HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 09091986 - IO.1 To: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Contra
September 8, 1986 v
DATE'. Co Irt/
SUBJECT: Response to the Report of the 1985-86 Grand Jury �JVL.+I� it�
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1 . Approve the proposed response to the report of the 1985-86
Grand Jury except as noted below, and direct the Clerk of
the Board to file its response with the Presiding Judge of
the Superior Court pursuant to Penal Code Section 933 .
2. Add to .the response to recommendations 1-9 the following:
Recommend that the Board of Directors of the West Contra
.Costa Sanitary District meet with the Grand Jury in order to
respond to the Grand Jury' s recommendations and that a
report -of the results of that meeting be forwarded to the
Board of Supervisors.
3 . Add to the response to recommendations 1-9 the following:
Direct the County Administrator to send a letter to each
agency for which the Board of Supervisors is not the
governing board to which the Grand Jury directed a
recommendation urging that agency to respond to the Grand
Jury' s report on a timely basis. Send a copy of each such
letter to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court and the
Forewoman of the 1986-87 Grand Jury.-
4. Add to the response to recommendation #10 the following:
Authorize the Internal Operations Committee to convene one
or more meetings -with representatives of independent special
districts in the County, . including the Superintendent of
Schools, to discuss ways in .which the concerns of the Grand
Jury can be addressed, including the possibility of
legislation. The Foreman of the 1985-86 Grand Jury and this
County' s Legislative Delegation should be invited to the
meeting.
5. Add to the response to recommendation #34 the following:
Direct the County Administrator to insure that the
consultant studying the Marshal-Sheriff consolidation
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
X APPROVE OTHER /
SIGNATURE i s : Nanc�C. �hd n Sunne 14. McPeak
ACTION OF BOARD ON V eptember 9, 1986 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
County Administrator
CC: 1985-86 Grand Jury Foreman ATTESTED Se tember 9 , 1986
1986-87 Grand Jury Forewoman PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
Incternal Operations Committee SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
Env. Control-CDD w )
Presiding Judge, Superior Court B� G �Ut�G�tT
M382/7-83 ,DEPUTY
Page 2
5 . (continued)
issue meet with the Forewoman of 'the 1986-87 Grand Jury
before completing her report.
6 . Add to the response to recommendation #111 the following:
Authorize the Internal Operations Committee to assume the
lead role in establishing a public education and community
planning process involving the cities, the Solid Waste
Commission, homeowners' associations, industry and community
organizations designed to reach consensus on the siting of a
sanitary landfill, and to address the need for an integrated
Solid Waste Management Plan.
7 . Attach to the response to the Grand Jury Report the Internal
Operations Committee' s report which the Board approved on
August 19, 1986 establishing a Water Task Force, along with
the adopted Board statements on water policy.
8. Commend the 1985-86 Grand Jury for its diligence and hard
work in preparing a well-thought out report on many critical
areas of County operations.
9. Acknowledge the many commendations given by the Grand Jury
to various County staff, departments, and programs, and
authorize the Chairman to send a letter to each such
department expressing the Board' s appreciation for their
fine work.
BACKGROUND:
On August 26, 1986, the Board of Supervisors referred to our
Committee the proposed response to the report of the 1985-86
Grand Jury. Our Committee met on September 8, 1986 with
representatives of both the 1985-86 and 1986-87 Grand Juries. We
reviewed the proposed response with the Grand Juries and have
incorporated several of their concerns in the above amendments to
the proposed response. With the above additions we believe the
Board should approve the response as the Board' s response to the
1985-86 Grand Jury Report as is required by Penal Code Section
933 .
I
WA-3�
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Adopted this Order on November 8, 1983 by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Powers, McPeak, Torlakson, Schroder
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: Supervisor Fanden
SUBJECT: Water Committee Report - Endorsement of Committee for Water Policy
Consensus Policy Statements
On January 25, 1983, the Board of Supervisors , as governing board
of the Contra Costa County Water Agency, approved a consulting services agreement
with Solem and Associates to manage a project to seek. a consensus within the
Bay/Delta area regarding water policies.
A Committee for Water Policy Consensus was established. Committee
members represent elected officials, labor, environmental groups , agricultural
interests , business , farm bureaus, water districts, and other organizations
and individuals with expertise and interest in the complex issues of water policy.
The Committee, chaired by Supervisor McPeak,. discussed water policy
issues in detail for many months . The Committee for Water Policy Consensus
has approved the following policy statements :
BAY/DELTA PROTECTION POLICIES
I. Support of San Francisco Bay-Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuarine system
water quality standards, with standards guaranteed in the` state constitution
and in the federal-state (CVP-SWP ) Coordinated Operating Agreement and
in a reauthorization of the Central Valley Project.
Numerical standards should be established as a floor for protection of
the Bay-Delta estuarine system. These numerical standards should be arrived
at through consultations with all interested parties.
2. Assess responsibility for decline of fish and wildlife in the San Francisco/
Delta estuary by the State Water Project, the Central Valley Project and
by others, and require the projects to mitigate-the dama9es they have caused.
No additions to the projects for the purpose of increasing export capability,
e.g. , additional pumps, may be installed and operated unless these commitments
are made and carried out.
3. Support of fish screening improvements, including improvements at Clifton
Court Forebay.
4. Support of further study of the gated barrier concept westerly of Suisun
Bay.
5. Support of agricultural drainage which uses such methods as evaporation
ponds or ocean disposal but no drainage discharge into the Bay/Delta estuary
which has an adverse impact on the receiving waters. Research and development
of alternative methods of disposing of drainage effluent, such as solar
ponds, marsh habitat and desalination, should be encouraged.
6. Strengthen area of origin protection by requiring adequate and enforceable
reservation of water within the basin necessary to meet future in-basin
needs.
7. Support implementation of an integrated program of rehabilitation and main-
tenance of Delta levees, involving federal , state, local and user interests,
„ . with. the costs and responsibilities to be fairly allg,q,ated among the bene-
,ficiaries of such a program.
g. Any rod) fi ion of the Delta transfer mechanism, or additional exports
from the Cita , rust be preceded by the implementation of protections,
water policy reforms and guaranteed standards for the San Francisco -Bay/
Delta estuarine system as outlined in the policy statements in this docu-
ment. Continue opposition to the Peripheral Canal or any other form of
closed, isolated water transfer and support continued through-Delta ,
non-isolated transfer. However, deterioration of the San Francisco Bay/
Delta estuarine system must be stopped. To accomplish this, support of
environmentally sound measures where feasible, exclusive of new export
pumps and new channels, to improve water circulation within the Delta
for the primary purpose of reducing the damage to fisheries and to Delta
water quality which is now caused by the operations of water projects.
DEVELOPMENT ;SEEDS POLICIES
1. Support of the concept that there is enough water available in California
to meet needs if the water is properly managed.
2. Support of development of water supply to meet present and future needs.
Development includes physical facilities as well as non-structural means
that can create an increased water supply. Emphasis shall be placed on
developing an increased water supply through means such .as:
a. Water conservation and efficiency measures, _ such as lining canals
where water is -otherwise lost through seepage so that it is no longer
economically and physically available for use. .,..
b. Removal of institutional barriers that impede more efficient use of
water, such as inequitable limitations on the use of major aqueduct
facilities.
c. Cost-effective off-stream storage should be provided south of the
Delta, both surface and subsurface, for storage of water that is first
determined to be surplus to the needs of the Bay/Delta estuary and
areas of origin of that water. This storage .wi-11 serve export needs
while permitting increased flexibility for reduction of export pumping
rates from the Delta when necessary to protect Delta water supplies ,
and during critical fishery periods.
d. Underground storage, both in Southern California- and in the San Joaquin
Valley subject to the development of the necessary management controls.
3. Pricing and repayment policies for all future contracts and all future
projects shall ensure that beneficiaries pay their full share of costs
associated with development, and operation of those facilities in order
to reduce unwarranted subsidic,': con;-.f ��^_tion` only if cost-effective
projects , and to promote efficient use of water resources. Accurate prices
for project benefits should be agreed upon prior to initiation of project
development to the maximum extent feasible. If subsidies are to be provided,
they and intended beneficiaries should be explicitly identified and should
be permitted only to the extent consistent with applicable state and federal
laws.
4. Support new water .yield development projects which meet needs that could
not otherwise be met which are consistent with- these ,.policies and which
mitigate environmental damages.
5. The designated Wild and Scenic Rivers should be fully protected and not
developed for additional water ,supply.
6. Support for communication and cooperation among water policy groups in
all regions of the state, with an emphasis on finding areas o.f..statewide
consensus.
GROUND AND SURFACE WATER MANAGEMENT POLICIES
I. All groundwater basins should have locally determined management plans,
where needed, to protect the long-term viability of the groundwater basins.
2. Support and encourage locally developed water and energy conservation programs
and water reuse programs that lead to improved basin-wide and energy use
efficiently.
3. Ensure the safety of groundwater supplies by preventing contamination.
4. Support of adequate federal research funding to'-- determine viable limits
of public health standards for water use. Support for the California Department
of Health setting uniform definitions and public health standards for the
reuse of water.
5. Support of drilling and sealing ordinances designed for the protection
of aquifers and the public health and welfare.
6. Support coordination of basin-wide groundwater and surface water use (con-
junctive use).
7. Protect the long-term viability of rivers and streams for in-stream uses,
such as fishing, recreation and aesthetics. .
8. Proposals for additional water supply facilities should give adequate consid-
eration to water quality and public health aspects of the water supply,
bearing in mind the cost-effectiveness of developing water treatment facilities
in importing areas.
The Water Committee finds that the Consensus Statements are consistent
with Contra Costa County Water Agency Policy and recommends that the Board of
Supervisors, in all its capacities , endorse the Water Policy Statement of the
Committee for Water Policy Consensus and encourage other, agencies and individuals
to so endorse the Policy Statements.
Sunne Wright McPeak Tom Torlakson
Supervisor, District IV Supervisor, District V
IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the recommendation of the Water
Committee is APPROVED.
c�r1!`y tt;at;his!�n true and correct copy oT
tho ralnutea of the
C'vc'ra C.•: :..
:3T:l9:aCJ O^. Mo Grote Shown.
cter;z c; i Goard
By ' Deputy
DB0:BD.WaterStat .t11
Drig. Dept. : ublic Works - EC
cc: County Administrator
, Solem and Associates (via EC)
February 15, 1983
NEW WATER ETHICS FOR THE 1980'S
By the Contra Costa County Water Agency
We are entering a new era of the management of the State-' s� Wat=er Resources
that . no longer depends only on building more water projects, 'but recognizes
that environmental protection, economic efficiency, energy considerations,
and the wise management of existing resources, are major components of
:-a program to meet the State's demand for water. A comprehensive approach ._
to water supply p-lanning and development in the State. can achieve the goal
of meeting future water needs of the entire State and provide protection
of the environmental and economic resources in the areas where the water
. originates. - The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, as the ex-officio
governing board for the Contra Costa County Water Agency sets forth the
following policies for the development of a new water ethic for the State.
POLICIES ON SURFACE WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The water `rresources already developed shall be used to the maximum
extent and all alternatives for efficient use of the water must be
considered before new sources are authorized.
The. State' s water resources management must include the efficient,
totally coordinated operation of the State Water Project and Central
Valley Project. The State should take the lead in the effort to establish
institutional and regulatory changes for the efficient operation of
the State Water Project and Central Valley Project.
Additional water storage facilities, including pumped storage, should
be constructed to take advantage of periods of high runoff to increase
mater supplies without impinging on the needs of downstream uses ( in-
cluding unregulated flows) . T
Intensive agricultural and municipal conservation measures must be
a component of any serious water management plan. Conservation plans
should be mandated in ways that water agencies and districts will
have an option to implement specific conservation techniques , such
as improving irrigation technology, using reclaimed water, lining
ditches, residential water conservation programs and water system
leak detection programs. Cost analysis of the water conservation
options versus new water projects must be a part of any proposed water
project.
The reform of State and Federal repayment practices is needed so that
water users pay their; fair: share ofproject costs. Project water
has been traditio'na
lTy . priced so that it is possible for 'users to
purchase water at prices lower than true costs. The current pricing
structure of project water must be reformed so that all subsidies
(capital provided at below market i-nterest_.r.ates, property taxes on
urban non-users for water development of non-local projects, hydro-
power revenues, use of tideland oil and gas revenues, etc.) are eliminated
to encourage efficient use of water. The sale of developed water
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should be allowed on an open market basis, with prices covering total
costs. Certain pricing exceptions such as " life-line rates" may be
appropriate.
- The concept of a water market system which allows for inter-regional
transfers of water should be further developed.. Barriers to water
transfers;,must be removed to allow the allocation of water in a more
efficient manner. Water users should have the right to buy "water"
on a voluntary and short term basis from others, and transfer it to
new locations. This should be disting.uj.shed from transfers of water
rights, which is not being advocated. Water transfers would result
in long term increased user efficiency and decrease the demand for-
water.
- The existing use of water supplies in areas receiving project water
shall be examined to determine the extent to which water reclamation
or conservation can satisfy additional water demands before new import'
of water is considered for that area.
The designated Wild and Scenic Rivers should be fully protected and
not developed for additional water supply.
- Flow protection standards must be established for instream (streams,
rivers, bays, estuaries, and wetlands) uses such as fisheries , water-
related wildlife, water oriented recreation and aesthetics, and water
quality uses.
Consideration should be given to designating some of the waters presently
treated as "surplus" to "firm yield" by redefining firm water yield
based on examination of the critical period assumptions upon which
present water planning is based. It may be judged likely that a move
toward an expanded definition of firm water yield would be cost effective,
and presents a greater potential for, immediate water relief for the
State. This reallocation of 'water: would entail increased risk of
shortages, but the benefits may be greater._ than the costs_ of such
risk taking.
Most facilities such as dams, reservoirs, and levees are constructed
for flood ,control use as well as water supply use. Non-structural
measures of flood protection such as flood plain zoning, flood proofing
and flood warningsystems should be considered when evaluating flood
control and water supply projects.
POLICIES ON GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT
The extensive overdrafting of water in several areas of the State'
seriously a the o vera 1 1
y ravates gg problem of water management. ' Long:
term replenishment of natural ground water basins and the careful :
management of such basins by the combined management and use of ground
and surface water use are important long range goals. It is especially
' important to establish the mechanisms through which these basins can
be managed. The ground water basins throughout the State should be
t
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brought under local basin-wide management.
- If ..local agencies fail to establish ground water controls, the State
should reduce or eliminate new or existing surface water imports.
A basin= extraction ceiling should be established, and pumping should
not. exceed it.
It will be necessary to enact a general purpose groundwater law that
provides local 'authorities th,e power to control extractions so that
Statewide ground water management and water supply goals are reached.
