Final Report 1979-1980*

R1

The current level of staffing security and custodial positions should be evaluated by county officials.

R2

The Court Security Committee should meet on a regular basis to share information and should seek the participation of local school administrators, Compton City officials and residents.

R3

Security should be increased in the parking lot and a central entrance and exit should be established to control the use of the facility by persons who have business at the court complex.

R4

Separate areas in the cafeteria and parking facility should be set aside for the use of citizens on jury duty.

R5

A special clean-up project should be instituted to remove graffiti, correctly designate restrooms and dispose of accumulated debris.

R6

Police officers coming to the building to testify should be encouraged to use the public elevators. Approximately six weeks after its initial visit, the Committee returned to assess the situation at the Compton Court complex. The Committee was gratified to see evidence of significant improvements in the management and appearance of the complex. In the parking facility, a driveway was closed and a staffed guard booth was installed. These changes, along with the issuance of parking passes upon entering the lot and their collection upon leaving, had helped control access and improve security. The stairwells had been cleaned and graffiti had been removed from the interior and exterior walls. The signs on the restroom doors had been replaced. A separate area in the parking lot and a separate portion of the cafeteria had been set aside for the exclusive use of jurors. Other facts came to the Committee's attention that indicate the need for further monitoring and evaluation. Current funding limitations won't permit increasing the security and custodial staff at this time. Law enforcement officers continue to use the private staff elevators, thereby, minimizing the deterrence factor created by having uniformed officers on the elevators and in the hallways. The Court Security Committee is not meeting regularly but convenes on an as-needed basis. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT THE APPROPRIATE POLICE OFFICIALS DIRECT ALL OFFICERS UNDER THEIR COMMAND TO USE THE PUBLIC ELEVATORS WHEN THOSE OFFICERS ARE SUBPOENAED TO APPEAR AT THE COMPTON COURT COMPLEX. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT THE COMPTON COURT SECURITY COMMITTEE MEET ONCE A MONTH TO DISCUSS ISSUES AFFECTING THE SECURITY CONDITIONS AND THE APPEARANCE OF THE COMPTON COURT COMPLEX. Alice M. McCormick, Chairman Jerry L. Adams Geraldine L. Branton Isabel G. Callahan Mary J. Dorsett Horace S. Smith EDUCATION COMMITTEE PURPOSE The Education Committee is delegated by the Grand Jury to examine and comment on the operations of the County Superintendent of Schools, local school districts and college districts within Los Angeles County. This committee also studies topics which affect local public education. FOCUS OF REVIEW School Attendance Problems Student Body Funds School District Operations School Attendance Problems The Education Committee is concerned about the problems related to pupil absenteeism in the County's elementary, intermediate and secondary schools. This interest prompted a study of the subject including proposals to improve school attendance. The members of the Committee visited schools, attended workshops and seminars related to school attendance issues and reviewed publications prepared by the State Department of Education, the State Auditor-General and the Office of the County Superintendent of Schools.

