and City Council currently performed all of the finance and budget requirements of the City. The City Manager and Finance Director ensured that the Council remained well informed.
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R7In the 2006-2007 Grand Jury Report entitled NEVADA CITY GOVERNMENT: Asleep at the Wheel, which was generally critical of overall city management, the Jury made the following recommendation under the section titled "Finances": "The City Council should exercise diligent oversight of the City's financial resources and take steps to assure its members under stand the relevant processes and are given timely periodic reports." Agree
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R8Both the City Manager and Mayor responded to the above recommendation with the following statement: "The City agrees and is in the process of implementing. Diligent oversight of the financial resources is being provided by the Council directly through two finance- experienced council members serving full-time on the Finance Committee and Finance Manager and City Treasurer reports to the City Council, and additionally through the Finance Committee's citizen expertise and detailed oversight and reporting back to City Council." Agree Conclusions:
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R9Proper financial oversight requires unique expertise and generous commitment of time for the necessary detailed research and analysis in today's economy and complex financial world. Agree
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R10Proper and effective financial over sight from the City Council can best be accomplished through the assistance of a third party group, in addition to that coming from the City staff. Disagree. pro- A City Council must be able to rely upon its City Manager, City Finance Director and other staff members for sound financial information and oversight. For very specific matters outside consultants are occasionally employed. There is nothing preventing any number of citizens from forming an oversight committee if they are so-minded. All of the relevant information is available and city staff would cooperate fully. It is also worthy to note that no interest was shown for that idea and, that no one showed up for the long Saturday budget workshop or to comment/participate at any of the council meetings that had the Finance Director's detailed and informative presentations. Recommendations:
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R14In the first case that brought this matter to the Jury's attention, there was already a multi-year history of attempts to resolve the issues through both an informal process and formal complaints to Code. Partially disagree. Specific information regarding the "...first case that brought this matter to the Jury's attention" is not revealed in the Grand Jury report. However, there are code compliance cases of record which have multi-year histories of attempts to resolve issues through formal complaints.
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R17One of the outstanding violations in the first case was a safety issue of such importance that the property owner had been ordered by both Code and Building to not allow public use until it was corrected. Partially disagree. Specific information regarding the "...first case that brought this matter to the Jury's attention" is not revealed in the Grand Jury report. However, where circumstances exist which constitute a clear danger to health and safety, the Building Official will order that a structure not be occupied until violations have been corrected.
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R18The property owner in the first case continued to allow public use of this building on a regular basis, in defiance of the above order. This was verified by Jury members, on site. Partially disagree. Specific information regarding the "...first case that brought this matter to the Jury's attention" is not revealed in the Grand Jury report. However, there are code compliance cases of record where a property owner or business operator has allowed continued public uses of a building or facility in defiance of a "cease and desist" issued by Code Compliance staff. Board of Supervisors Revised Responses to 2008/09 Grand Jury Report County Code Enforcement - A Continuing Concern Date of Meeting: September 22, 2009 Neither County staff nor the Board of Supervisors is able to confirm what Jury members may have observed on any particular site.
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R19Since the Jury investigation began, all outstanding permits on the property involved have been closed with a final inspection, except for one. This remaining permit, open since 2003, is a subject of the original complaint to the Jury. The work required for the permit has not yet been completed. Partially disagree. Specific information regarding "...the property involved..." is not revealed in the Grand Jury report. There are, however, examples of building permits which were issued in 2003 that have yet to be finaled. Some of those permits have been cancelled, while others have been extended and are still considered to be active. . HEALTH and ENVIRONMENT THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK .... Helping Hands for the Homeless/Needy in Nevada County
Conclusions 53
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CL1The Grand Jury believes that largely because of public meeting laws and their own time restrictions, it is impractical for the City Council – as a body – to research, analyze, deliberate and allow for public comment on the complex financial matters faced by City government, without assistance. Proper financial oversight requires unique expertise and generous commitment of time for the necessary detailed research and analysis in today's economy and complex financial world.
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CL2Proper financial oversight requires unique expertise and generous commitment of time for the necessary detailed research and analysis in today's economy and complex financial world. Agree
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CL3Proper and effective financial oversight from the City Council can best be accomplished through the assistance of a third party group, in addition to that coming from City staff. A
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CL4Apparently the current Mayor and City Council feel that the Finance Committee is no longer necessary, despite endorsement by two previous councils and the previous City Manager.