POLICIES ON SAN FRANCISCO BAY - SACRAMENTO - SAN JOAQUIN ESTUARINE SYSTEM
PROTECTION
The protection and preservation of the Water Resources o f t h e S a n
Francisco Bay - Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta Estuarine System is
vital to this County to insure the needs of agriculture, industry,
domestic uses, and for fish and wildlife. All the needs of the Delta,
both economic and environmental , must be met before any water is exported
from the Delta.
Appropriate water quality standards must be developed prior to the
export of any water. Legislation should be enacted to assure that
the State Water Project and the Federal Central Valley Project release
water to the Delta to meet such water quality standards. The legis-
lation must include absolute enforceable constitutional guarantees
to meet these objectives. The guarantees must recognize that areas
of origin, which includes the Delta, have first priority over export
and that all beneficial uses of the Delta in any year must be protected
before any Delta export is made.
- It is recognized that legal contracts with Delta Water Agencies have
the potential to elevate the degree of protection and enforcement
of water quality guarantees in addition to legislative action. --Contracts
proposed as a vehicle through which water quality is insured must
provide that all water agencies be part of the necessary negotiations
and any final means of conflict resolutions, such as binding arbitration
must apply equally to all water agencies. Contracts should be negotiated
with all eight water agencies in the Delta.
- Our knowledge of the importance of unregulated flows to the Delta
System and San Francisco Bay is still not understood thoroughly .
This subject should be given study and appropriate water quality and
flow standards must be established for the Bay. Interim standards
should be applied until this knowledge is attained.
- The development of water quality guarantees must include full protection
for the Suisun Marsh. - J-
Fisheries resources must be returned to historical levels in the San
Francisco Bay-Delta system. Measures to decrease the number of fish
4
killed due to diversions of water from Delta and Bay must be implemented.
Possible measures include restricting of water diversions during periods
when fish are most susceptible to entrainment and improving fish screening
at diversion points.
Agricultural drainage has a major effect on Delta 'Wa.ter ' Quality.
Over the years, the deterioration of Delta Water Quality has had major
impacts on the beneficial uses of the Bay -:Delta System. The proposed
agriculture drain from the San Joaquin Valley to the Delta will only
add to the water quality problems; and must be opposed. Other alternatives,
such as treatment and/or evaporation ponds or ocean disposal should
be pursued. '
The existing Delta levees are deteriorating. Federal , State, and
local' agencies, and Delta owners must cooperate in the creation of
a Delta Commission that will be charged with the responsibility of
protecting the interest of the' Delta consistent with the greater interests
of the State to prevent the further loss of islands to flooding which
will threaten water supply (including the EBMUD Aquaduct) and reduce
water quality, reduce agricultural production, impair transportation
systems, and reduce wildlife habitant.
- Delta ,Water Transfer Facilities - The interests of this State are
best served by the most productive use of surplus water. The concept
of an isolated facility to convey such diversions must be opposed.
The flow of fresh water through the Delta and preservation of Delta
outflow provide an inherent protection to the Delta and Bay. Any
Delta water transpid.rt-proposal must be environmentally sound and must
meet the standards in this statement.
POLICIES ON WATER SUPPLY PLANNING
The legislature should adopt long range goals for water use. The
goals must recognize that "reasonable and beneficial use" of water
requires attention to efficiency of water use.
- Rational project expansion should be instituted by requiring projects
to meet tests of economic efficiency before they can be considered
for authorization. The new water should be priced at their marginal
or incremental costs.
Federal water planning and new project construction should be integrated
with overall State water planning.
Point sources and nonpoint sources of pollution shall be controlled
to protect adopted beneficial uses of water.
POLICIES- ON ENERGY
Energy considerations should be made an integral part of water management
planning. Energy impacts must be considered equally along with economic
and environmental considerations.
a
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The foregoing policy is a comprehensive approach to water supply planning,
and development in the State of California, based on the principle of fairness
in initially allocating both -ground and surface waters, so that all users
have access to these scarce resources; and economic efficiency, so that
users can allocate water to the areas in which it can be put .to highest
value uses. These policies are designed to guide. the State in protecting
environmental quality and insuring efficient water uses for the entire
State.
Wtrpolrefchgs
AE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Adopted this Order on February 15, 1983
by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Powers , Fanden , McPeak , Torlakson and Schroder
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
SUBJECT: Water Committee Report - Adoption of "New Water Ethics for the
1980's"
The Water Committee considered at its February 7, 1983 Committee
meeting the draft "New Water Ethics for the 1980's" policy statement. The statement
sets forth policy on water issues which the Contra Costa County Water Agency
will follow in developing positions and programs concerning water issues.
Drafts of the policy statement were sent to a wide variety of
individuals and agencies for comments. On January 4, 1983 the Board of . Supervisors
held a public hearing on the policy statement. The final version of the "New
Water Ethics for the 1980' s" was developed with consideration of the many comments
received on earlier drafts.
The Water Committee recommends that the Board of Supervisors,
as the. ex officio governing board for the Contra Costa County Water Agency,
adopt the" New Water Ethics for the 1980's," dated 'February 15, .1,§83.
Sunne Wright McPeak Tom orlakson
Supervisor District IV Supervisor District V
IT IS BY T1iE RnARD ORDERED that the recommendations
of the 11ater Committee are AppRnjiED .
1 hereby certify that this Is a true and correct copy of
an action taken and entered on the minutes of the
Board of Suporvlsors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: F� B", 1'7 ' --
J.R. OLSSON, COUNTY CLERK
and ex o ficlo Clerk of the Board
Orig. Dept. Public Works - EC
cc: County Administrator By ( , Deputy
Public Works Director
Legislative Delegation (via P/19)
(State F, Federal)
BOnwps1980s.t2
pi.P
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OFFICE OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
Administration Building
Martinez, California
Internal Operations Committee
To: (Supervisors N. Fanden and Date: September 4, 1986
S. W. Mc Peak)
From. Phil Batchelor, Subject: Proposed Response to
County Administrator 1985-1986 Grand Jury
by Scott Tandy Report
Attached proposed response to the 1985-1986 Grand Jury Report is
submitted in support of the 9: 30 a.m. item on your
September 8, 1986 agenda. The response of the Board of
Supervisors must be filed by Sunday, September 28, 1986 to meet
the 90-day requirement of the Penal Code. Copies are being made
available to the Foreman of the 1985-1986 and Forewoman of the
1986-1987 Grand Juries.
ST:GWJ: lmj
Attachment
-1-
RECOMMENDATION #1 (Page 15, Item 1) : That the Board of
Directors of West Contra Costa Sanitary District (WCCSD) consider
appropriate civil action to recover the $20,700 ,payment for work
that was not done.
RECOMMENDATION #2 (Page 16, Item 2) : That those persons or
entities with standing to sue, consider legal action .to recover
the bond proceeds expended by the district on the waste-to-energy
project.
RECOMMENDATION #3 (Page 16, Item 3 ) : That the Board of
Directors of. WCCSD consider confining its activities to such
areas as policy making, planning, maintaining programs of fiscal
accountability and overall supervision of management personnel to
assure effective implementation of the District' s goals and
objectives.,-
RECOMMENDATION
bjectives;RECOMMENDATION #4 (Page 16, Item 4) : That the Board of
Directors of WCCSD maintain a qualified management staff in whom
it can have confidence to carry out its stated policies and
plans.
RECOMMENDATION #5 (Page .16, Item 5) : That the Board of
Directors of WCCSD delegate to the District General Manager
responsibility for negotiating all contractual agreements with
contractors, consultants and employees ( subject to Board
ratification) . In addition, the management staff should be
expected to develop recommended programs and procedures, whether .
they relate to day-to-day operations or major construction
projects.
RECOMMENDATION #6 (Page 17 , Item 6) : That the Board of
Directors of WCCSD immediately implement policies and procedures
that would assure stricter accountability in contract performance
and in authorizing payments. Contract language should be such
that it encourages cost savings and cost effectiveness.
RECOMMENDATION #7 -..(Page 17 , Item 7 ) : That the Board of
Directors .of WCCSD require more detailed billings from
contractors including specific duties performed and hours worked
per day.
RECOMMENDATION #8 (Page 17 , Item 8) : That the Board of
Directors of WCCSD discontinue its practice of employing outside
consultants for public relations. It is recommended that the
Board consider public relations as an in-house function and make
the appropriate staff assignments.
RECOMMENDATION #9 (Page 18, Item 9) e -That the Board of
Directors oqf WCCSD implement the accounting procedures
recommended in the Contra Costa County Auditor
Controller' s management letter of April 9, 1986, especially
paragraph 3 .
.3.
RECOMMENDATION #13 (Page 22, Item 3) : , . That prior to issuing
their final reports, the auditors shall be required to meet with
representatives of the Grand Jury, the County Auditor-Controller,
the County Administrator, and representatives from such other
County Departments as deemed_ appropriate.
RESPONSE: The Auditor' s Office is not aware of any problems in
this area. Prior-- to issuing their management letter, the-
auditors have always reviewed a draft of - the letter with the
Auditor' s Office-, the Administrator' s Office, and such
department-s as are affected by-the letter.
RECOMMENDATION #14 (Page 22, Item 4) : That the County analyze
the current receivable account situation and determine the number
and type ofsreceivable accounts that should be maintained. Such
analysis should consider the needs of the accounting department,
the billing and collection department and senior management
, reporting needs. Once a policy is developed, all future
transactions should be recorded through the new accounts.
RESPONSE: The Auditor-Controller and Health Services Director
indicate that this recommendation refers to separation and
identification of multi-year cost report receivable balances.
Three new general ledger sub-accounts were set up to account for
prior year Medicare and Medi-Cal cost settlements. Current year
Medicare and Medi-Cal receivables continue to be accounted for in r
separate accounts. As a result, the tracking of current and
prior year receivables/liabilities for these programs is easier
and there is a clear audit trail.
.,,Establishment of these two new accounts should allow readers of
these reports to more easily recognize amounts due to/from the
Medicare and Medi-Cal program as a result of estimated cost
report settlements as opposed to amounts due from those programs
as a result- of outstanding patient accounts receivable.
RECOMMENDATION #15 (Page 23 ; Item 5) : That the hospital
develop accounting procedures whereby revenues and contractural
adjustments relating to Medi-Cal .and Medicare receivables be
recorded on the County financial statements on a monthly basis.
RESPONSE: The 'Auditor-Controller and Health Services Director
indicate that in July 1985 -an automated interface between the
Hospital' s billing system and the County' s Finance System was
developed. As a result, the County' s monthly interim financial
reports now reflect gross hospital revenues on .a current basis.
In. addition:, the Health Services Department has also established
a procedure+to record the - applicable monthly contractual
Adjustment -to adjust these gross charges to the appropriate
estimated net revenue amount.
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RECOMMENDATION #19 (Page 24, Item 9 ) : That Accounting
personnel should be hired or designated and trained to implement
the federal reporting requirement relating to personal use of
county vehicles.
RESPONSE: The Federal reporting requirements for personal use
of County vehicles by County employees were implemented in
January, 1986. They were not implemented in 1985 because the
details of the requirements were not readily available from the
Federal government, and when they were finally received., were
..found to contain ambiguities. They were also subsequently
revised. An additional systems accountant was requested and
funded in the 1986-87 budget to implement new legal requirements
and accounting systems, and also to provide backup for existing
systems such as payroll.
RECOMMENDATION #20 (Page 24, Item 10) : That Risk Management
monitor the accruals for contingencies as they arise. The
results of this analysis should be communicated to the Auditor-
Controller' s Office for proper recording in the County' s
financial statements.
RESPONSE: ' 'The Risk Manager has an on-going program to monitor
workers ' compensation, automobile liability, public liability and
medical malpractice losses.
The Auditor-Controller needs accurate, up-to-date loss reserve
. information reflecting losses through June 30 of each fiscal
year. The Risk Manager will notify the Auditor on August 15 of
each year of the latest loss reserve information for proper
recording in the County' s financial statements.
RECOMMENDATION #21 (Pages 24-25, Item 11) : That the County
consider adquiring an excess liability insurance policy. This
insurance policy, which may be split between medical malpractice
and general County, would allow the County to place a maximum
loss level on its operations.
RESPONSE: - Liability insurance protection is not currently
available for public entities, and if it were, it would be
prohibitively expensive. It is costing the County less to
self-insure liability and medical malpractice than to procure
insurance protection. The County presently carries excess
workers ' compensation and airport liability insurance.
The Risk Manager and- staff continuously monitor the availability
and cost of insurance protection. When insurance is available,
its cost is carefully compared to the cost of self-insurance.
The comparison .is done in consultation with an actuary. This
helps to determine .the most cost-effective method to cover the
County' s losses and to establish the proper level of
self-insurance retention.
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Grand Jury should review and approve the audit plan and
timetable before significant audit field work is begun. Any
changes to the engagement timetable are to be communicated
to the Grand Jury.
d. FINALIZATION OF 1986 AUDIT CONTRACT
Because 1986 is the first year in which the single audit
approach is to be applied, the scope of audit will. be
significantly different than prior years.
The. audit: frm, should receive guidelines from the Grand Jury
regarding finalization of the 1986 audit contract.
RESPONSE:
t
It is the responsibility of the 1986-87 Grand Jury to respond to
the components of this recommendation.
RECOMMENDATION #23 (Page 42, Item 1) : That the Board of
Supervisors and staff begin immediately to develop an adequate
water policy for Contra Costa County. This policy should be
adopted by December 31, 1986..
RESPONSE: The County has had a water policy that is updated as
.laws and circumstances change. In this regard, the Board of
Supervisors on July 29 , 1986, authorized the creation of a Water
Task Force and a technical advisory committee to look into water
matters countywide and to render advice to the General Plan
Committee. In addition, the Community Development Director
reports that there is no shortage of water for our County, but
there is a question of treatment and quality versus price of
water to the consumer. (See Attachment B)
RECOMMENDATION #24 (Page 42, Item 2) : That the Board of
.Supervisors work in concert with the water districts to secure
the land needed to accomplish this goal. If land is not
obtained, the capabilities to secure good water quality, control ;
emergencies, and drought carryover will be lost.
RESPONSE: The County has,_ on.many occasions, supported the
water district in its plan to provide additional storage and to
acquire land to do so. The Board has supported Contra Costa
Water District and East Bay Municipal Utility District in their
search to find ways and means to share water and other
facilities. County staff has served on .the Contra Costa Water
District Task Force which meets periodically.-to. review the
progress- of-'that District' s storage project. The -Board of
Supervisors has consistently supported the water agencies in the
County. The County has supported the Federal Bureau of
Reclamation in its pursuit of alternative locations for water
intake for the Contra Costa Canal.
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b. The Transportation Authority should have financial and
administrative powers, for which the human and financial
resources presently are allocated to the Administrator' s
Office. Public Works, Planning Department and other agency
functions involved in transportation should be transferred
to the Transportation Authority.
