San Benito County Grand Jury
• 2007-2008
2007 / 2008 San Benito County - Civil Grand Jury Report*
⚠️ 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 and Recommendations 15 findings
F1
The Animal Shelter's hours of operation make it unavailable to the majority of the community as it is not open during the lunch hour or on weekends. This is contrary to the Hayden Law.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
The shelter staff is now producing summary reports in a timely manner.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
The data inaccuracies in the reports were due to a software problem. The software vendor is working to correct the software and it should be completed by the end of May 2008.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
For fiscal year 2006-2007, the Animal Shelter deficit was $80,000.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
The new Animal Shelter facility is due to open by the end of July 2008.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
The new Animal Shelter facility has no plans for a new drop box due to unavailability of funds.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
The City website provides no information on what to do if a stray animal is found after shelter hours or instructions on how to use the Drop box.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
No agency provided evidence that a physical audit of kennel cleaning and drop box use was performed.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
The Animal Shelter Duty Manual is several years out of date.
No recommendations for this finding
F10
The Animal Shelter Duty Manual includes content that is inconsistent with the State Food and Agriculture Codes.
No recommendations for this finding
F11
The San Benito County Code, Animals and Fowl, Chapter 4 is outdated and contains numerous anomalies and inconsistencies.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
Review and update the San Benito County Code, Animals and Fowl, Chapter 4 to incorporate the latest California Food and Agriculture Codes. Also, make sure the County Code is consistent with the Hollister Animal Shelter Duty Manual and Hollister Police Department Animal Control Operations Section 321 (based on F11).
F12
Juvenile Hall's security control panel is out-of-date.
No recommendations for this finding
F13
The bathtub and shower stalls are unsafe in that they have slippery or corroded surfaces.
No recommendations for this finding
F14
The single fence structure, with green tarp covering, is inadequate for the proper security and safety of young wards.
No recommendations for this finding
F15
Juvenile Hall has no emergency generator for back-up power. COMMENTS (OPTIONAL) The Juvenile Hall was built in 1992, at the same time as the San Benito County Jail was being constructed. During this 2007-2008 session, Grand Jury also completed an inspection of the Jail and found the two facilities to be in complete contrast. The jail is clean, bright, and neat. Although the Juvenile Hall is generally clean, it looks dilapidated, messy, and cluttered. The air at the jail is comfortable throughout most of the facility. The part of the jail that has poor air quality uses a swamp cooler system. The Juvenile Hall has a swamp cooler system in the part of the building in which its wards live, sleep, and study. Unlike the Juvenile Hall, the Jail is kept in top condition by its own maintenance worker. The Jail also has a new state-of-the-art security control system in place, while the Juvenile Hall continues to wait for a replacement to its original security control panel. Two Grand Jury members who took part in the 2006-2007 Grand Jury Juvenile Hall inspection observed that the conditions of the physical plant have deteriorated in the past year.
No recommendations for this finding
Additional Recommendations 16
These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.
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R1Close the Animal Shelter on one weekday (Monday, for instance) so that it may be open on Saturday (based on Findings F1).
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R2Correct the shelter's software error so that all animals in the shelter are being accounted (based on Findings F3).
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R3Pursue a separate non-profit organization to support animal welfare expenses, support projects such as a new drop box, and provide a consistent volunteer base that can support the Animal Shelter, especially during Saturday open office hours (based on Findings F4, F5, and F6).
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R4Add information to the City website about the use of the drop box and what to do with stray animals when the Shelter is closed (based on Finding F7).
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R5Establish routine inspections and/or self-assessments for the facility to ensure that the Animal Shelter Duty Manual procedures are being followed (based on Findings F8).
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R6Provide an annual report to the public of the inspection results and the number of animals being processed to help enhance the public awareness of the shelter's operations (based on Findings F8).
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R7Update the Animal Shelter Duty Manual to the latest state Food and Agriculture Codes 31108, 31752, 31753, and 31760 (based on Findings F9 and F10).
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R8Incorporate all updates, including memoranda, in the Animal Shelter Duty Manual. Also, if memoranda are to be used as a tool for temporarily updating the manual, then the table of contents should be updated as well. It should include the title of each memorandum and its issue date (based on Findings F9 and F10).
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R10Store blankets, towels, clothing, and shoes neatly in separate and closed containers, drawers, or cabinets so that they are free from dust and chemicals (based on Finding F10).
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R11Update computer hardware and software for classroom instructors (based on Finding F11).
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R12Update Juvenile Hall's control panel immediately (based on Finding F12).
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R13Apply non-slip surfaces to the bathtub and shower stalls (based on Finding F13).
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R14Install a safety bar in the bathtub (based on Finding F13).
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R15Build a perimeter fence to provide additional security and safety to wards (based on Finding F14).
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R16Secure funds to provide the Juvenile Hall with an emergency generator (based on Finding F15).
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R55-6465-74 75 and over 2. Gender: Male Female 3. Race or ethnicity (you may select more than one): American Indian or Alaska Native Asian Black or African-American Hispanic/Latino Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander White Other race or ethnicity (please state:_____) Decline to answer Please visit the County of San Benito Civil Grand Jury Web site at http://www.sanbenitocountygrandjury.org There, you can read or download: • a juror application • a complaint form • past and current reports
* 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.