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CL5The City Council was well within its authority to abolish the Finance Committee.
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CL6The City Council is responsible to provide a written description of duties, responsibilities, limitations and expectations for all its various Committees and Chairpersons in order for them to be effective.
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CL7The Finance Committee provided a valuable oversight function between the City Council and Staff, in addition to providing citizen involvement and transparency.
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CL8The services provided by a credible and efficient Finance Committee can be a valuable asset to City government and its citizens.
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CL9Conceptually, a Finance Committee has the unique expertise, time and ability to focus Nevada City's Financial Oversight Committee greater energy and attention to complex financial matters than does the City Council as a body.
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CL10It may appear that a Finance Committee could cause additional workload for City staff due to the necessity to provide requested data and information for the Finance Committee to research and analyze; however, this oversight effort should be taken with or without a Finance Committee.
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CL11Apparently the current Mayor and City Council feel that the Finance Committee is no longer necessary, despite endorsement by two previous councils and the previous City Manager. Agree That the Finance Committee is no longer needed. The City has a City Manager and a Finance Director well versed in government finance, a new City Treasurer, and a new Audit Committee made up of those three individuals. In creating the Finance Director position and an Audit Committee, as well as eliminating the Finance Committee, Nevada City has adopted the model of most California cities. Neither Grass Valley, Truckee nor most California cities have finance committees. The City Council was well within its authority to abolish the Finance Committee.
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CL12The City Council is responsible to provide a written description of duties, responsibilities, limitations, and expectations for all its various Committees and Chairpersons in order for them to be effective. Agree. However, the amount of specificity may vary from committee to committee.
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CL13The Finance Committee provided a valuable oversight function between the City Council and Staff, in addition to providing citizen involvement and transparency. Agree in part and Disagree in part. At times in the past when there was no staff member with a government finance background, the Finance Committee provided a useful oversight function. However, that responsibility ultimately belonged to the City Council. While some citizens were able to become involved, the functions of the Finance Committee, as stated above, were not transparent.
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CL14The services provided by a credible and efficient Finance Committee can be valuable asset to City Government and its citizens. Conceptually a committee could be specifically charged with reviewing a certain aspect of a city's finances and thus could be a valuable asset to a city.
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CL15Conceptually, a Finance Committee has the unique expertise, time and ability to focus greater energy and attention to complex financial matters than does the City Council as a body. Disagree It is the City Council's legal responsibility to pay attention to and understand the complex financial matters that come before it. It is the City Council that the citizen's look to and hold responsible for the finances of the City. The responsibility and sense of duty that comes with holding the office of City Councilmember is uniquely different from that of being a non- elected committee member.
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CL16It may appear that a Finance Committee could cause additional workload for City staff due to the necessity to provide requested data and information for the Finance Committee to research and analyze; however, this oversight effort should be taken with or without a Finance Committee. Agree in part and Disagree in part. The oversight of the City's finances is an ongoing process involving every staff member as m well as the Council. Having a separate Finance Committee making demands on staff time and diverting attention from matters at hand is counterproductive.
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CL17Proper and effective financial over sight from the City Council can best be accomplished through the assistance of a third party group, in addition to that coming from the City staff. Disagree. pro- A City Council must be able to rely upon its City Manager, City Finance Director and other staff members for sound financial information and oversight. For very specific matters outside consultants are occasionally employed. There is nothing preventing any number of citizens from forming an oversight committee if they are so-minded. All of the relevant information is available and city staff would cooperate fully. It is also worthy to note that no interest was shown for that idea and, that no one showed up for the long Saturday budget workshop or to comment/participate at any of the council meetings that had the Finance Director's detailed and informative presentations.
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CL18With few exceptions, all equipment and supplies were delivered to the appropriate polling places in a timely manner. The pool of trained back up Inspectors and Judges was not sufficient to staff all polling places with properly trained substitutes. Untrained substitutes performed adequately because they were paired with trained, experienced poll workers.
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CL19The use of student poll workers was effective. Nevada County Presidential Election – November 2008 Grand Jury Reports 2008-09
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CL20Organized community groups staffing a polling place is easier on the Elections Office as the group oversees their own staffing, schedules, last minute worker problems, assures attendance at training, etc. Because of their self-oversight, they enjoy some privileges regular volunteers don't get, such as split shifts.