RESPONSE: The Transportation Authority will have
financial and administrative powers. It will be proposed
th"at the County' s Community Development Department should
staff the Authority.
-c. Special efforts should be made to attract to the
Transportation Authority Committee quality professional
transportation talent presently located throughout the
county.
RESPONSE: The Community Development Department has hired
a Deputy Director of Transportation Planning and several
Senior Transportation Planners to do advance and current
transportation planning. Engineering expertise is currently
available within the Transportation Planning Division.
Special assignments which require assistance from the Public
Works Department will be staffed on anras-needed basis .
. d. That all the necessary administrative and financial
requirements are expeditiously met so the Transportation
Authority can start operating at the beginning of fiscal
year 1987 .
RESPONSE: The Transportation Authority will begin
operations in calendar year 1987 if the proposed one-half
cent sales tax measure passes in November.
RECOMMENDATION #28 (Page 48, Item 2) : That the Transportation
.Authority be entrusted with the following tasks: _
a. The development of a transportation plan for the county
taking into account the input of other groups such as
Tri-Delta, to be completed by end of fiscal year 1987 .
RESPONSE: The development of a transportation plan will
be done in conjunction with the update of the County' s
General Plan. It isnot expected to be completed before the
end- of fiscal year 1987 but probably by the end of calendar
year 1987 .
b. That such a plan be closely- coordinated- with land-use
planniing.
RESPONSE: See response to #2-a -immediately above.
in this corridor. Potential uses include: (a) high
occupancy vehicle lane for car pool, van pool, or exclusive
bus lanes, (b) light or rapid rail, or (c) some combination
of the previous mentioned alternatives. It is conceivable
that the abandoned railroad right of way may be designated
for a light rail system.
RECOMMENDATION #30 (Page 51, Item 1) : - That the Director of
Personnel make changes -in his office with follow-up procedures
for notifying unions when reports have not- been completed in: the
manner-, prescribed-by law and negotiated contracts.
RESPONSE: Employee organizations having an agency shop clause
have been notified that if an LM-2 report is not timely filed,
the Auditop4Controller will be notified that payroll dues
deductions will be cancelled. Annual written reminders to
affected unions are scheduled.
RECOMMENDATION #31 (Page 51, Item 2) : That the Board of
Supervisors include in the next Memoranda of Understanding the
.ruling handed down by the U. S. Supreme Court that non-members
cannot be forced to pay for Union Political Activity.
RESPONSE: The Personnel Director indicates that the Board of
Supervisors will be advised of the U. S. Supreme Court Ruling
regarding union dues. Next year a "management demand" will be
introduced to change "Agency Shop" language so as to prohibit the
use of "Agency Shop" deductions for any purpose other than
representational activities.
RECOMMENDATION #32 (Page 55) : The Board of Supervisors, which
has assumed the responsibilities of the Housing Authority Board
of Commissioners, should, within the prerogatives of the law,
support the request to HUD for authorization to install a _
self-insurance program.
RESPONSE: HUD, at the request of the Board of Supervisors
(acting as the Board of Commissioners of the Housing Authority) ,
has granted a waiver to the Housing Authority to set up a
self-insurance program.
The Housing Authority currently has liability insurance through'
theCalifornia Housing Authority Risk Management Agency, a joint
powers authority- which involves the Marin County, Fresno, Oakland
and Contra Costa County Housing Authorities. HUD approval- has
been obtained to participate in this joint powers authority. -In
addition, tfie Housing Authority is self-insured for fire and
extended coverage with funds set aside in the amount of $500,000
as approved by the Board of Supervisors on October 22, 1985 . The
Housing Authority is still endeavoring to obtain fire and
extended coverage from the private insurance market at a
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' 1 '
"Contra Costa has the lowest rate in the State, with the
exception of a few small rural counties. In 1985, Contra
Costa had an average daily population of 871. Ventura
County, with a county population similar to size and
socio-economic status, had an average daily population of
1 , 200 prisoners. Kern. County, with a lower county
population had 1,900 inmates. The MDF houses only 10 to 150
misdemeanants on- any given day. "
The Division will continue this effort and expand it when an
opportunity arises.- We are now the best- in the State, we cannot'
do,- much more.
RECOMMENDATION #36 (Page 66, Item 2) : That there should be
greater uselof temporary, retired, and part-time personnel.
RESPONSE: The County Sheriff-Coroner Department has, and will
continue to, recruit all available and eligible retirees and
temporary personnel. Letters of interest have been sent to all
retirees, .many 'have responded, but some, 4ue-.to age, distance to
-travel or physical disability cannot perform the duties. Also,
it should be noted that we have a 90 days per year work
limitation, imposed by law, which limits their availability for
employment.. Currently the department has the highest number of
'employees : in this category in the history of the department and
shall continue to work to expand the use of such personnel.
RECOMMENDATION #.37 (Page 70, Item 1) : That the Board of
.,Supervisors plan to reduce the anticipated costs of staffing the
..,new jail facilities by reducing the ratio of sworn personnel to
inmates as well as the percentage of sworn to non-sworn
,personnel.
RECOMMENDATION #38 (Page 70, Item 2) : That the Board of
_Supervisors provide for staffing the new Richmond facility with a
lower grade deputy sheriff .
RESPONSE: , In response to the two above recommendations:
The Board requested the County Administrator to conduct an
analysis of the feasibility of using non-sworn personnel in
various roles in Detention.-Division positions that do not have as
their primary responsibility that of supervising inmates.
Examples of positions which might Ye -studied included Work=
Furlough field and custody officers. This further analysis is
being accomplished in conjunction with a staffing analysis study
for the proosed West County Justice -Center Detention Facility.
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RECOMMENDATION #45 (Page 82) : That the Board of Supervisors
direct a study by the County Administrator' s Office to determine
the feasibility of replacing sworn personnel at the Work Furlough
Center (excepting the lieutenant in charge) with civilian
technicians.
RESPONSE: See response to Recommendation #38.
RECOMMENDATION #46 (Page 84, Item 1) : That the -Board of
Supervisors renovate the old jail facility for suitable storage.
space-badly=needed by. county departments-. - - -
RESPONSE: The building is currently being used for a limited
amount of dead storage. Problems with extending such use are the
need to provide weatherization, clean-up of all asbestos,
improved access, lighting and other basic improvements. Active
storage would require greatly improved lighting and access. At
present all access above the basement is by stairway.
The building is suitable for limited dead storage with minimal
improvements. Over time it may be desirable to expend the
considerable funds necessary to increase the use of the building,
but that option should be in phases and only when the cost of
alternate storagesincreases to the point where expenditures* on
the• jail. building. are cost effective.
RECOMMENDATION #47 (Page 84, Item 2) : That the Board of
Supervisors immediately contract with the City of Richmond to use
_. the now unoccupied 45 to 55 bed jail located within the Richmond
ut Police Department building for detention as well as a holding
facility.
RESPONSE: The use of the Richmond City jail as a booking and
holding facility operated by the Sheriff ' s Department has
received, extensive . study. A summary of the findings and _
recommendations of these studies can be found in the Adult
Correctional Facilities Master Plan, Physical Facilities
Capabilities, .pp. 2-15, and the Master Plan Update, 1983 , p. 2 .
During the i984, County budget process, an estimated operating
budget for taking over the Richmond City jail was developed. At
that time, the estimate was $62,000 in one-time capital outlay
costs and $891,000 for annual personnel and operating expenses.
Because of liability concerns, the City-of Richmond now operates
its jail as a temporary holding facility only. This means that
prisoners can only be held up- to 48 hours - (excluding weekends and
. holidays) . After that -time, they must be released or transported
to the Martinez Detention Facility for booking. The Board of
Corrections rated. capacity for the Richmond City jail is 56 .
However, if the Richmond jail is to relieve the overcrowding at
the Martinez Detention Facility, the jail would have to be
operated as a Type II facility where prisoners could be held up
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RECOMMENDATION
1 /-RECOMMENDATION #53 (Page 93 , Item 2) : That the Conflicts Panel
be continued for two more years and then re-evaluated as to its
cost. effectiveness.
RESPONSE: The County' s first contract with the Contra Costa
County Bar Association for conflict defense services covered
fiscal year 1984-85. At its .termination, the County negotiated a
new contract with the Contra Costa County Bar Association, which
is in force now. The term of the current contract is July 1,
1985 - September 30, 1987. At its termination, the County will
be analyzing the cost-effectiveness.. of continuing :to contract
with- .the-- Bar Associat-ion.
RECOMMENDATION #54 (Page 96) : That the Board of Supervisors
increase the number of district attorney deputies and supporting
clerical staff to accommodate the added caseload. The urgency -of
the situation requires that action be taken immediately.
RESPONSE: The Board of Supervisors recognizes the importance
of adequate staffing of prosecution and support functions within
the District Attorney' s Office. In 1985-86, the Board approved
two new clerical positions for the District Attorney' s Office.
The 1986-87 approved budget contains three attorney positions and
'' three clerical positions to deal with workload issues at the
branch offices. Three clerical positions were added, effective
April 1, 1987 , to perform data input into the Law & Justice
Information System. In addition, the Board, on August 5,
decreased the number of fixed-term contract attorneys by 6 and
increased the number of permanent career positions by the same
number. This action increases the general experience level of
; attorneys in the office.
RECOMMENDATION #55 (Page 99, Item 1) : That the Board of
Supervisors immediately develop a "clearinghouse" for juveniles
where they can be referred to for services that best meet their
needs.
' RESPONSE: The County -Pr;obation Officer indicates that a
clearinghouse for referral of juveniles would be a valuable
resource and he concurs with the recommendation. While the
implementation of this program is dependent upon the availability
of funding,, the Probation Officer reports that there are several
activities going on within the county which provide similar, if
,•limited,3 services. These include: . The Right Direction Project,
the Juvenile �Justice- Coordinating Council, Probation -Resource
.,-Officer, Children' s Home Society, Youth Servic.es. Bureau in West .
;County and -the professional staff of the Probation Department and
the various police agencies. A fuller description of those
programs is included . in the attached correspondence from the
Probation officer. (See. Attachment D)
_19-
Frequently, lack of educational background can hinder a youth' s
ability to be a viable candidate for the labor force. In that
case, special vocationally linked remedial education is normally
needed.
While this is a worthy program, it would duplicate, in part,
programs conducted by other agencies. It would be an expensive
undertaking for the County to initiate such a project -and should
be delayed pending availability of adequate funding. (See
Attachment E) ._
RECOMMENDATION #60 (Page- 100, Item 6) : That the Board of
Supervisors recognize the need to restore funding to the
Volunteer Center of Contra Costa County to effectively administer
the execution of Volunteer work imposed by Court order.
RESPONSE: From 1980 to 1983, the County' s contract with the
Volunteer Center was administered by the Probation Department in
behalf of the Courts. According to Probation Department
representatives, the number of juvenilereferrals during this
three-year period was low ( about 320 per year) . As a result of
budget cuts, the Probation Department had to eliminate the
administration of the Volunteer Center program. In. its place,
the Department developed the Juvenile Weekend Work Program, which
has . been very successful both programatically and financially.
Since 1983 , a yearly average of 820 youths have provided over
5,000 workdays per year. Fees from the program for 1985-86
totalled $40,770 and are projected to be over $50 , 00'0 in 1986-87 .
In the current fiscal year, only the Bay Municipal Court has an
agreement with the Volunteer Center. The Chief Deputy Clerk from
Bay Court estimates that currently, no more than 20 juvenile
referrals are made per month. Starting in February 1985 , the
judges from the other three municipal courts elected to refer
minor offenders directly to community service programs . However,
.. few of these referrals are juveniles since most youths
participate in the Probation Department Weekend Work Program or
attend traffic school in lieu of paying fines.
RECOMMENDATION #61 (Page 101, Item 7 ) : That the County Board
of Education work within the school systems to expand its efforts
in the teaching of substance abuse at the elementary level.
RESPONSE: It is the responsibility of the County Board of
Education to respond to this recommendation.
RECOMMENDArfION #62 (Page 105, Item 1) : That the Board of
Supervisors immediately proceed with construction of a new 120
bed, acute care hospital. This should include 80
medical/surgical beds, 40 psychiatric beds and a geriatric
institute. ( See Section• on Geriatrics. ) This should provide a
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RESPONSE: It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors
of Brookside Hospital to respond to this recommendation.
RECOMMENDATION #66 (Page 112) : That the Board of Directors
consider restoring the requirement of a majority of three in the
termination of a contract of the .Hospital Administrator.
(Referring to Mt. Diablo Hospital. ):
RESPONSE: It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors
of Mt.- Diablo Hospital to ' respond_ to this recommendation. ,
RECOMMENDATION#67 (Page 113 ) :- That the Board of Supervisors
initiate legislative action regarding voter approval on changes
in the reorganization (public to private) of district hospitals.
RESPONSE: In recognition of the detailed concerns expressed by
the Chief Executor Officer of Los Medanos Community Hospital
District regarding this recommendation, it is suggested that the
1986=1987 Grand Jury meet with the Board of Directors of the
Hospital District in an effort to resolve ..this matter. A further
set of recommendations on this subject may then be appropriate.
(See Attachment F for statements from Board of Directors of the .
Los Medanos Hospital District. )
RECOMMENDATION #68 (Page 116 ) : The Grand Jury of 1985-86
commends John Muir Hospital, the Board of Supervisors and the
Trauma Review Committee for addressing and solving the critical
need for a trauma center in such a timely and productive fashion.
RESPONSE: Concur.
RECOMMENDATION #69 (Page 119, Item 1) : A more detailed work
- program should be organized for women. _
RECOMMENDATION #70 (Page 119, Item 2) : The kitchen floor of
Discovery House I . should be replaced immediately.
RECOMMENDATION #71 (Page 119, Item 3 ) : The entire -kitchen of
Discovery House I should be remodeled as it is too small to
adequately serve the inhabitants.
RECOMMENDATION #72 (Page 119, -Item 4) : On a long range :basis,
the Board of Supervisors should investigate the possibility of
enlarging the facilities of Discovery House II in order= to
accommodate all clients of Discovery House I . This would
eliminate rhe necessary rental of Discovery House I, 'and should
be cost effective and more efficient. .
RESPONSE: In response to the above four recommendations, a
residential task force has been established to study and make
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RESPONSE: The. Public Works Director concurs with this
recommendation and indicates that the staff have recently
completed a pamphlet entitled "This Is Your Creek. " It is now
being distributed at various community meetings. Other pamphlets
are being considered to explain the drainage ordinance. fee..
process and County Ordinance 1010 for creeks. Those pamphlets-
will be given to the Community Development Department and the
Building Inspection Department for distribution to people with
questions.. District staff plan to meet with citizens' groups :and
organizations- to acquaint the community with the role of the -
Flood Control District.
