Kern County Grand Jury • 2020-2021

Administration & Audit Committee Mission Statement Themission of the Administration and Audit Committee ofthe 2015-2016

16 pages
View Original PDF

Findings and Recommendations 9 findings

F1
A training manual is being developed by the Broadcast Engineer for future KGOV-TV employees.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
The Clerk of the Board oversees all activities being aired during a BOS broadcast.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
KGOV-TV is funded by the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act Franchise Fund and the Cable Fee Fund.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The website should be updated regularly and edited to remove past events. (Finding F8) • Ensuring the Home page is free of old, irrelevant information. • Keeping up with the community calendar, to make sure that the public knows which are blackout days and opened for business days. NOTES: • The Kern County Law Library should post a copy of this report where it will be available for public review. • Persons wishing to receive an email notification of newly released reports may sign up at: www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury. • Present and past Kern County Grand Jury Final Reports and Responses can be accessed on the Kern County Grand Jury website: www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury. RESPONSE REQUIRED WITHIN 90 DAYS PRESIDING JUDGE KERN COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT 1415 TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 212 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 29 CC: TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 600 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 30 31 KERN COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT PARKING PURPOSE OF INQUIRY: The 2015-2016 Kern County Grand Jury (Grand Jury) Administration and Audit Committee (Committee) in accordance to California Penal Code §925 authorizes the Grand Jury to investigate and report on departments of the County. The Committee revisited a previous report conducted by the 2012-2013 Kern County Grand Jury to study and recommend solutions to current parking issues/growth experienced at the Kern County Superior Court Building, 1415 Truxtun Ave, Bakersfield, CA (Superior Court Parking). PROCESS: The Committee interviewed the Assistant CAO for General Services to follow up on any new developments and/or any new roadblocks encountered to meet previous recommendations. Other information was obtained by personal observations. BACKGROUND AND/OR FACTS: A. There are currently more personnel in need of parking than there are parking spaces available at 1415 Truxtun Ave. Kern County Superior Court Parking area. B. The parking permit is not a reservation for a parking spot, but a pass to “hunt” for a potentially available parking space. C. Entry Kiosk security detail is contracted by Kern County Superior Courts. The attendant should only allow entry to vehicles displaying the parking permit. Vehicles in for Fleet Services and vehicles displaying a handicapped placard can enter this area. D. The Grand Jury is allotted five assigned parking spots. E. Docents are assigned parking passes/permits to park in a reserved stall, on the first floor in the parking structure on M Street. There is one reserved parking stall on the first floor of the parking structure for volunteers.
F4
There is a six-second delay system installed to prevent any undesirable material from being broadcasted to the public.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The parking kiosk attendant should have the authority to enforce policies implemented to control the excessive activities of the parking lot. (Findings F2 and F3)
F5
KGOV-TV has no public relations or publicity program available to inform the public of the station’s presence. COMMENTS: The Administration and Audit Committee would like to thank the KGOV-TV staff for their knowledge, openness and transparency in answering the Committee’s questions.
Related Recommendations (3)
R1
KGOV-TV should explore and implement avenues to advertise their presence within the community. (Finding 5)
R2
KGOV-TV should implement a “broadcast ready” community outreach program to inform outlying areas of current community services and programs, including cooling centers, animal services, fire updates, and other local events. (Finding 5) 24 NOTES: • Kern County General Services should post a copy of this report where it will be available for public review. • Persons wishing to receive an email notification of newly released reports may sign up at: www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury. • Present and past Kern County Grand Jury Final Reports and Responses can be accessedon the Kern County Grand Jury website: www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury. RESPONSE REQUIRED WITHIN 90 DAYS PRESIDING JUDGE KERN COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT 1415 TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 212 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 CC: WESLIE BROWN, TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 600 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 25 26 KERN COUNTY LAW LIBRARY PREFACE: ”The primary obligation of the Kern County Law Library is to provide legal information and information services to members of the legal community and citizens who reside or practice in Kern County. Although, Library staff is available to guide and instruct as to what might be appropriate, they cannot provide any type of legal advice or interpret materials.” PURPOSE OF INQUIRY: The 2015-2016 Kern County Grand Jury (Grand Jury) Administration and Audit Committee (Committee) visited the Kern County Law Library (Library) to review the operations, procedures and management of the Library in accordance with California Penal Code §933.5. PROCESS: The Committee reviewed the 2013-2014 Kern County Grand Jury report and researched the Library website before visiting. The Committee experienced a thorough tour of the Library. A detailed explanation of resources and services available to Kern County citizens was provided by a Library Associate. A question and answer session was held by the Law Librarian (Librarian) to address any concerns arising from the Committee’s initial trip to the Library were presented during a secondary visit. FACTS: A. The Library is located on the Third Floor, Room 301 of the Kern County Superior Court Building, 1415 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, California 93301. B. The Library is funded solely by a fixed portion of the Kern County Superior Court’s (Court) First Document Filing Fee. The Library is a stand-alone entity. It could be inferred by the title that the Library is a department of Kern County, but it is not. The staff is employed by the Library. C. The Library staff of five is supervised by the Librarian. The Librarian reports directly to the Kern County Law Library Board of Trustees consisting of five Kern County Superior Court Judges and two private Attorneys. One Attorney is appointed by the Kern County Board of Supervisors and the other by the Kern County Bar Associationper Business and Professions Code §6301. D. The County of Kern (County) considers the Library to be a Special District in order to provide administrative support services, such as the processing of payroll and personnel documents. The County does not recognize Library employees as county employees. The Library space is provided by, but not maintained by the County. E. Utility services are provided by the County. Phone service and janitorial services are not provided by the County tothe Library. F. The Library has 17 public access computers with internet limited to legal research or legal documentation editing. There are five staff accessible computers and four attorney accessible computer stations. G. In high traffic timeframes, computer access is limited to ensure everyone is allowed a chance to access information. H. The Library houses a Self-Help Center staffed by two court employees. The Library provides workshops on topics limited to Family Law and Small Claims matters. The public is required to register for individual workshops online.
R5
The East quad should be redesigned to accommodate handicapped parking. (Findings F2 and F3)
F6
Virtual Law Libraries can be found in Taft, Ridgecrest and Cerro Coso Community College.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
The number of assigned parking permits should be reevaluated to find a more appropriate number for usage. (Finding F4)
F7
Advertisement of the Library is through word of mouth, street fairs, and attorney referrals. 28
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
The single handicapped spot in front of the Jury Services building should be relocated due to high volumes of traffic creating a safety hazard to the public. (Finding F6) NOTES:  Persons wishing to receive an email notification of newly released reports may sign up at: www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury.  Present and past Kern County Grand Jury Final Reports and Responses can be accessed on the Kern County Grand Jury website: www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury. RESPONSE REQUIRED WITHIN 60 DAYS PRESIDING JUDGE KERN COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT 1415 TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 212 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 CC: TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 600 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 34
F8
General information regarding services provided and resources can be found online at the Library website at http://www.kclawlib.org.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
Personnel turnover is very low. COMMENTS: The Committee found the Library to be very clean, and its equipment to be in working order. Its staff was very friendly, approachable and knowledgeable.
No recommendations for this finding

Comments 12