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CL21Providing quality training and instruction for poll workers is vital for a secure and problem-free election.
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CL22Compensation for mandatory training would be an incentive for greater training participation as well as attracting more volunteers.
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CL23More "hands-on" time in equipment training would be beneficial.
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CL24Specialized training to cover Inspector's duties would be beneficial. Nevada County Presidential Election - November 2008 Grand Jury Reports 2008-09
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CL25Most poll workers were satisfied with the training provided by the Elections Office.
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CL26It is not easy in a rural environment to find polling facilities that meet all State and Federal requirements, as well as comfort and convenience for all poll workers and voters.
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CL27Some of the polling places are in violation of the State Code governing accessibility for persons with disabilities.
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CL28Some of the polling places were in violation of the State Code prohibiting connection of a polling place with any place where any alcoholic beverage is sold or dispensed while the polls are open.
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CL29The provision of on-site assistance through the FED system was very successful, and the Jury commends the Nevada County Clerk Recorder for its implementation.
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CL30Lack of cell phone reception will continue to be a problem.
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CL31The Elections Office is to be commended on the overall conduct of this election, which recorded the largest voter participation in Nevada County history.
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CL32The Elections Office has developed adequate procedures to smoothly open, operate and close the Hart equipment.
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CL33For the most part, the Hart equipment functioned properly. Most problems were due to operator error.
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CL34More "hands-on" experience in the equipment training should clear up any confusion in opening and closing procedures.
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CL35Dealing with voters not on the precinct roster is not sufficiently addressed in the procedures training.
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CL36The current organizational separation between Code and Building inhibits communication and contributes to the problems in achieving compliance.
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CL37The Board has gone too far in emphasizing compliance over enforcement. County Code Enforcement - A Continuing Concern Grand Jury Reports 2008-09
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CL38Enforcement versus seeking voluntary compliance would, in many cases, be faster, reduce officer caseload and generate funds for the County budget.
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CL39It is ironic that the public doing business with Building pay for their services through building permits and inspection fees. Services for those in violation are paid from the General Fund.
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CL40The effort to use the existing Nuisance Abatement Ordinance is laudable but too slow in implementation.
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CL41The effort to establish an Administrative Citation process is also laudable but too slow in being implemented.
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CL42Issuance of a permit is no guarantee a violation will be corrected; dangerous, substandard and illegal conditions may persist.
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CL43Conflict in Code's Procedural Guidelines causes confusion, inconsistency and premature closure of cases.
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CL44Permits can be continually renewed, resulting in failure to fully abate code violations.
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CL45The current procedures used by Code are not sufficient to secure the level and speed of compliance that the residents of Nevada County should reasonably expect. This sometimes allows continuation of a safety hazard to residents of and visitors to the County.
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CL46Failure to charge applicable double inspection fees for late permits results in loss of revenue to the County.
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CL47Nevada County, local businesses and the non-profit community are doing a commendable job providing food and/or shelter to the temporarily homeless community considering the resources available to them. Non-profit resources are stretched to the limit. These organizations are in need of continued and increased community support.
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CL48Communal camps could be a fire hazard.
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CL49Coordination across the different support agencies needs to be improved.
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CL50A -- 1. Reliance on adopters to spay/neuter their animals is not a guarantee it will be done. A-2. The Grass Valley shelter does not know how many of the animals adopted from their facility were spayed/neutered.
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CL51B-1. The euthanasia rate at the Grass Valley shelter is significantly higher than the other shelters in Nevada County. B-2. The lower rate of euthanasia at the other two shelters implies there are alternatives to euthanasia.
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CL52C-1. The Grass Valley shelter's decision to not use volunteers limits its ability to offer increased and consistent hours for the public, needed exercise for the animals and day-to-day assistance for a limited staff. C-2. Failure to vaccinate animals increases the probability of spreading disease throughout the shelter. C-3. There is minimal socialization and exercise for both dogs and cats. C – 4. Bedding is inadequate to provide comfort. C-5. Cats are not provided sufficient litter. C-6. Space is available in the shelter to provide common areas for animals. C - 7. It is inappropriate for a publicly funded facility to compete with the private sector for the boarding of animals.
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CL53D-1. Thorough record keeping is necessary for proper management of the shelter. D - 2. Missing items on forms, such as bite history, present liability issues. D - 3. Increased fees could defray the cost of spaying/neutering the animals prior to adoption.
* 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.