RECOMMENDATION #77 (Page 132, Item 3 ) : .That the Flood Control
District keep the residents in all affected areas advised of the
time sched4le of work to be done and being done.
RESPONSE: The Public Works -Director concurs with the need for
notices being given to residents in a timely manner. He
indicates that all efforts are being made to contact everyone in
the affected areas dependent upon available .time, funds, and
personnel.
RECOMMENDATION #78 (Page 140, Item 1) : That the Board of
.Supervisors direct the County Administrator to designate. a staff
member with specific responsibilities to avoid duplication,
delays, confusion and communication breakdowns in County
Government' s responses to public concerns.
RECOMMENDATION #79 (Page 140, Item 2) : That the 1986-87 Grand
. Jury and the Board of Supervisors are urged to consider a review
of the extent to which the problems are being addressed by the
responsible agencies.
RESPONSE: = In response to the above two recommendations, the
main purpose of County government is to provide service to the
public. The County Administrator has the responsibility to
; ensure that County government responds fairly and quickly to
, public concerns. The Board of Supervisors holds the County
. Administrator accountable -.for this reponsibility.
RECOMMENDATION #80 (Page 147, Item 1) : That the Board of
Supervisors investigate the possibility of creating a countywide
comprehensive- Emergency Medical Services -Program, which would
include the use of Paramedic Firefighters and county-owned
ambulances.
'RESPONSE: r "The Board of Supervisors agrees wholeheatedly with
the need for a comprehensive, countywide paramedic program. The
Board has directed that the Health Services Director report to
the Board of Supervisors in December 1986 on various options for
'providing a countywide paramedic service. The possibility of
1
_25-
institute arrangements for additional facilities. Considering
given. the "increasing animal population in Contra Costa County.
RESPONSE: The acquisition of land and the construction of
additional animal service facilities in east and south county
areas has been a long-range goal of the County. However, other
more needed capital improvement projects will continue to have
higher priority until special dedicated financing can be obtained-
to pay for necessary land, construction and operation.
RECOMMENDATION_.#83,- (Page 156,. Item 2) : That the Board of _
Supervisors enact an ordinance requiring -permits for boarding
stables, kennels and pet -shops, regulated through the Animal
Services Department. The Animal Services Department or its
delegated vepresentative should be authorized to inspect these
businesses regularly.
RESPONSE: The existing County Code Ordinances require use
permits be obtained in advance in order to operate boarding
stables, kennels, and pet .shops. The review of the state and
conditions of the stables and kennels is the responsibility of
the Animal Control and Health Services Departments.
The Animal Services Director reports that the additional costs
necessary to inspect the facilities on a regular basis plus
conducting investigation of complaints would exceed $60, 000 per
year. Not included in this ongoing cost would be the one-time
expenditure of obtaining a four-wheel drive and setting up the
-, office and accounting procedures. New sources of revenue would
have to be developed in order to cover these expenditures .
RECOMMENDATION #84 (Page 156 , Item 3 ) : That the Volunteer
Department -'be enlarged.
RESPONSE: The Animal Services Director concurs in the need for
an expanded volunteer program and will be presenting recom-
mendations with the 1987-1988 budget requests.
RECOMMENDATION #85 (Page 156, Item 4 ) : That the Board of
7,'14Supervisors direct the Animal Services Department to work out. an
-arrangement with -the SPCA_`to care for abused animals until- the
SPCA secures proper facilities. A fee should be negotiated for
these services.
RESPONSE: The present facilities and- staffing allocation of
the Animal.?Services Department precludes the acceptance for care
of the additional animals impounded by the SPCA. The reason for
this is that the majority of animals-impounded by the SPCA are
abused or neglected and require specific attention relative to
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RECOMMENDATION #97 (Page 164, Item 12) : Establish a set
location for an office and employ a coordinator to supervise the
operation.
RECOMMENDATION #98 (Page 164, Item 13) : Negotiate an agreement
with the Board of Supervisors to increase the monthly stipend to
$500 .00, PROVIDED THE SPCA implements the above recommendations.
IF NOT, the Board of Supervisors should cancel the monthly
contract.
.RECOMMENDATION #99 (Page- 264, Item 14) : _ _ .- Investigate the use of
volunteers.-from.-.organizations such as the AARP-,- RSVP, etc": in
order to .have someone on duty to answer the telephone during the.
day with an SPCA member answering the night calls.
RESPONSE: t It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors
of the SPCA to- respond to the 14 above recommendations.
RECOMMENDATION #100 (Page 172) : That the Board of Supervisors
acknowledge and commend the volunteer Reserve Officers of the COW.
PATROL.
RESPONSE: Concur.
;RECOMMENDATION #101 ( Interim Report-Mosquito Abatement District) :
That the two Districts work out arrangements between the two
Boards of Trustees and with the Contra Costa County Board of
, Supervisors and the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for
' consolidation of these Districts as soon as possible.
RESPONSE: The consolidation of the two districts became
effective July 1 , 1986 . The name of the new consolidated
district is: Contra Costa Mosquito District.
RECOMMENDATION #102 (Page "-180, Item 1) : That the Board of
. Supervisors accept the responsibility for providing aggessive
leadership in bringing together all cognizant agencies, cities,
'tand private entities to support and implement a coordinated
county framework for waste disposal.
RESPONSE:,_ The County for several years has had the goal of
developing a working acceptance and understanding of the solid:
waste problems of Contra Costa County. - Under the leadership of
the Board of Supervisors, and through it advisory arm, the Solid
Waste Commission, the County has participated in. the preparation-.
of several studies to identify solid waste disposal sites;
conducted educational sessions to which all franchising agencies
had been invited; and has prepared a number of policy statements,
including .planning and operational mandates: The Board of
Supervisors approved and confirmed each.
w
Sanitaiton District and the Cities of Antioch and Pittsburg that
additional sites be available for detailed investigation if the
industry proposed sites should fail to gain approval. The four
sites recently identified by the Southeast County Study cannot
reasonably be designated as "alternate sites" because no one has
come forward with the hundreds of thousands of dollars necessary
to document the appropriateness of the sites. .
Board .policy statements support the premise that there should be
more than one site- for disposal of waste within the County of
Contra Costa. The Board has not become more specific than that
"in. terms. of_ "regional_- landfill sites. " It should be-pointed -out
that the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District/County Study and
the Southeast County .S_tudy identified a number of sites that
could be investigated for use should any of the current proposed
sites fail ,to gain permit approval. These sites ase located in
the Franklin ,Canyon area of West County, South County near I-680 ,
and especially the southeast sector of the County.
RECOMMENDATION #107 (Page 181, Item 6) : That the Board of
Supervisors, in the planning and implementation of waste disposal
services, should include not only dump site approval with
appropriate state-of-the-art criteria, but a broader scope of
facilities including, anintegrated -resource- recovery. program:
'Waste-to-enery conversion, recycling, composting, and gas
recovery are particular priority features of such a program.
These options, should be encouraged and given serious
consideration.
. RESPONSE: The Board of Supervisors supports all of the items
mentioned in this Recommendation. Upon the completion of' the
recycling study, it is anticipated that franchising agencies
(cities and/or sanitary districts) will be asked and encouraged
to implement one or another form of recycling program within
their jurisdiction. Waste-to-energy has been studied in West and
, Central County. _ Neither program has yet been accepted due to a
variety of reasons. However, staff continue to monitor this
.. option.
Richmond Sanitary Services, is composting at its current site and
more composting is being proposed as a part of its general plan
for waste disposal within its franchising area:. Gas recovery-' is
a necessary requirement , of!wany new landfill' and `is currently
being extracted at-both :Acme Landfill and at the West Contra
Costa, Sanitary Landfill:
RECOMMENDArl)-2ON ' #108 (Page 182, Item 7 ) : That the Board of
'Supervisors recommends the installation of waste-to-energy
conversion facilities if economically feasible and
environmentally sound.
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RESPONSE: The Board of Supervisors provides ongoing
opportunity for the public to become involved in the development
of landfill policy.
The suggestion that a Citizens Advisory Committee be appointed to
act as liaison between the landfill operator and the surrounding
or host community, will be reviewed by the Solid Waste Commission
and will very likely be included as a recommended condition of
.land use permit.
RECOMMENDATION- #11.2 - (Page. 189, Item 1) : That the -Board of
Supervisors accept responsibility for the safe, healthful and-
orderly administration of hazardous waste disposal in Contra
Costa County.
'RESPONSE: The County has accepted the responsiblity for the
safe, healthful, and orderly administration of hazardous waste
disposal in Contra Costa County to the maximum extent of its
jurisdictional authority. Class I (hazardous waste) disposal
sites., are permitted .and regulated by the State Department of
Health Services in their exclusive jurisdiction. The County
Department of Health Services is monitoring the _operation of our
--Class I sites and will continue to do so at the directive of the
County Board of; Supervisors.
RECOMMENDATION #.113 (Page 189, Item 2) : That the Board of
Supervisors immediately initiate a countywide long-range study to
determine .the impact of hazardous wastes on county residents .
:: RESPONSE: The Board of Supervisors initiated a Hazardous
4:Waste Task Force in . L984 to evaluate hazardous waste generation
, and disposal in this county and to make recommendations for
comprehensively dealing with this issue. The 56 recommendations
from the Hazardous Waste Task Force recently approved by the
; Board of Supervisors..will .establish public policy dealing with
hazardous waste management -in this county. Long- range studies
to determine the impact of hazardous waste would more
. appropriately. follow the implementation of the Hazardous Waste
-Task Force recommendations.:
RECOMMENDATION #1'i4x ( Page ..189, Item 3 ) : That, as an overall
.goal, the Board of Supervisors enforce regulations and support
programs to reduce the amount of hazardous waste committed to
landfill and encourage on-site waste reduction.
RESPONSE: The Board of Supervisors has taken leadership in the'
support of wDrograms to reduce the amount of hazardous waste
directed toward landfill disposal and instead has strongly
encouraged on-site reduction and treatment processing. The Board
has adopted the recommendations of the Hazardous Waste Task Force
which will enforce regulations and support programs to this end.
-33-
RECOMMENDATION #119 (Page 190 , Item .8) : That the Board of
Supervisors encourage the development of ordinances by local
jurisdictions, that would support a countywide effort to control
hazardous wastes.
RESPONSE: The Health Services Director indicates that the
efforts to implement the 56 Hazardous Waste Task Force public
policy recommendations pursuant to FY86/87 should determine the
need for any additional local legislation required. The County
encourages each city to adopt county ordinances by reference, or
parallel- municipal ordinances, to confer jurisdiction on .the
_ :. County, Department,-of: Health Services for providing program
services concerning hazardous materials and/or hazardous -waste
issues to each city.
RECOMMENDATION #120 (Page 191, Item 9 ) : That the Board of
Supervisors "require land use permits for new or substantially
expanded development projects which could significantly and
adversely effect public health of the environment and which
generate; store, transport,, treat or dispose of significant
amount of hazardous wastes, or which store to transport
significant amounts of hazardous materials. " (See Hazardous
Waste Task Force Recommendation #56. )
RESPONSE,-".1, TheCgmmun ty;-Dewe opment Department iso currently
developing a -The-
M�
ordinance directed at this concern. '
_,RECOMMEN..DAT ;:QN, #:12;1 ;.APage,,1J9f1.,. Item.;1.0.). : That the. Board of .
,j ry
Supervisors continue to monitor the identified "Super-fund" sites
to assure that both existing sites and still-to-be-identified
sites are cleaned up in an expeditious manner.
RESPONSE: The County Department of Health Services,
Environmental Health Division, in reponse to the Board' s
directive in 1985, .is continuing to facilitate and monitor the
cleanup of state and federal Super-fund hazardous waste disposal
sites in this county. These efforts have significantly
accelerated site characterization, remediation, and abatement
activities in the last two years and will continue to be pursued.
RECOMMENDATION #122 (Page 191,. Item 11) : That the Board of
y Supervisors immediately develop- and implement a program of public
education to alert citizens to the problem of hazardous wastes
including participation in a household waste program. .
RESPONSE: The Public Health and Environmental Health Divisions
of the Hea-lth Services Department are coordinating an effort to
promote public education conferences to alert citizens . to the
problems of hazardous waste and- urge participation in a household
hazardous waste collection program. This recommendtion is also
contained in recommendations from the Hazardous Waste Task Force.
Office of
COUNTY -AUDITOR-CONTROLLER
Contra Costa County
Martinez, California
August 14, 1986 1986
TO: Scott Tandy, Chief Assistant County Administrator
Attention: George Johnson
FROM: Donald L. Bouchet, Auditor-Controller
By: J. Weber, Accountinc Services .;f;...
SUBJECT: ,. Recommendations .of the 1985-1986 Gi�iury
Reference your memo, same subject, dated July 24, 1986.
Attached are our replies to the recommendations referred to this office.
Please call me if you have any questions.
JW:mp
Attachments
ATTACHMENT A
Office of
COUNTY AUDITOR-CONTROLLER
Contra Costa County
Martinez, California
August 13, 1986
TO. C. L. Van hlarter, Assistant County Administrator
T/ `y�1
FROM: Donald L. 5ouchet, Audtroller
SUBJECT: Audit of Special Districts
Reference your memorandum of August 6, 1986, above subject.
Answering your questions in order:
1 . I do not believe I already have the authority to "perform financial oversight
including validating the propriety of expenditures by (locally governed)
special districts". ("locally governed" was not included in your question. )
tly role here is ministerial , i .e. , if an expenditure is approved by the
independent governing board, I must process it unless --it -is clearly illegal .
2. Whether I would support the introduction and. passage of legislation to increase
the scope of my responsibilities would depend on the content of the legislation,
the most important issues to me being (1 ) clearly defining that scope, and (2)
providing this office with the resources to comply. See items 3 and 4 below.
3. Without going into a detailed analysis, we make a rough estimate that it
would require adding between 3 and 5 new positions to this office, plus related
desks, calculators, storage space for vouchers, microfilm equipment, and data
processing costs. As discussed in 4; below, it may also increase costs of
County Counsel . There are approximately 50 locally governed districts in the
county (excluding 20 autonomous school districts) that keep their money in
the County Treasury. In addition, there are many other districts (e.g. Contra
Costa Water District) that keep their money outside the County Treasury --
these would present quite an additional workload.
4. Other comments. Having discussed the "problem district" with the Grand Juries,
I 've done a lot of .thinking about what is the most appropriate public policy
in this matter. It seems to boil down to local vs centralized control . With
. respect to the instances cited in the Grand Jury report (use of bond proceeds
for burn plant studies and inability to find documentation supporting a payment
to a contractor for services supposedly provided by a sub contractor) , -we
suspect that the situation would not have changed under the recommendation.
This is because (1 ) there was a Legal opinion that -the bond money could be
spent for the burn plant, and (2) with respect to the sub contract for .public
relations, as long as there was an invoice from the prime contractor approved
Page 21 , Item l Auditor-Controller to close books so independent
audit can be completed by October 30, 1986.
The recommendation refers to the "County" , not the Auditor-Controller.
For the last 8 years, the books have been closed and ready for audit by the
end of the. first.week in September. Delays experienced by the auditors
have been caused by the Hospital not preparing the Medicare and viedi-Cal
Cost Reports on time. - The Hospital hires a consultant to assist in pre-
paring the cost reports. The consulting company is a subsidiary of the
accounting farm that does the audit.
Early discussions with the 1985-86 auditors indicate that they will
have personnel on-site earlier in the engagement to identify areas of delay,
and that they will reorganize so the the Hospital audit will be integrated
with the County audit. Hopefully these changes will provide early warnings
of delays so that they can be dealt with promptly.
Page 22, Item 4 Analyze hospital accounts receivable —
determine which to retain.
This recommendation refers to separation and identification of
multi-year cost report receivable balances. . Three new general ledger
sub-accounts were set up to account for prior year Med._icare and -�•ledi-Cal
cost settlements. . Current year Medicare and Medi-Cal receivables continue
to be. accounted for in separate accounts. As a result,' the tracking of
current and prior year receivables/liabilities for these programs is
easier and there is a clear audit trail .
Page 23, Item 6 Establish bad-debt collection and
write-off procedures.
The need for a formal , written, Board approved bad-debt and write-off
policy has been acknowledged by both the Hospital and this office. However,
due to time and staffing constraints in both departments, such .a policy has
not yet been developed. We anticipate that the recommendation will be
fina.lized..during the current fiscal year.
Page 24, Item 8 MIS - Mortgage Rev. Bond Books.
A new accounting position has been established in the Auditor's Office
which is devoted full time to the Home Mortgage Revenue Bond programs admin-
istered by Lhe Community Development Department.
Personal computer equipment and software will most likely be used in
maintaining the programs' books. This will be operational in the coming
fiscal year (1986-87) . .
Page 26, Item 12b Coordination of independent audit with
Grand Jury audit.
The Auditor's Office is in complete agreement with this
recommendation.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
DATE: August 15, 1986
TO: Phil Batchelor, County Administrator
Attention: .Scott Tandy, Chief Assistant A m' istrator
FROM: Harvey Bragdon, Director of Community De .
s
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 1985-86 GRAND J Ri
_ _
Attached to this forwarding memorandum are my responses to the items
referred to me in your memorandum of July 24, 1986. The responses are made
in sequence of page and item number.
In an earlier memorandum, dated August 4, 1986, two items were brought to
your attention as not pertaining to this Department or as requiring addi-
tional information from another department. It appears that other depart-
ments may also have to respond in part to items attached. I direct your
attention to:
Page 24, item 8: Refer to Retirement.
Page '42 & 43, items 2. 3 & 4: Require additional responses from Public
Works.
Page 156,. item 2: Requires further response from Animal Control .
Should either you or your staff have any questions regarding these respons-
es, I suggest the following persons on my staff as contact personnel :
Karl Wandry: Items referred to on Pages 72, 156 & 191.
Paul Kilkenny: Items referred to on Pages 42, 43, & 180 through 183.
Robert Chung: Items referred to on Pages 46 through 48.
Absent on any of the above, Ron deVincenzi or I will handle and coordinate
the questions.
RdU:gms
as2:GJuryRec.t8
Attachment.
ATTACHMENT B
-2-
.Grand Jury Recommendation #2, Pg. 42
Suggests that the Board work "in concert with the water districts to secure the.
land needed to accommodate this goal".
The Board's Water Committee and the Water Agency for which the Board of
Supervisors is the governing body- has, on many occasions, supported the water
district in. its plan to provide additional storage and to acquire land to do so.
The Board has also supported Contra Costa Water District and East Bay Municipal
Utility District in their search to find ways and means to share water and other
facilities. County staff has served on the Contra Costa Water District Task
Force that has met periodically to review the progress of that District's
studies leading toward the acquisition of watershed and development of a water
storage project. The Board of Supervisors has consistently supported the water
agencies in the County and the Federal Bureau of Reclamation in its pursuit of
alternative locations for water intake as embodied in the reformation program
for the Contra Costa Canal , the Kellogg/Los Vaqueros Project.
There are no prohibitions to the Contra Costa Water District now obtaining
control of land in the Los Vaqueros Reservoir site when there is a willing
seller. The ability to condemn for this purpose cannot be exercised until the
water district has completed .the environmental impact report process. Once that
process is done and the district has, in fact, a project, then condemnation
proceedings can be used. The Grand Jury's fear about the loss of the
capabilities to-secure good water quality. . ." is a relative statement. The
water provided by `East Bay Municipal Utility District to a substantial portion
of our population is indeed the best ofuag lity. Additionally, the water
furnished by Contra Costa Water District to its treated water division people
and as a wholesaler to cities and industries is already "good water" and is now
in pursuit of a way to improve that good water quality.
Grand Jury Recommendation #3, Pg. 43
Memorializes the Contra Costa Water District attempts to purchase the Bankhead
property.
-The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has supported the Water District in
this pursuit to obtain watershed areas in the Los Vaqueros Project area. As of
August 11, 1986, the Contra Costa Water District has purchased and/or is
discussing the purchase of approximately 2200 acres within the Los Vaqueros
project and that involves a total of -approximately 22,000 acres.
.Grand Jury Recommendation #4, Pg. 43
Deals with the Board of Supervisors actively supporting a bond issue to make it
possible for the Water District to acquire Los Vaqueros properties.
The Water District has engaged the services of special consultants to examine
their financial situation and to prepare for them various project descriptions
and estimates. Until those studies are done, it is very difficult to make a
final decision as to whether property acquisition can be consummated on a pay as
you go basis or on some other revenue or bond basis..
4
-4-
Grand Jury Recommendation #1-C, Pg. 47
Special effort should be made to attract to the Transportation Authority
Committee quality transportation. talent presently located throughout the County.
Response, . .
The County has hired a Deputy Director of Transportation Planning in the
Community Development __Department, as well as several Senior Transportation
Planners to do advance and current transportation planning. Furthermore,
engineering expertise is already available within the Transportation
Planning Division. Special assignments which require assistance from the
Public Works Department are to be staffed as the need arises.
Grand Jury Recommendation #1-D, Pg. 47 "
That all the necessary administrative and financial requirements are
expeditiously met so the Transportation Authority can start operating in the
beginning of Fiscal Year 1987.
Response
Should the proposed one-half cent sales tax measure pass in November, the
Transportation Authority is to begin operations in calendar year 1987.
Grand Jury Recommendation #2-A, Pg. 48
The development of a transportation plan for the County taking into account the
input of other groups, should be completed by the end of Fiscal Year 1987.
Response
The development of a transportation plan will be done in conjunction with
the update of the General Plan. It is not expected to be completed before
the end of Fiscal Year 1987 but probably by the end of calendar year 1987.
Grand. Jury Recommendation #2-B, Pg. 48
That the transportation plan be closely coordinated with land use planning.
Response
See response to #2-A.
-6-
Grand Jury Recommendation #3-C, Pg. 49
The establishment of express buses to alleviate congested areas East County;
West County and Central County.
Response
Some work is being done on the County Employees TSM measures to help remove
single driver vehicles from the road and to replace them with either
carpools or vanpools. In terms of express buses in congested areas, BART,
CCCTA, WestCat and Tri-Delta are all trying to alleviate the congested
areas by .scheduling express bus services.
Grand Jury Recommendation #3-D, Pg. 49
A light rail using abandoned railroad rights of way.
Response
Currently, the Southern Pacific right-of-way has not been completely
purchased. Nevertheless, when the right of way has been secured, there
stillneeds to. be a study to decide what type of transit if any should be
used in this corridor. Potential uses include: (a) high occupancy vehicle
lane for carpool , vanpool , or exclusive bus lanes, or (b) for light or
rapid rail or some combination of the previous alternatives mentioned. It
is conceivable that the abandoned railroad right of way ma6y be designated
for a light rail system.
Gran& Jury Recommendation #2, Pg. 72
That planning departments include in the requirements for all building permits
adequate parking provisions.
Within the County the Community Development Department requires parking of all
building permits as defined by Chapter 82-16 Off-Street Parking of the County
Code. Exceptions to these requirements exist where a variance has been granted
to the parking requirement through the public hearing process as required by
Chapter 26-2 Planning Agency, Article. 26-2.20, of the County Code.
Grand Jury Recommendation #2, Pg. 156
That the Board of Supervisors enact an ordinance requiring permits for boarding
stables, kennels and pet shops, regulated through the Animal Services Department
as its delegated representative inspect these businesses daily.
Chapter 82-4 defines kennels and dog fanciers in Article 82-4.2, Section
82-4.220 and 82-4.232 respectively.
j
-8-
Grand Jury Recommendation #2, Pg. 180
. . ."The Board accept-responsibility for strong direction and accountability
assignment to County departments in carrying out these tasks in planning and
control of waste .disposal operations" .
The Board of Supervisors has always given strong support to the
environmental health staff 'in the control of waste disposal operations.
Keep in mind the age and level of technology involved in, the solid waste
disposal- site permits that exist. The Board has consistently rendered
decisions based on the County Solid Waste Management Plan and has
authorized Community Development Department staff participation and
coordination with the various studies and interest groups which have been
created in the last several years.
Grand Jury Recommendation #3, Pg. 180
. . ."The Board designate a lead agency headed by an impartial individual , with
both technical and leadership qualifications, to resolve the solid waste
problem: .
The Board of Supervisors has not elected to enter the solid waste
collection or solid waste disposal businesses in an entrepreneurial sense.
It has confined its activities to planning matters and the exercise of
those duties assigned to it by law, such as land use and enforcement agency
activities. Because the Board is not an actual supplier of services or
.,waste sites, it cannot resolve the solid waste problems by its own
. initiative. The cooperation and participation of the industry as well as
the franchising agencies is an absolute necessity.
Grand Jury Recommendation #4, Pg. 180
. . ."The Board exert every effort to extend the life of Acme Fill".
This matter has been processed and pushed by the Board members personally,
by the Board collectively, but the County Administrator's Office, by the
Community Development Department staff. A decision in this matter now
_',.rests on the desk of the Commanding Officer of the U.S. Army Corps of
" Engineers in San Francisco.
Grand Jury Recommendation #5, Pg. 181
. . ."The Board of' Supervisors, in its approval process, should give equal
consideration to all sites that have been identified".
_10-
Grand Jury Recommendation #7, Pg. 182
This recommendation simply states that which is already embodied in the Board of
Supervisors' Solid Waste Management Plan, that is, support- for waste to energy
if economically feasible .and environmentally sound. This has been the pursuit
of all waste to energy projects in the Bay Area for several years,
Grand Jury Recommendation #8, Pg. 182
This recommendation deals with the acquisition of the ability of public agencies
to control and direct the wastestream. -
The Board has dealt .with this issue a number of times in the last several
years, -and on each occasion has supported the-recommendations of the Solid
Waste Commission that franchising agencies include in their franchise
agreements the ability to direct the disposition and disposal of the
wastestream. The Board has invited comments and commitment, on a number of
occasions, from the cities concerning the formation of a joint exercise of
powers that would manage the disposal of the watestream.
Grand Jury Recommendation #9, Pg. 182
This recommendation suggests that land use permits for landfills be subject to
periodic review.
The. Solid _Waste Commission has adopted: a policy statement that would, if
.adopted by the Board, be a condition of the land use permit, that specified
,,conditions of the permit be reviewed every three years.
Grand Jury Recommendation #10, Pg.. 183
. . ."The Board should 'undertake a broad-based plan of public education in matters
of waste disposal". . .and especially should create a citizens advisory committee
>as an adjunct to the issuance of a land use permit for a new landfill.
The Board, by recommendation for the Solid Waste Commission and its staff,
has provided numerous opportunities for public input and participation in
the development of landfill policy statements, input to the various
studies; the Planning Commission EIR process at the notice of preparation
stage, the EIR .comment stage, the public hearing part of the land use and
other -permits process. All of these activities have, as a prime objective,
the educating of the public and 'the inviting of comments as a part of the
decision-making process.
The suggestion that a Citizens Advisory Committee be appointed to act as
liaison between the landfill operator and the surrounding or host
community, will be reviewed by the Solid Waste Commission and will very
likely be included as a recommended condition of land use permit.
Sheriff 'Coroner Richard K. Rainey
Contra Costa County SHERIFF-CORONER
Warren E. Rupf
P.O. Box 391 Assistant Sheriff
Martinez, California 94553-0039 Gerald T. Mitosinka
(415) 372-2402 Assistant Sheriff
To: Phil Batchelor, County Administrator Date: August 27, 1986
Attention : George Johnson,
Deputy County Administrator
From: Richard K . Rainey, Sheriff-Coroner subject: Grand Jury Report - R-esponse
By : Gerald T. Mitosinka, Assistant Sheriff ,
The following is the response to the 1985-86 recommendation of the Contra Costa
Grand Jury contained in their Annual Report.
1. Grand Jury Recommendation - Bailiffs
That the Board of Supervisors take the necessary steps to combine the
responsibility forthetraining and supervision of bailiffs of all courts within
the County and assign it to the Marshal.:
The subject of consolidation with the Marshal's Office of the Bailiff responsi-
bility has been thoroughly reviewed by independent consultants and is
now the _subject of review by the Service- Division for final consideration
and negotiation by both Departments, the County Administrator and*the
Board of Supervisors.
2. Grand Jury Recommendation - Overtime
That the Sheriff's Department consider alternate solutions such as: increased
work alternative programs, increased work furlough transfers and greater
use of early release method`s'-`through parole, good time, etc.
The Department has for the past decade been the Statewide leader in intro-
ducing and promoting alternatives to incarceration -consistent with public
safety. ' Ms. Carol Kizziah, an independent corrections consultant hired
by the County Administrator, stated in a recent study:
"Contra Costa has the lowest rate in the State, with the exception
of a few small rural counties. In 1985, Contra Costa had an average
daily population of 871. Ventura County, with a County population
similar in size and socio-economic status, had an average daily population
of 1, 200 prisoners. Kern County, with a lower County population
had 1,900 inmates. The MDF houses only 10 to 15% misdemeanants
on any given day .
The Department will continue this eff�rt.and expand it when an: opportunity
a..
arises. ;
ATTACHMENT C
r.rd Er>i.!nt_ !_I' c. E?rilr�iry E%IPLOYER
Phil Batchelor, County Administrator
August 27, 1956
Page 3
Although the facility has an atmosphere of being "low keyed" it must be
recognized as a jail . There are always sentenced inmates on the premises
who have to be constantly supervised. The female capacity is 40 inmates
with only 4 or 5 women ever being on _work furlough at any one time. The
remainder-are "time servers" who remain at the facility to serve their
sentence(s) on any number of charges.
