Siskiyou County Grand Jury
2021-2022
Findings & Recommendations
9 findings
F1:
Violations outnumber the ability of Code Enforcement to do its job.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
The Board of Supervisors should prioritize public health and safety complaints during the 2022/2023 fiscal year.
F2:
Those who are responsible to enforce Siskiyou County Codes find them confusing, inconsistent, and insufficient.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
The Board of Supervisors should review and strengthen the County Codes necessary to support code enforcement goals. Each code section should outline the violation and its method of enforcement.
F3:
Communication between County departments responsible for code enforcement needs improvement.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
The Board of Supervisors will direct the development of a written process to communicate with all involved departments for any code enforcement case. These written processes should be developed into standard operating procedure manual beginning November 1, 2022.
F4:
The Code enforcement department suffers from high turnover reducing its effectiveness.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4:
The Board of Supervisors should focus on supporting Code Enforcement officers, ensuring adequate training and shall require ongoing communication among all departments starting immediately.
F5:
Code Enforcement staff are insufficiently trained for the work they are required to do.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5:
The Board of Supervisors should task Community Development department to establish written procedures for training new Code Enforcement officers before sending them to work in the field. Ongoing training should occur annually beginning September 1, 2022.
F6:
Code Enforcement officers often work in unsafe situations causing delays in enforcement.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6:
The Board of Supervisors should evaluate the need for policy change to allow Code Enforcement officers to be armed or to work in tandem with a Sheriff Deputy 13 dedicated to Code Enforcement beginning September 1, 2022.
F7:
Access to code enforcement information through the Siskiyou County website is challenging as it is in multiple places and uses different formats.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7:
The Board of Supervisors will direct the update and consolidation of the multiple web pages referencing code enforcement to be consistent by November 1, 2022.
F8:
While there are multiple ways to make a complaint there is little instructional information.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8:
The Board of Supervisors will direct the update of all code enforcement forms should contain contact information and instruction for completion by July 1, 2023.
F9:
The Siskiyou County General Plan is outdated which impacts successful code enforcement results.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9:
The Board of Supervisors should create a plan to prioritize updating the General Plan focusing on the elements of highest concern to the citizens of Siskiyou, utilizing the free tools, and low-cost resources available through the Governor’s Office.
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Findings & Recommendations
2 findings
F1:
The lack of participation, communication, and enforcement, since 2009, among several County departments have caused these issues mentioned in the report.
Related Recommendations (4)
R1:
The Board of Supervisors should direct County agencies to meet, maintain ongoing communication, and coordinate procedures necessary to eliminate the problems discussed in this report, by November 1, 2022.
R1b:
In addition, the Board of Supervisors should include other outside agencies as they establish a procedure to best gain control of these problems. Possible agencies to consider would be the California Highway Patrol, California Fish and Wildlife, and other appropriate State and Federal agencies, by November 1, 2022.
R1c:
The Board of Supervisors should ensure that the expanded ring, regulations available under AB2164 are utilized by County Counsel and coordinating agencies to its fullest extent, by November 1, 2022.
R1d:
The Board of Supervisors should earmark Siskiyou County’s portion of fine monies received from AB2164 and all other citations issued for illegal activity connected to cannabis, to supplement enforcement efforts and cleanup, by November 1, 2022.
F2:
The overall failure to address unregulated commercial growth of cannabis in Siskiyou County has resulted in a deterioration of the quality of life for its citizens.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
The Board of Supervisors must immediately review and strengthen all ordinances addressing the negative effects of commercial cannabis grows in Siskiyou County, including illegal camping, greenhouse poly tunnel loopholes, and water transportation issues by November 1, 2022.
Findings & Recommendations
5 findings
F1:
In spite of mandated “early release”, the present Siskiyou County jail is not large enough to accommodate the number of prisoners.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department should explore alternative existing sites to house offenders by November 1, 2022.
F2:
The Siskiyou County jail is understaffed resulting in reduced capacity and effectiveness in dealing with the offenders housed there.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
The Board of Supervisors should prioritize expand hiring efforts to fill open Sheriff’s Department vacancies. This should include streamlining screening procedures, expanding searches, reevaluating qualifications, and addressing more competitive compensation packages, by November 1, 2022.
F3:
In the absence of a daily newspaper and local broadcast media, the public has no readily accessible information on law enforcement activities and arrests such as an old-fashioned police blotter.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department should deliver current updated information on law enforcement activity and arrests via their digital platforms by November 1, 2022.