R22

Determine implications of these findings for other County departments,

R23

Consider including in the next legislative action program a request for broader conflict-of-interest controls. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER MONITOR THE STATUS OF THE CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST SECTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUN- ITY DEVELOPMENT. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW RECENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW THE IMPACT, IF ANY, ON ITS OUTSIDE AUDITING APPROACH IN LIGHT OF FEDERAL OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET CIRCULAR A-102, ATTACHMENT P. The complete 11-page report on the Department of Community Development was sent to Judge William Keene, the Board of Supervisors, the Chief Administrative Officer, the Director of the Department of Community Development, and other County officials on March 31, 1980. DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS STUDY SCOPE AND APPROACH The 1977-78 Grand Jury, with the assistance of its contract auditor, Arthur Young and Company, reviewed the operations of the Department of Communications. The Audit Committee directed its contract auditor to review the status of the 30 recommendations offered by the 1977-78 Grand Jury. During the course of this review the contract auditor discussed the current status of the recommendations with DOC staff and studied the material developed by the department. STATUS OF MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS Of the 30 recommendations, 8 have been implemented, 10 are in the process of being implemented or have been partially implemented, and 12 have not been addressed. However, 10 of the unaddressed recommendations require actions by the CAO, coordinated participation of other County agencies, and Board approved changes in County policy. The majority of these unaddressed recommendations were rejected as either impractical or undesirable in the CAO's letter to the 1977-78 Grand Jury dated April 11, 1978, which summarized the viewpoints of both the CAO and the DOC. County-Wide Issues This category of recommendations pertains to all those issues which require decisions or action by either the Board of Supervisors or the Chief Administrative Officer, as well as the Department of Communications. Only two of the eight recommendations offered have been implemented. One of the two recommendations which have been implemented called for the County to allocate resources so that DOC and the CAO could prepare a comprehensive analysis of the most cost-effective approach to telephone system procurement for each location and a recommendation for in-house or contractual provisions for maintenance. The contract auditor observed a significant improvement in the completeness of the cost and payback analyses currently performed for telephone equipment procurement alternatives in comparison with those performed during the 1977 operational review. The alternative of lease purchasing telephone equipment from private vendors instead of renting similar equipment from the telephone company is considered and analyzed in virtually all situations where new or replacement equipment is required. All relevant cost factors are included in the analyses including installation and maintenance costs (materials, labor and overhead); monthly lease purchase payments; inflation factors; and savings on toll and minimum multiple-unit calls, removal of leased telephone lines and reductions in required operator staffing. Although all equipment acquisitions are evaluated for cost justification over a 10 year period, the basis for deciding whether to lease purchase telephone equipment or rent comparable equipment from the telephone company is a fiscal year cost comparison of the two alternatives. The other recommendation from this section of the report dealt with improvements in the internal accounting systems so that users would receive sufficient explanation of charges with bills. Enhancements of the computerized Telephone Billing System continue and currently the bills provided to user departments include a detailed breakdown of charges. Fiscal and Administrative Services There were four recommendations in this category and all but one have been partially or fully implemented. The principal benefits of the actions taken in response to these recommendations have been a reduction in the accounting staff by four positions and a significant improvement in management reports and user department billing detail. The major actions which resulted in these improvements included implementation of the computerized Telephone Billing System, implementation of the computerized Project Task Accounting System, implementation of a computerized inventory control system and implementation of a procedure for a monthly random sampling of telephone bills for audit of other credits and charges. Operations Seven of the recommendations offered in the initial report remain applicable to the Operations branch of the Department of Communications and they pertain to the mail/messenger service and telephone switchboard personnel. Only one of these seven recommendations has been implemented. This recommendation was to maintain funding for those position filled in November, 1977 in the mail/messenger function. Budgetary restriction in the past two years have caused the Department's funded positions today in the mail/messenger service to be equal in number to the filled positions of two years ago. The reasons for not implementing the other recommendations are largely contained in the CAO's response letter to the Grand Jury dated April 11, 1978. The recommendation that the DOC conduct a study of mail system reliability was not implemented because both the DOC and CAO contended that our study provided sufficient evidence to indicate that the system's reliability was acceptable. In their opinion, corroboration of this finding by conducting an additional study would not be cost-effective. With respect to the recommendations that the CAO consider the consolidation of the mail/messenger services of the Road Department and the Municipal Court, the CAO and DOC collectively felt that the delivery requirements of these users would not be effectively accommodated by the County-wide system. According to DOC staff, the consolidation of the Health Services messenger function to eliminate positions has not been pursued since the Grand Jury recommended that such efforts be continued. The overall recommendation that the CAO consider the transfer of all mail/messenger personnel to DOC has not resulted in any significant further actions toward centralizing the mail/messenger function within the County. The proposed new centralized facility for the County-wide mail/messenger function, under study by the CAO and DOC at the time of the review, has not been pursued because of the fiscal limitations imposed by Proposition 13. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 1979-80 GRAND JURY THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS INSTITUTE A "TELEPHONE SYSTEMS SAVING FUND" TO FINANCE CAPITAL REPLACEMENT OF RENTAL EQUIPMENT. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS PURSUE ALL AVAILABLE MEANS TO SECURE FROM PACIFIC TELEPHONE COMPANY MAGNETIC TAPES CONTAINING CONSOLIDATED DETAILED BILLINGS FOR SERVICES PROVIDED. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT ALL MAIL/MESSENGER FUNCTIONS BE CONSOLIDATED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT EXPENDITURE CONTROL PROCEDURES ON TELEPHONE OPERATOR POSITIONS BE REVISED. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS EXAMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF REINSTITUTING MANAGEMENT REPORTING BY PROJECT. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS CONTINUE EFFORTS TO IMPROVE INVENTORY CONTROLS. The complete 20-page report on the Department of Communications was sent to Judge William Keene, the Board of Supervisors, the Chief Administrative Officer, the Director of the Department of Communications and other County officials on April 1, 1980. DISABILITY RETIREMENT defenda STUDY SCOPE AND APPROACH The 1977-78 Grand Jury studied the disability retirement portion of the County's retirement system. The Audit Committee directed Arthur Young and Company to review the status of the 8 recommendations made by the 1977-78 Grand Jury. The scope of this review was limited to an assessment of the responses of County officials to the proposals offered by the Grand Jury to improve the disability and retirement program. Legislation aimed at amending the retirement program was examined and discussions were conducted with representatives of the Department of the Treasurer and Tax Collector, the Chief Administrative Officer's staff, and attorneys from the County Counsel's Office. STATUS OF MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS Corrective action has been taken on most of the recommendations presented. Such actions range from forming task forces for further study and implementing specific corrective actions to supporting legislation aimed at changing the Retirement Law. The positive effect of these actions, in any, is difficult to quantify. The Audit Committee believes the process is a continuing one which requires further attention both internally and from future Grand Jury inquiries. RECOMMENDATION OF THE 1979-80 GRAND JURY It is apparent from the Grand Jury's review two years ago, and the Audit Committee's follow up this year, that the major impediment to reforms to the disability retirement system is the evolving philosophy regarding such retirements. Over the years the system has evolved from one designed to compensate employees for specific, job related injuries to one which compensates employees for an inability to perform their job, regardless of the reason. The Board of Supervisors should make an explicit policy decision regarding the purpose of the disability retirement system. If it is determined by the Board that disability should compensate an employee for an inability to perform his job for any reason, as is currently the policy, such a decision should be explicitly stated. If it is determined by the Board that disability should compensate an employee only for specific, job related injury, then the Board should take such action, including legislative proposals, to implement this policy and reverse the current trend. THE GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS THAT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MAKE AN EXPLICIT POLICY STATEMENT REGARDING THE PURPOSE OF THE DISABILITY RETIREMENT SYSTEM. The complete 11-page report on the disability retirement portion of the County's retirement system was sent to Judge William Keene, the Board of Supervisors, the Chief Administrative Officer, the Treasurer-Tax Collector, the members of the County Retirement Board, and other County officials on April 1, 1980. "THE PENSION BALLOON" (Town Hall Study) STUDY SCOPE AND APPROACH In April of 1979, Town Hall of California published "The Pension Balloon." This 79 page report analyzed the pension plans of the City of Los Angeles Fire and Police Departments, the City of Los Angeles employees, the Los Angeles County employees, and the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Audit Committee asked its contract auditor to perform a study to determine the extent of the County's compliance with the recommendations offered by Town Hall on the subject of pension benefits for public employees. The contract auditor discussed the findings contained in the Town Hall report with the Treasurer-Tax Collector and the County Counsel, and their respective staffs. STATUS OF MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS The report contained three recommendations applicable to the Los Angeles County Employees' Retirement Plan: Cost-of-living and post-retirement medical benefits should be funded. At present, these two benefits are paid for from the Plan's investment earnings in excess of 5 1/8% per annum. — Benefits offered by the Plan should be brought into "rough parity" with the benefits offered by the plans of selected commercial enterprises headquartered in Southern California. This recommendation would result in a reduction both in the amount and nature of the benefits available to public employees. The reduced benefit levels contemplated above should be applied prospectively to both current and