The facility also houses sentenced males who,,-again, are not in the work
or school furlough program and also must be supervised. ::Consequently,
the facility has been classified as a Class III, sentenced and Class IV,
work release institution by the State Board of Corrections: This requires
that the sentenced inmates who are always on the premises receive constant
close professional supervision. These inmates can amount to 50 or more
when the facility is at capacity.
Additionally, the inmates on work furlough have to be supervised not only
when at the facility but also at their job sites. Custody staff is used for
both in-house supervision as well as making unannounced field checks of
inmates at work.
The three field deputies are also responsible for County parole investigations
and .supervision: Xrgreat deal of their time is spent on these parole investi-
gations. They therefore perform two functions, Field Deputy and Deputy
Parole Officer. In order to conduct an adequate, in-depth investigation,
certain investigative techniques and skills are esstential which are learned
by being a Deputy Sheriff. Through their training they are able to make
better judgements and assessments of candidates entering the program
and those they supervise, both on work furlough and parolees. Also,
with Deputy Sheriffs at the facility, their training and expertise allows
them to perform broader functions. They can be utilized in both custody
and field positions when necessary for better efficiency and supervision,
which is done.
The facility is also conducive to light duty assignments for deputies who
are recovering from injuries. By assigning a deputy to the facility while
he/she is.recovering from injuries, or other ailments, the County realizes
a cost savings by being able 'to use that person who would otherwise be
home convalescing.
Through the supervision provided, these deputies' progress can be closely
monitored with assistance and guidance given -throughout his/her recovery .
In this way a deputy can perform.a valuable function during recovery and
ultimately be returned to full duty rather than early retirement.
With the average age of the Sheriff's Department personnel. becoming
younger, the Work Furlough Facility is staffed by older, more mature
deputies who have developed that degree of sensitivity and understanding
necessary for successful supervision of inmates. With the average age
of staff being 41 years, it gives older deputies who choose, the opportunity to
finish their careers in a less stressful atmosphere rather than being assigned
to a stress related job with the possibility of incurring a debilitating injury .
Phil Batchelor, County Administrator
August 27, 1986
Page 5
Numerous studies have been conducted since 1969 on the feasibility of utilizing
the Richmond Jail 'for County prisoners. Each of these studies have found
the proposal not to be cost-effective. These studies are still valid. The
Grand Jury is in error to state that the Board of Corrections approved
the facility for a Type 111 (sentenced inmates) . The Richmond Facility,
is only approved for what it is, a 48-hour holding facility and not for §entence.d
prisoners- The recommendation is not cost-effective.
18. Grand Jury Recommendation - Old Jail
That the Board of Supervisors rennovate the old jail facility for suitable
storage space badly needed by County departments.
The facility is not under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff-Coroner and therefore
we have no position on how the facility should be utilized in the future.
With recent funding being supplied by the Board of Supervisors for additional
inmate housing, the Sheriff-Coroner's Department no longer wishes it for
inmate use.
RKR :mjf _
Attachments
Staffing: Dei ntion
The Result
From time to time over these past five years, i have forwarded to you
samples o= acclaim that the Martinez Detention Facility (,MOF) and its
-staff have received. The American institute of A,rchit2cture, t:":e Na'ienai
T
nstitute of Corrections, the National Sheriffs ' Association, and the
P.merican Jail �;ssccTation have all featured this facility and stair in its
publications and training conf2r2nces. Additionally, they have developed
policies endorsing the. prMciples ef'operations that were founder in Contra
Cos a County.
I:t'2 MCF- is One o Cn i`! 1-': aCCr2Gi ted jd 1 I I aC i I 1 t-es thr^vUGilOUt tie hni
Stat2S and Canada. Over. 210030 pry essionals from 41 , states✓and 11 foreign
countries have visited the facilii /. Major jail systeirs throughout the
country are now adopting the architecture and methods of operation of the
it?CF. These systems include New York City, M tam i , Foreland, Seattle, R",o ;
Las Vegas, etc. , etc. A far cry from a decade ago. Despite our present
overcrowding, the nation still considers this county the model for desicn
and cperat ions Of tie future. Are 'r!2 prOfessiona i ? You bet we are and we
can prove it.
Fl anni na the t"OF
ve must not forget that :, s county, in planning a n2':! Q2tenLion T CT1itV,
initially expeneec in excess of $1 250,000 for a traditional jail plan that-
was
hatwas rejecter' tv all concerned -- the Department, the publ ick and t^ankf a ; 1 /,
th-n Scar"; of �V,�.e:•�/i Clir> The reJecl.ed plan was cer a:inly el liClenl., one
deputy sheriff for each floor of 200 inmates. it was certainly secure,
14-foot thick walls at the foundation, no wihdows and filled with sophis-
tTCate'� hdrd4Var' and S2CUrlt`y deViCeS. -owever efficient and secure the
building was, it would certainly have been an expensive disaster for this
county if it had been built.
U.ron rejection; o- this initial plan, the Board formulated a new a?proacn,
citing new national standards, envoking extensive citizen participation,
hiring an cutstandina national architectural firm and traveling to and
learning from the state of the art jails at that time. The process was
extensive, and at times slow and burdensom. "ewever, the result o that
icresieht and patience has been the historical turnina point for this
nation' s ja i is -- the MDF. v
Ai parties involved in the i•1DF planning process recognized that by re:rovi„_
-,-ie traditional barrier between staff and inmates, by providing huriane
End constitutional treatment, and by complying with national sta;ndares,
would require SGf icient Staff
that Were well mOt7Vatcd, highly. 'educated
and specifically well t-ained .for the challenge which awaited t"em. Thi_
-was a different jail , unlike all others throughout the country and therefore
different strategies were required. The Department, the citizen Detention
.Facility Advisory -Corrmittee (DFAC) , the County. Administrator, the late
Arthur Will-, the Ecard of Supervisors and the public were all aware and
recocnized this additional challenge and accepted the responsibility for
insuring that the quality of staff would equal the quality of- the facility.
We have met our responsibilities .
Staffina: Detention -4- S-30-85
The Profession
The day has long passed in the corrections profession where an agency could
hire off the street, pin a badge on, hand over a set of keys and out them
to work. Jail litigation is the civil rights issue of the 1980' s. You
must be good or the court is going to get you. In almost every system
throughout this country, where correctional officers are Employed, the
demands for equal pay are present and in many cases they are aranted±. Las .
Vegas, for example, -resolved their recuritira and retention prob',ems only
by granting equal pay with street deputies. Neighboring Soncma County is
now discussing rcverti ng� back to either equa i pay or deputy shieri ffs:.
i
ALtitionally,- California State Senator Barry Keene, the Senate iMa;;ori
L� CiOr, Stated t%e 1O1lGVtina in TO`Jina CD -1373 L;i. Gh the Si3t2 Cc!le
CC•`.:t2C-%i:.na pea C S�.:._2't•S h�_'1 e
one. 63 ti;1e most de-ma;-,ding Q w e:' 'o.tccmenti job's in
the state, thei t c^mpensa%Lon .Za3.s 6a,'L behind tha_f
o' toca- policeo 'Lc e' and deputc'es. .
"i<e2xe'.6 Senate 8 iU 1373 ,ntov idesti zi aeccmrnend
z
�0A Co/VLec.iCCna� peace C 6CC2'L5' bCL
a�LL'Ly hnG2S
1
adv.is on y co°.,.�?ec-i.Lv e batya,ixi.ng putpoa e,s--
be based upon pay sca es .in eompatabze tocati
18.4 p e;,c 21i `," v"7.
co,-t2cti.ona? peace o.j!ic 2_5, 2, the stat—, e r.�2zc y22
ave,` ee. Runn,inc ,state P:t�,ser�,s 1:1 a A-a e a;1d ,secu.L>
manne,-L Z5 a tough enouoh job. It- show1dn't be cour-
p
_
pounded by co,t mc.taZe c_ >>sed' by that a,:.z
30-40 petc2sl1' be ow pas•tt
The profession has taken a clear stance. he American Correcwiona1 A3so-
clation, the gyrational She'iTzs� Association, the -American Jcal Association
1' l Institute of Corrections have all a opted policy statements
and trio Na Mona d
that demand equal pay for corrections.
The CG(1niSSiGn On Accreditation for Corrections, the a,ency which accreditS
Our facility. has as one Of their essential standards a:ld one in `n'hilch
have agraed by contract to comply with, the followina:
C:; a.t�
.• L-Ji JU - mp2n.s l.0/i lA.)L,l
oc2.t atm ebur;a--a 1 s2 �o,t ?iu '.o
z +1G. i 2;1� .t^2m2n _
OJ
As jjsti; ca:' ,,oh they. ci the fol Iowinci
"CO�i2C+Lo;2S has become a;1 inc.-Leasi/L:,L-/ C:�I?7-9-x alio Lno
lite°d.: The srLiUs, knou,_ edge wt2as,ra tt.ihu.te,S and pe"L.SonaZ
Ci1a`aCtvtLd i iC.S h e U('-Led -o3'JCC-pec Lona" o�� 'cekLS have a.•'_..So
•become incn.ea.s.i.igZy comp.22x avid de-manding, and coni idv�ac.Zy
di'6 ete.n atom those tequ, t-`d c' �.aw en6orLc2mesl t pe tsonsl2*..
Co.,,tec.tionaZ o '4.�ee'r,s mus.,`_ be ab.Z2 to .intetpte� and imp.iement
cowtti deets�osls x�2z.tirig
to duL process and di,sc.i.pZe ncAy
Staffing: Detention -b- 9-30-015
Our neighboring county of Sonoma has experienced these very problems and
the following is a direct quote from a recent report to the Sonoma Board
of Supervisors concerning their efforts to recruit and train competent
staff from their available workforce.
"N.is�o%� ica2Z-t, jc ins h.,ve no.t been an ar,.ea whe-te 5und-tng
bodies ciesited tic s;-end money no.t taty en6otcemen-t adm.inis vtw-
o%mss or-ted do send .t,.2;,, bestpecpte. Mote o6.t en 'than not,
bucket toque s is >ori mote stia�j, betitt� its ini nag out s :`e-
o t-t equ,r-ment we tut down to de'eat qu,ickey du Ling
F bodyet he^-`,rings aAd taw en`otce_ment adm.ini,5t'Lato%L5 did not
want .l J the pattUt ofCnVes i(C�� COn heques 5 3,0".
the no"_-so-popula;-L enhancements, .(..e., the Co:v2ect_Ccnat y
j C-, , :Ce,,L .d 2iLifS wc_s -L'A"C"i.La y deve_ oped Soh budCte-taAy ti2^SJYa 1
which meant a tolvetina of quaZificf t i..ons Stand-lAds aid
Tteinina 6,tom ti,le De;ruty $(1eiii5's �52h(eS. CO{2S2qu2j,iZy,
jaZcs remained a tow and it wa,5 not unti.Z the &tt2,-
vent-ion e5 .the Fedeta.Z Cowtts .that enhancements began to
happen.
"Ptesentey, at .the ditection o' .the Boc✓cd.o3 Supe.�,Lv.isoAs, tale {
County Pmsonnet and the Shvi35's Depattinents have once aaain
embattled on an "a.22-out" tectvLitment &Live bot Coatecti.ona?
O''i.cets. Out o' the 6iast.-sz appticants cvLti.S-ied, only 4
;gave made 4'_2 t1kouah the bac,-'Z9 r_.tocess. when '7 oo' .the -
4 aro?icants t0u,tned the Xia.in Jail she rejected the job o6l,2,t.
,T 1ati Lelt us-w th .3 n2v peopte. . D t Bina .the A.orme pet,iod'o "
ti Lme, we ate tos-ina pG.S-S Cbt l b empZc L,zes 'of a net toss c
3 C J 6icv'tis. Fou.t o', t he-S e ate •Z2av4{1a to beCCme Deputy
S h'e,1t,i 5 6 'A.
"The second atoup, t,;ho Gte ;,te5enuy .in the piLoce s of back,-
k _G icund invQs- Lgatic:1, do not helm to be bait; nq any be.ttet.
fLj-te'L d(sCtSs1-C{1 will lilt CCrn.IaCip.6yeho�og ', DfL_ f chaeZ
Robeiws, who is one of .the -top taU en'otcement/COhILeCtionaZ
psychotogis-t s -Cit _4'_,1e nation, is^e j,i23ent group o6 ap�pticants
cute among the wcrsti he has ever seen. DA. Roberts said he
cou,2d not betieve t,lese peo-Li cote toohina bot eaneeus .in
A c:,��ect-i ons and �,iati, 'pasti et im i;1a 2 behavio-t, extensive
u;0--to-dc to ha.td dtuo use, poet phy.-icat hea?,th, and tying
i on the appti,_- tion aj-L2 aene,«wZy the Aute tathel--L .than the
l .ex.ce-ti n. '
"This a25o 5e?,75 do be eorS.i.5 te,tit with the ta5t toting .
c3 arpti^a{its whe�e it came down .to towet,ina dome hiAina
,5tanda,tds do meet .tl�1e Detent-_on Division's emetaeneu
needs . This is not an acce,- 'abte method o ',Lp i.ng
vaciincicts ane hc_L tLesuL-,ad in t�,tac',,Linglf 3upetv4,s-COn ptobZe.,n-5,
and an .ine,Lease in comrtu{1,LS -invotv.ing dtua use, the.'zs, _ -
b,cu-t.a2 l ty, e-ic., res elt�i;:y {1 .i:tite tnat .inv es:igat ions and
in ,some Case, on. " "Many o6 -these 5otk6 have
pGb:Zvn.s wZth .int o`;'2vJZsoncL- 15!tEUs, knabi, ity .to head ctL
wt.ite toy ,ibty, a{1d *to 'nab.i_i ty to comp-tehend -the eomptex,%ty
o an eY.vte.+reEY dig ;'ieuU job with huge demands . Ia 6ae.t,
i,1e Fedc,,wtCC-u/*Lt. tIU:'LLtll�i, i1�t. TomLonelLaQn, has teC11117nenaea
'Staffing:- Detention -8- 9-30-85
This department, for years, did not have a lateral hiring process and are
lest many fine staff because of this omission. Since becoming Sheriff-
Coroner, - the department has instituted the lateral hiring program and now
we do gain some personnel from the system. However, as in the past, we
also lose personnel , two during the month of September. Presently, our
system is stabilized, we gain some and we lose some. To lower standards
and pay will create an irreversible exodus from this department. Frankly,
alho is ooinq to leave another department to entar our service at a paysCA .
20-25 S below vifiat they are row earning? NeBODY.