F4:
Diversion and rehabilitation programs listed in the Community Corrective Partnership discussion are not fully functional.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4:
The Board of Supervisors should, in light of the housing shortage for inmates, prioritize and make fully functional all diversion and rehabilitation programs under the control of the County by November 1, 2022.
F5:
Prisoners from outlying areas are released from the jail located in Yreka, usually with no means to return to their original residence location.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5:
The Board of Supervisors should plan and implement a transportation program to assist individuals in returning home after being released from the jail by November 1, 2022. This transportation program should consider offering transportation vouchers for early release inmates to return for their court dates 5
Findings & Recommendations
3 findings
F1:
Our County is at much greater risk of catastrophic fire due to the shortage of qualified inmates assigned to Deadwood Conservation Camp.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors (BOS) should take steps to assure that an adequate number of Type 1 fire crews are available for fire assignments in Siskiyou County by June 30, 2022.
F2:
Deadwood Conservation Camp is no longer able to provide regular maintenance, service, and repairs for emergency fire vehicles and equipment in Siskiyou County.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors should contact the local fire departments to determine their needs for, and cost, to replace services that will no longer be offered by Deadwood Fire Camp by June 30, 2022. 7
F3:
Deadwood Conservation Camp will no longer provide services for non-fire projects such as fuel reduction, Fire Safe projects, local trail work, cemetery and school maintenance, fairground maintenance, setup and take down, snow removal, and flood response. Recommendations
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
The Siskiyou Board of Supervisors should assess the local needs for a low- cost crew to provide work for fuel reduction, Fire Safe projects, local trail work, cemetery and school maintenance, fairground maintenance, set up and take down, snow removal, and flood response by July 31, 2022.
Findings & Recommendations
6 findings
F1:
Accessibility of the approved budget on the County web site and limited review in the County Clerk’s Office may not serve the needs of all citizens.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
The Board of Supervisors should provide an approved copy of the County budget in all public libraries, by September 30, 2022, allowing citizens the opportunity to review it on their time.
F2:
Reviewing the County budget is difficult for the public and staff to understand.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
The Board of Supervisors should attach a summary glossary of important terms, and acronyms, with definitions to all copies of the budget to help citizens and staff to understand the budgeting terminology by August 31, 2022.
F3:
Publically available copies of the fiscal year budget have different formats which makes use, understanding, and comparison difficult.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3:
Copies of the budgets available to the public at the County Clerk’s, Auditor’s Office and County web page should use the same format by September 30, 2022.
R3b:
The Board of Supervisors should incorporate a summary of the budget, prepared annually by the County Administrative Officer titled “Budget Highlights,” anywhere the budget is made available for review by September 30, 2022. 6
F4:
Unspent personnel costs, the largest part of the County’s budget, is left to accumulate in department budgets when vacancies occur until year-end. If unaddressed, this accumulation of unspent funds then becomes unavailable for needed uses and transfers during the current fiscal year.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4:
The Board of Supervisors should consider a periodic review, perhaps quarterly, to evaluate unspent personnel funds under County control, identifying funds that the County could use for changing priorities during the fiscal year by September 30, 2022.
F5:
The County accounting system, Banner, is being supplemented and or duplicated by many users across most County departments.
Related Recommendations (2)
R5:
The Board of Supervisors should oversee the development of a system to assure that all fiscal personnel be made aware of and trained on Banner’s capabilities by December 31, 2022.
R5b:
To reduce duplication of accounting systems, the Board of Supervisors should establish a panel to evaluate all departments’ accounting needs and systems currently in use. This should include possible modifications to Banner system by June 30, 2023.
F6:
The strong emphasis on historical data in budget preparation has created an environment that restricts flexibility and the incentive to save.
Related Recommendations (2)
R6:
To deemphasize the use of historical data in budget preparation, the Board of Supervisors should encourage departments and the budget team to react to changes and priority shifts in preparing budgets accordingly by January 1, 2023.
R6b:
The Board of Supervisors should provide additional direction by communicating to all department heads and staff a set of County priorities and goals prior to the beginning of each year’s budgeting process by January 1, 2023. Requested Responses Pursuant to Penal Code 933 and 933.05 the Grand Jury requests responses from the following elected officials within 60 days: Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors