San Joaquin County 2015-2016 Grand Jury Final Report

l The Board approved the purchase of 31 new school buses without proper analysis. Agency Response: “The Board disagrees with this finding …. The Board’s June 2013 decision to purchase the 31 busses was based on facts and analysis available at the time of the decision, and only after receiving information from staff on the costs related thereto. This further affirms the District’s experience and due diligence in managing transportation to benefit the needs of our students.”

1 Mokelumne Rural Fire District operated in a fiscally irresponsible manner. Mokelumne Rural Fire District Response: “MRFD agrees with this Finding, in part. The former Administrative Assistant was allowed to have purchasing power on behalf of the District, (including use of a District credit card) and was the primary person responsible for the day-to-day handling of the District’s finances. This individual made improper, personal purchases, and was terminated and formally charged with theft of public funds. “The District has implemented stringent purchasing procedures… “The District disagrees with the Finding that the District spent $8,000.00 on ‘Life Lock’ (sic) services for employees potentially affected by the embezzlement activities of the former Administrative Assistant. The funds were $4,120.00 for coverage for 9 full-time employees and their dependents.”

1 The Grand Jury found that the subject of consolidation has been considered by LAFCo and some of the rural fire districts. LAFCo Response: “Agree. This finding is consistent with the Municipal Service Review for the Rural Fire Protection Districts in San Joaquin County adopted by the Commission in December 2011.”

1 “Board by-laws Sections 9000, 9005, 9010, and 9011 were violated by the Board members as described in this report.” Agency Response: “The District accepts this Finding.”

There is no documentation to verify when and by whom VBM ballots are picked up by ROV staff from the Postal Service.

The public was not informed for 328 days after election certification about the unusually high number of late ballots from the 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election, June 3, 2014. 17

Financial information required to determine indigence in the County is not being verified. 28

The scope of the problem is compounded by a lack of accurate and comparable data.

“Administrators have been spending inordinate amounts of time dealing with issues involving trustees, making it difficult for them to complete necessary District work.” Agency Response: “The District accepts this finding.” 129 2.0 Fact: Dramatically escalating legal costs

The ballots were moved from a secured 24-hour surveillance facility to a less secure location.

The warehouse video was not viewable because the system overwrites itself every three to four months.

There is no documentation of material and equipment movement between ROV and the storage facilities.

The City of Lodi along with private individuals and agencies have taken encouraging steps to address the homeless issue. The success Lodi has achieved can be attributed to the coordinated efforts of public agencies, non-profit groups and churches (see Appendix 2).

The County’s “2010-2015 Consolidated Plan” listed seven “Weaknesses in Organizational Structure” to address the homeless population and actions necessary to eliminate those weaknesses. The County’s “2015-2019 Consolidated Plan” provided no evidenced the issues were addressed.

“The independent, full-time position of Safety Program Manager has been vacant since May 2013 and the decision to fill the position on an interim basis with the Deputy Director of Wastewater caused some employees to perceive it to be a conflict of interest.” Agency Response: “The City of Stockton disagrees with this finding. The Department does not have a position of Safety Program Manager in its workforce. Currently, the only full-time position allocated to the Department's safety program is the Occupational Health and Safety Specialist that was vacated in 2013. MUD is pursuing an immediate recruitment of the Occupational Health and Safety Specialist position and intends to have this position filled in the current 2015-2016 fiscal year. For the past two years, the Deputy Director of Wastewater, an expert in the safety field, has been assigned these duties. In addition, the entire safety program for the Department was evaluated in 2014 and a new program developed with expert consultant support under the view and support of the City's Risk Management Division and Cal/OSHA staff. The MUD will continue with consultant services in 2015-16 to develop policies and evaluate the ongoing need for a Safety and Training Program Manager position in future years as the policies are available for the manager to implement.” The 2015-2016 Grand Jury determined no further action is required.

“Complaints regarding safety concerns have often been filed directly to Cal/OSHA by MUD employees intimating a lack of trust in management personnel to solve issues.” Agency Response: “The City of Stockton disagrees partially with this finding. Staff may contact their direct supervisor, union representative, manager, employee Safety Committee, Deputy Director, Director, the City's Risk Management Division and the City Manager's Office regarding safety concerns. It is also the prerogative of any MUD employee to contact Cal/OSHA at any time if he or she feels they have a safety concern in the workplace so that an employee need not only address their concerns with MUD management. Over the past few years, many staff safety concerns have been brought to the attention of management staff, safety committee and addressed accordingly. Therefore, the City of Stockton disagrees with the part of the finding holding that there is or was a lack of trust in MUD management to solve such issues. This has been a cooperative effort between staff, the Department's Safety Committee and management. As a result, millions of dollars have been spent on staff safety training and infrastructure improvements throughout all the divisions and department-wide to address concerns and improve safety for all employees. “MUD has developed a Safety Program Manual that identifies a total of 25 Program Elements, seven of which have been completed with four in draft form as of the date of this letter. These Program Elements are developed by NES, Inc., reviewed by the Safety Committee and signed by the assigned manager, Safety Committee Chairperson and the Director of MUD prior to distribution to a total of 37 control copy binders throughout the Department. Once the Program Element has been issued, training is then conducted specific to the Program Element. Specific changes are being developed to address concerns and being implemented.” The 2015-2016 Grand Jury determined no further action is required. 115

“Board by-laws Sections 9000, 9005, 9010, and 9011 were violated by the Board members as described in this report.” Agency Response: “The District accepts this Finding.”

“By-law changes dealing with the Board were added or updated as a result of Board member behavior.” Agency Response: “The District accepts this Finding.” 131 Conclusion The 2015-2016 Grand Jury believes the District has substantially complied with the