"ethods o- Inc`--mentaion
`
The- imp Of a COrreCtiCnal Officer series poses substantial PrCCI `T�
i r,i n 'f:�r a iT,Gment, how are :de Go :ria t0 accomplish 15 1 this S transition L 1 1,
regretfully, it occurs. El iminate all detention deputy sheriff positions
and dclvnorade them to correctional officer. A few presently unemployed
candidates will certainly accept the lo.•!er paid position, but only for
a short duration. Experience has shewn that the ma-iority will quickly
leave, takingwith them their skills and training, to fill the numerous
vacanc;!es available in other departments. There is no question that it
will take literally years, if ever, to 'recover. Meanwhile, we will still
,have increasing_n.umbers of-inmates and shifts to fill with only senior-
deputy sheriffs at time and cne half at top step. Hardly a cost savings.
The only other alternative Will be to phase in t-e program'by replacinc
each vas r,,r�410uty. sheriff Is position alit:h~t`iat of correctional of icer.
1,14,th t1he rami tulle cf the-tra ns i tion tra.f w-i-1 l be r-nwi-red, i t wi l i
literally take years , if acain, ever, for such a transition to be made.
In the meantime, either the equal work/equal pay provisions of law will
be enforced, or the inevitable will occur; those hired, their union and
this department will be demandirig equal pay based upon all the problems .•;Inial .
We have heretofore outlined to you. . in every county where this action
has occured, equal pay and benefits are either being demanded or achiever.
The en ti ;.•-1=emenc to sa� e..y ret�irement me,'00t f� h;p has already been es tabl is
by laa and by the California courts . In any case, the county will no-
i-any Substantial savings through attrition for many years, if ever.
You need only to remember the .recent situation with your qualified nur-sin_
staff. You were faced with a situation of either payino the prevailing
payscale available at local public and private hospitals or of losing
your experienced and trained nursing staff. You made the correct decisicn
'/iduals what the` Were WOr�n in the or�ya;linc
a , that time LL,-/ paying indi
marketplace. Deputy sheriffs are certainly no different.
D2fid nds Uco n
It is no secret that cur facilities -are acutely overc:ro •,vded and that tyi
department has taken extrerie measures to maintain our population levels
at tolerable levels. The MDF was designed for 386 and hovers continually.
at 600= and- the Marsh Creek Facility, which hous. l 90-100, now holds 262
and miter the 'first of the year will house 322.
Stafrina: Detention -10- G-30-85
Popular Plyths
Jails hold a peculiar fascination for everyone, government, t ,e courts ,
the media and the public. Managing such a facility places one in, t`lat
proverbial fishbowl . No nhatter ghat occurs, the jail is the subject of
unusual attention. An assault or suicide on the streets hardly 'war'rants
media attention, ho-.-ie-ver, "Vii t7i n a jai 1 the same action results is i n front
pace coverage. This is a fact e life that one accepts and recognizes
when occupying my posiTien. Addit onall , cutting the jail 's budget is
always a popular [m,ove because 'it(iC/" (tier in at�S") don' t �ieSe!"Ve it anylda`,
Ihi'S attitUd� has 'le_d most counties down a Iona, difficult and expenS.'/e
pa.t,a. The ;:ai se economies made by actir,c U on p0pul.ar .maths ins- - 07
i
a proper and responsible di SChar e G i the public t':^US , has r Su I ted 1
1 court mandated expenditures Tar a`,ove that which would have been nC ma1 : V
{ required.
it is not popular to spend money on a jail and inmates and, yes, you villi
surely be criticized for such expe�ir-tures. However, as long as we have
criminals, as long as we operate jails, and as long asthe public demands
longer sentences, we must spend an appropriate amount of money to insure
that our SCVe nment meets its constitutional responsibilities, ftcwe`!er
unpopular that may be. This res?onsibility includes sufficient facilites
plus competent, well trained and adequately compensated stair.
You are now conSiderina a cath Whi3cih others have already unsGCcesSful I '/
taken and are now returninG to Chart another course. Talk t0 your feiI
supervisors frim Other counties and ask t`:e-m what their pre: 'seSSors i �
for t0 solve and then ask vourse( - .v rich path to ske. You a" =_ r
no.,i camblinc with your present course.
Comparable CCun;.y fluency F_C it i i:es
We have already CiSCUssed our ICM p r c-;-pita e pendii,ures c c m D ed ='.!i t
coiipa'rabl e Count i_S, but hcvJ do v:= Co+m .are internal ly w t Ot ie?' s im 1 a
county responsibilltieS .
The costs associated with housinQ and tre�tinc individuals in Cthe'.r C�-:ht_/
facilities are Substantially higher when compared to our Department
c!etention syste^ rate o;: 13, 1i per, year. !Then you consider the annual
cost per year per juvenile 4t JUVenile ;:all ($39,818) , the Boys Ranch
Ali CiiO`. c t ^rR e =r' S Center t r '
( ,_ ) , the CBCs Center ( �C , _tel , th Gi 1 C rater .) , 'C. Lrie
retOXiflGation Centers (510,''25) then you must also realize that '.iE o-.-e--
by
-erby far, the cheapest per person c�-linty I_ lllty. In addition, we hav_e the
lamest concentration G; tie- v Glen t:,e ;.,entally i11 and the recalcitrant-
inmates.
LJ};-t is an "'GrcDriate c� 3"y
This i an %e:.tremely imoortant subject to discuss. What should Centra
Costa County pay their staff for working under the stress and strain of
an overcrowded detention system Where the non-violent and passive inmates
have been selectively released. . The concentration of felons, i .e. ,
Stafina: Detentioci -l2- 9-30-85
Implications for the New Facii i ty
The Department and the New Facility Project Team have based the entire
program for the neer facility upon, the demonstrated competence of cur staff.
For example, to save future dollars we have expanded modules from 48 inmates
(recommended by the National Institute of Corrections) to 64. Additionally.
we have approved a campus design which allows one deputy to supervise t:lo
modules (containing 128 inmates) on the morning shirt. Toilets and security
locks have been removed from the cells. The very program and future desicn
of this building requires only the finest in staff if it is to be successful..
If this proposal is approved, I ani lett with no choice but to demand that
a nes:/ program and a facility which will incorporate a much higher level -of.
sec i` 1i r :+l E. i Gi �Tl} '' I rL'r Ur? SU�S1�„i_ 1 �r�;- ' =Ur.
urity a c c;r Al , �icn wi q tie additional s.
Flexibility in job assignments is vital to the long term operations of
any sheriff's department. 1 have Tong insisted that all deputy sheriff,
personnel be able to respond to any emergency situation which may a•risc
throuanout this county. ' We vii i T have east rcuakes; we w i i 1 have mass de ;,cn-
strations;`-we have huge spills of toxic wastes; and we will have riots.
Our previous. history serves as a lesson for tomorrow. When such incidents
hvve occured., the ability to quickly respond with all available trained
staff (las moven invaluAblc. I ;Dant trained deputy sherif-s on the 1inE;
no ma;ttar what trie I r current duty assignment maybe -- patrol --coroners ,
detention etc.
The public -demands that their el, ec ted offiCiais be prepared, to the best
of their abilities, for the efficient conduct of their responsibilities
dUr1nC titlES. O.f emzr�encv. This is an essential responsibility of GOvern:me i..
1 recognize that these incidents' do not occur on a dally or even yearly
basis. But when emergencies do occur, and they c?rtainly will , we must b`
prepared. Please consider the negative consequences to the public order-
if I cannot utilize approximately 100= off-duty personnel in an e..merg.ency
situation because they are correctional officers and not trained in la'a
enforcement res ,onsibilities.
Please understand that correctional officers are not polio officerS and
therefore cannot be utilized outside the confines of a detention facility,
Impie:,entaticn of the correctional Officer series would seriously ?E.3Gcr-4
h j - } ' n.i -el J/ -aS�Grd tJ do l r emergency SiiL'ci foil
my a 11 L., L GuCy.,�a i.... i , G ce em
Concl us ion
Every county r_spons;5i i i `y is important. Each person, no ratter what
their situation in life or r_sponsibility with the county, performs an
important task. La-wyers, engineers, planners, equipment operators, nurses, '
etc. , all h;ve a function to perform and the public expects, no. demands ,
that each duty be performed by capable and qualified staff. We would
never consider utilizing para-1egals to represent us in court, students
to engineer our roadaiays and flood control projects, or LIN"s to make a
medical diagnosis or prescribe medication. In that same light, we should
ation S. Buck
P�robatibn Department Contra nl�j t-`�
tc, `' ` County Probation Officer
Administrative Offices Costa ;
1Ct`�r,
10th Floor County
Administration Building r ="
651 Pine Street
Martinez, California 94553 U1
(415) 372-2700 ��/ �(;fta,. _
(,0�''
To: Scott Tandy bate: August 8, 1986
Chief Assistant Administrator
From: Jerry Buck Subject$, ,Recommendation of the 1,995-86
County Probation Officer Grand Jury
The specific recommendation is the establishment of a clearing house for
referral of juveniles to service providers.
To develop a clearing house would, of course, take money to identify resources,
to maintain a current-'1st, to publicize as a resource, and to staff. It would
be a valuableresour..ce .and the Probation Department supports the concept.
There are several activities going on within Contra Costa County that relate to
resources for juveniles, that are not discussed in the Grand Jury report. I
think that they are worthwhile being mentioned in our response.
1 . The Right ,Direction Project. This project has been under development since
'February. and` became-operational -within the last couple of weeks . A copy
of its mission and objectives is attached. Basically this project is de-
signed to connect youngsters, known to Probation, with service providers
in the private sector. Judi Parent is the Director and, at present, she can
be reached at 372-2743.
.2. Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council . This is a group of public and private
providers, schools, and the Juvenile Court that meet monthly to exchange
information as to programs, activities, etc. that are for juveniles in Contra
Costa County. Some of the programs mentioned in the Grand Jury report are
members.
There are two Councils. The largest meets at Pleasant Hill Police Department
and represents Central , South and East County. The second group meets in
West-County and represents agencies from that area.
Discussion- has started as to the development of more geographic representative
Councils with=an overall coordinating group. By geographic is meant a
separate council-_for West, South , Central and East County. This concept
could lead- to .even more-agency/school involvement and an improved information
sharing between geographic areas.
ATTACH!,.IENT D
Scott Tandy -3- August 8, 1986
5. The job referral service program is a long term need. The Probation Department
is presently developing a job referral program for youngsters who have been
ordered to pay restitution to victims. It could be assumed that a few of these
juveniles would work into permanent jobs.
6. Restore funding to the Volunteer Bureau. I agree with this in that, at one time,
the Volunteer Bureau was a resource to the department. At present, individual
deputies develop their own volunteer resources.
7. Substance abuse education in the schools should be encouraged.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Grand Jury report.
JB:ls
Attachment
THE RIGHT DIRECTION PROJECT
ITS MISSION, OBJECTIVES, AND APPROACH
A. THE NATURE OF RDP:
The Right Direction- Project -sprung from the identification of gaps
in the service delivery -system for juveniles in- the justice system
following publication of The Juvenile Corrections -Master Plan, -
(Contra Costa County, 1983)_. Modeled- after a successful program
in the San Fernando Valley,--- RDP is a community program designed to
address, the apparent failure of large numbers of its youth to grow
up successfully. Recognizing that this failure is shared by indivi-
dual young people themselves and the communities in which they live,
RDP came into existence to act as a catalyst between identified
youth and community resources.
The. philosophy of RDP is to find and "connect" the juvenile with
service providers in the private sector in order to address and
ameliorate the causative factors of delinquent behavior. In so
doing, identified youth are able to behave responsibly in their
communities, sparing themselves further involvement with the justice
system and making our communities better places in which to live.
B. THE RDP GOAL AND OBJECTIVES:
The basic mission or goal of RDP is to mobilize the resources of the
local community to the end that these resources can be brought to
bear on selected problems of youth in that community. In carrying
out this goal , RDP seeks to achieve five specific objectives, as
follows:
1 . Intake of youth in trouble or at risk of getting into
trouble.
2. Assessing each youth' s problem(s) and identifying services
needed to resolve the problem(s) .
3. Developing a comprehensive and organized inventory of
community resources through which services youth
problems can be met and resolved.
4. Connecting each youth with a provider of services
appropriate to the needs of the youth and conducting
follow-up activities to assure that the connection has
occurred.
5. Performing periodic program evaluations and reviews and
providing feedback- to the community and both public and
private agencies requestingor providing services.
Pr6bation Department contra Gerald S. Suck
} County Probation Officer
Administrative Offices Costa
t.
10th Floor County
Administration Building ��1
651 Pine Street
Martinez, California 94553
(415) 372-2700
To: Scott Tandy, Date: July 29, 9986
Chief Assistant Administrator
Attn: George Johnson
From: Gerald -S. Buck, Subject Grand. Jury Report, Item No. 86
County Probation Officer
The recommendation concerning the Contra Costa County Boys' Ranch is "That the
Board of Supervisors continue to support this program".
am in 100% agreement with the Grand. Jury recommendation!
GSB/CR:ds
r%r ;: G i ,
A
1[?:_
CCe,rMA G05TA CLXX4TY
PRNATE 1NDU$TRY COUNCIL
2423 t159D LJNE, aJiTE 100
=NCORD. CA 94520 $71 -4239
MTE August 15,1986 cc :
►o Scott Tandy, Chief Assistant Administrator
County, Administrator's Office j.
'itoM
A. C. Miner, Executive Director
Private Industry Council
RJOJECT 85/86 GRAND JURY- RECOMMENDATIONS
This office has no argument with a Grand Jury's recommendation that the Board
institute a job referral service program for juveniles. It is unclear what
is meant by the qualification that it be for juveniles who are without proper
or sufficient educational background.
Frequently, lack of educational background can hinder a youths ability to be a
viable candidate for the labor force. In that case, special vocationally
linked remedial education is normally needed.
Currently the State Employment Service is the presumed job referral agency for
job ready youth. Low income youth who need training to become job ready are
candidates for the DTPA programs administered by the PIC.
It would appear that if the Board of Supervisors accepts the first
recommendation and develops a clearinghouse for juveniles, that clearinghouse
should also provide referrals to appropriate employment referral agencies.
Ideally, a youth employment coordinating agency could be established. This
department has had some experience in this type of effort with our Summer
Youth Jobs Program where we have supplemented existing youth employment local
and state efforts. A coordinated effort would require participation by County
employment and educational agencies, an inventory of existing efforts, the
identification of gaps in the existing efforts, and the funding of services
necessary to eliminate the gaps and bring the existing services into a
decentralized but unified system. We would be pleased to lead such an
effort, but that would require County funding. We lack the resources to
undertake such an effort, and legal restrictions on JTPA funds would probably
preclude us from being able to completely fund such an activity if our
resources were greater.
If the Board is seriously interested in establishing such a program, we are
willing to contact the existing service providers to discuss the concept
enough to formulate a .budget and workplan for the Board to consider as part
of its FY 87/88 budget. However, if it is not assessed that the Board will
have revenues in, 87/88 to implement and fund a new ongoing program, I would
suggest the referral be .included. in the clearinghouse concept.
ACM:baj
ATTACHMENT E
14 .
LM
CHI
Los Meclanos Community Hospital District
August 13, 1986
C.L. Van Matter
Assistant County Administrator
County Administration Building
Martinez, California 94553
Dear Mr. Van Matter:
I am responding to your letter of August 6, 1986 in which you requested my
comments to assist you in preparing a response for the Board of Supervisors
to the report of the 1985-1986 Grand .Jury. Specifically you requested my
comments on the recommendation found on page 113 of that report .
Unfortunately, the Grand Jury was presented with and used completely
inaccurate information in deciding on their recommendation. Therefore, the
recommendation which flows from that information becomes purely academic
since we have no way of knowing what the Grand Jury would recommend if they
had the correct information.
It is extremely unfortunate that the Grand Jury made a judgement concerning
Los Medanos Community Hospital on the basis of inaccurate information. The
District Board of Directors and the hospital administrator were not
contacted about this information, which could. have been easily corrected.
The process that the Board of Supervisors is beginning , i .e. preparing a
response to the Grand Jury Report , is an unwitting confirmation of the
damage that has been done to Los Medanos Community Hospital by this-_report.
Your letter is necessarily based on the assumption that the findings of the
Grand Jury are factual and that the recommendation for action flows from a
finding of fact. Because of the erroneous information used by the Grand
Jury, that understandable assumption is absolutely incorrect.
The 1985-1986 report of the Grand Jury incorrectly states:
"This hospital (.Los Medanos Community Hospital) is unique because in 1985 ,
the Directors voted to lease the facility to a group of doctors. The
doctors created The Health Care Corporation, which is a 'private for
profit.' hospital. The district is the 'landlord ' thus being immune;. from
litigation."
ATTACHMENT F
2311 Loveridge Road Pittsburg. CA 94565 (41S) 432-2200
The Board of Directors of the Los Medanos Community Hospital district
reacted very strongly to the Grand Jury Report. The Board is proud of its
actions with regard to reorganization. Mr. Landrum wrote to the present
and past Foremen of the Grand Jury on July 15, 1986, offering to provide
accurate information concerning the reorganization. The Board is sure that
this information will reasssure the Gra-nd Jury of the. public ' s
participation in and benefit from the reorganization prbcess the Board .
followed.
Please contact me at your convenience to discuss this matter... I am looking
forward to speaking with you soon on this issue.
Sincerely,
Efton Hall, Jr.
Administrator/Chief Executor Officer
EHJ:DMS:bae
cc: John Bedford
Ed Boysen, M.D.
Art Chomer
Paul Corbin
Elsio DeMarco
Don Landrum
Lillian Pride
Nick Ventrice
Enclosure
The fact that the District is acting as "landlord" to the Health Care
Corporation for the hospital building has not to do with immunity from
litigation. The building is owned by another corporation, -the Hospital
Building Corporation, which was formed in 1976 specifically forpurposes of
bonded indebtedness security. The Hospital Building Corporation leases the
building to the District, which in turn includes the use of the building in '
the operating lease arrangements with the Health Care Corporatidn. The
-Health Care Corporation has no immunity from litigation. There has been no
change in the litigation exposure which the District, as a government
entity, has always had.
The Los Medanos Community Hospital structural reorganization was carried
out with complete public disclosure and with full public support. The
District mounted an extensive public information campaign concerning the
plan. The District took out advertisements, sent direct mail pieces and .
cooperated with the press. Local newspapers ran dozens of articles on all
'the stages of the reorganization
Every government agency, including the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors,
was invited to participate in an extensive series of public meetings which
afforded every opportunity for input into the reorganization plan.
Representatives of the general public, city, county and state governments ,
business and industry, labor and trade organizations, political and social
groups, professional health associations, employee groups , and local media
representatives attended meetings, made suggestions and comments, and were
in overwhelming agreement with the outcome of the process.
No suggestion was ever raised by any member of these groups to hold a
District election on the reorganization. An editorial column in the Daily
Ledger.Post Dispatch of May 26 , 1985 said, "Hospital officials have lived
up to their obligations as operators of an open governmental district. The
taxpayers are being fully informed of their elected representatives '
intentions and are being given every opportunity to voice their opinions on
the issue. Citizens can't ask any more of their elected hospital
officials:"
We are proud of our actions with regard to the reorganization issue. If
the members of the Grand Jury have any further questions, we would be happy
to provide them with accurate information concerning the District 's
reorganization, which we are sure will reassure them of the public's
participation in and benefit from this reorganization process.
Sincerely,
Don L. Landrum
President
Board of Airectors
Los Medanos Community Hospital District
• f CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT
•l _
To: Scott Tandy, Date: August 20, 19-86
Chief Assistant -
County Administrator
From: `ar F inucane, / Subject: Responses to 1985-86
Health Services Director Grand Jury
As requested in your July 24, 1986 memorandum, we are providing the following
responses to the 1985-86 Grand Jury recommendations:
Page No. Item No. Response
22 4 In order to assist those readers of the County
Finance System' s reports who are unfamiliar with or
lack access .to, the individual components of the
Hospital 's Medicare and Medi-Cal reserve accounts ,
two new accounts were established in fiscal 1985/86
to segregate and distinctly report the estimated
amount due to or due from the Medicare and Medi -Cal
programs as a result of cost report submissions.
Since there are generally only two transactions (one
tentative settlement and one final settlement) which
_occur subsequent to the initial establishment of a
- `` fiscal year's estimated cost report receivable/
payable, the Auditor Controller 's Office and the
Health Services Department felt that one account for
all Medicare and one account for all Medi -Cal cost
report amounts would be a sufficient level of.-detail
for casual users of the County' s- reports.
Establishment of these two new accounts should allow
readers of these reports to more easily recognize
amounts due .to/from the Medicare and Medi -Cal program
as a result of estimated cost report settlements as
opposed to amounts due from those proqrams as a
result of outstanding patient accounts receivable.
23 5 Effective July 1, 1985, the Health Services
Department and County Data Processing successfully
implemented a:computer interface program -which
• records gross patient charges on -the County's Finance
System on a monthly basis. The Health Services
ATTACHMENT G
X-LB-GRJU1
A-41 8/81
3.
Page No. Item No. Response
100 7 The A/DA/MH Division is already actively working with
the schools . In West County we fund the "Y" Team in
conjunction with the Y.M.C.A. working with the ele-
mentary schools. We fund Youth Connection, which
works actively with the John Swett School District.
We have active participation in the East County
school alcohol and -.drug prevention programs through
Pur NEAT and Center for Human Development contracts.
We employ counselors in the Pittsburg School District
to provide drug counseling programs. We have
recently been awarded grants as a result of AB 1924
to provide specialized prevention programs in the
Richmond and San Ramon School Districts. We are
working with Supervisor Tom Torlakson in developing a
countywide drug and alcohol prevention program speci -
fically to help in establishing a comprehensive drug
and alcohol prevention curriculum in the schools.
105 1 On January 14, 1986, the Board of Supervisors adopted
in concept the recommendation of Health Services
Director, Mark Finucane, to build a new county hospi -
tal and to establish a geriatrics institute pending
further studies on the feasibility of this recommen-
dation.
It is anticipated that the feasibility studies will
commence in September and that following the comple-
tion of those studies, the Board of Supervisors will
make a final decision on building a replacement
hospital .
The option of contracting with other hospitals in the
County to provide services for indigent patients was
thoroughly explored in the study conducted by the
Health Services Department in 1985. That option was
not recommended because of the uncertainty about
future costs once the county hospital was closed and
.the reluctance of private physicians -to provide medi -
cal care to indigent patients for a variety of econo-
mic .and social reasons. However, the Health Services
:Department continues to explore the possibility of
some shared services or modified contracting arrange-
ments with the County's three district hospitals and
with the private hospital-s as well .
109 1(a-c) As noted above, Mr. Finucane's January 14, 1986
recommendation to the Board of Supervisors included
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5.
Page No. Item No. Response
189 1 The Contra Costa County Boar& of. Supervisors has
accepted the responsibility for the safe,- healthful ,
and orderly administration oP- hazardou_s waste d.i s.po-- ' .
sal in Contra CostaCounty to the maximum extent *of
its jurisdictional authority. Class -1 (hazardous
waste) disposal sites are permitted and regulated by
the State Department of Health Services in their
exclusive jurisdiction. The County Department of
Health Services is monitoring the operation of our
Class I sites and will continue to do so at the
directive of the County Board of Supervisors.
189 2 - The Board of Supervisors initiated a Hazardous Waste
Task Force in 1984 to evaluate hazardous waste
generation and disposal in this county and make
recommendations for comprehensively dealing wit-h -this
issue. The 56 recommendations from the Hazardous
Waste Task Force recently approved by the Board of
Supervisors will establish public policy dealing with
hazardous waste management in .th_is county. Long
range studies to determine the impact of hazardous
waste would more appropriately follow the implemen-
tation of the Hazardous Waste Task Force recommen-
dations.
.189 3 The recommendations of the Hazardous Waste Task Force
adopted by the Board of Supervisors specifically
implements this Grand Jury recommendation that" the
Board of Supervisors enforce regulations and support
programs to reduce the amount of hazardous waste com-
mitted .to landfill and encourage on-site waste-reduc-
tion and treatment as . a matter of public policy.
189 4 With the enactment of AB2185/2187 and pending
legislation including AB2870, the issue concerning
respective roles of state and local agencies in
enforcing hazardous waste regulations is being
clarified. This legislation specifically delegates
hazardous waste and hazardous materials oversight and
jurisdiction at the:_local level . With respect to'
hazardous waste legis.l,ation at the local level , our
local programs have been enhanced and are still being
escalated to provide public protections.
190 5 The Board of Supervisors is currently moving to
appoint a Hazardous Materials Commission to implement
the 56 public policy recommendations advanced by the
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7.
Page No. Item No. Response
county. These efforts have significantly accelerated
site characterization, remediation, and abatement
activities in the last two years and will continue to
be pursued .
191 11 The Public Health and Environmental Health Divisions
of the Health Services Department are coordinating an
effort to promote public education conferences to
alert citizens to the problems of hazardous waste
including, prospectively, participation in a house-
hold hazardous waste collection program. This recom-
mendation is also contained in recommendations from
the°Hazardous Waste Task Force.
MF :LB:bgg
X-LB-GRJU7
1. D
To: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Contra
Cx)stQ
DATE: July 28, 1986 VJc i "1L
SUBJECT: Establishment of a Water Task Force
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND Alm JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1 . Establish a Water Task Force consisting of 26 voting and 2
non-voting members as follows:
Number Organization
5 Supervisorial appointment, one from
each district.
4 City representatives to be
appointed by the Mayors'
Conference. Two of the persons
appointed are to be from cities
served by the Contra Costa Water
District, with one member
representing treated water cities
and the other representing
untreated water cities. Two
representatives from cities served
by East Bay Water.
5 All Water Districts in the County,
including East Bay Municipal
Utility District, Contra Costa
Water District, Oakley Water
District, Byron-Bethany Irrigation
District, and East Contra Costa
Irrigation District.
1 Member of a past County Grand Jury
1 Contra Costa County Farm Bureau
2 Private• Industry
1 Concerned Citizens for Improved
Quality Water
1 League of Women Voters
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APVPROV OTHER ����,¢
SIGNATURE(S):
Nanc C. Fanden unne I4. McPeak D"
ACTION OF BOARD ON _ July 29, 1986 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED �_ OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
UNANIMOUS (ABSENT AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
CC: County Administrator ATTESTED July 29 , 1986
Community Development Director PHIL BATCHELOR. CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
O
AA4n�i� o� BY n. ,DEPUTY
Page 2
1 Committee for Water Policy
Consensus
1 United Anglers
1 Marine Operators
1 Audubon Society
1 Bay Institute
1 EDF
TOTAL 26 Voting Members
2 Non-voting Members. . . . . . .Water contractors
TOTAL 28
2 . In addition to the Water Task Force, there is also created a
Technical Advisory Committee consisting of representation
from the following organizations:
County Community Development Department
County Public Works Department
County Health Services Department
State Department of Water Resources
Federal Bureau of Reclamation
Regional Water Quality Control Boards ( 2)
Local Agency Formation Commission Staff
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
Private interested citizens
3 . Authorize the Chair of the Board to forward a letter to the
County' s State and Federal delegations inviting them to send
representatives to the Water Task Force meetings.
4 . The Task Force and the Technical Advisory Committee shall
terminate December 31, 1987, unless continued by the Board.
5 . Request the Director of Community Development to solicit the
names of persons to serve on the Water Task Force and to
report back to the Internal Operations Committee for review
and recommendation to the full Board.
6 . Direct the Water Task Force to begin with as given, baseline
policy and incorporate into its work the existing policies
of the Contra Costa County Water Agency and the Contra Costa
County Board of Supervisors, specifically including the
following policies:
a. Continued opposition to the Peripheral Canal;
b. New Water Ethic Policy Statement adopted in 1982;
C. Adopted policies of the Committee for Water Policy
Consensus;
d. Adopted position regarding joint-management of the
CCWD-EBMUD water supplies.
BACKGROUND:
On July 8, 1986, the Board approved a recommendation by
Supervisor Nancy Fanden that the Board establish a Water Task
Force to review water delivery in the County and make
recommendations to the Board and the General Plan Review
0 +
Page 3
Committee on water-related issues. The Committee composition,
clarification of goals, and development of a timeframe were
referred to the Internal Operations Committee for a report back
to the Board.
Our Committee discussed this matter on July 28, 1986. It was
noted that the Board has been concerned about water issues for
some time, and that a variety of groups and committees have
addressed specific water-related problems. However, the
Committee believes that what is needed now is a broad-based
committee to review overall water issues and their current or
potential impact on the County. The County is currently
undertaking a General Plan review. It is timely that
recommendations on water-related matters be developed and fed
into the General Plan review process. It was noted that water is
the single most critical factor in controlling growth and
development. Without the availability of water, growth is
stymied.
The quantity, quality, and distribution of water are matters of
Countywide concern. It is important that the Water Task Force
include representatives from all geographical areas of the County
as well as from a wide variety of organizations interested in
water. Because of the significance of this matter, the Committee
should report directly to the Board of Supervisors. The
Committtee recommendations will be shared with the General Plan
Review Committee for consideration in development of General Plan
policies and strategies.
FISCAL IMPACT•
The Community Development Department will have the responsibility
of staffing and providing clerical support to this new Task
Force. The cost of this staff support is not currently provided
in the Department' s budget. An estimate of this cost is being
prepared and will be provided to the Board as soon as possible.