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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 07162013 - SD.2RECOMMENDATION(S): APPROVE response to Civil Grand Jury Report No. 1308, entitled "Encouraging Citizens to Apply for Grand Jury Service ” and DIRECT the Clerk of the Board to forward the response to the Superior Court no later than July 31, 2013. FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact. BACKGROUND: On June 3, 2013, the 2012/13 Civil Grand Jury filed the above-referenced report, which was reviewed by the Board of Supervisors and subsequently referred to the Internal Operations Committee to prepare a response that addresses: Whether a finding or recommendation is accepted or will be implemented;A. If a recommendation is accepted, a statement as to who will be responsible for implementation and by what definite target date; B. A delineation of the constraints if a recommendation is accepted but cannot be implemented within a six-month period; and C. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 07/16/2013 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes:See Addendum VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: JULIE ENEA (925) 335-1077 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: July 16, 2013 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: SD.2 To:Board of Supervisors From:INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Date:July 16, 2013 Contra Costa County Subject:RESPONSE TO CIVIL GRAND JURY REPORT NO. 1308, ENTITLED "ENCOURAGING CITIZENS TO APPLY FOR GRAND JURY SERVICE" BACKGROUND: (CONT'D) The reason for not accepting or adopting a finding or recommendation. The Internal Operations Committee met on July 8, 2013 to consider the attached response prepared by staff and proffers that response to the Board today for consideration. CLERK'S ADDENDUM APPROVED response to Civil Grand Jury Report No. 1308, as amended this day to include the following edits: • Recommendations response No. 2 – “The recommendation has been implemented. The Supervisors have been promoting Grand Jury service in their outreach,” • Recommendations response No. 4 – “While the recommendation is not applicable to Contra Costa County, the County Administrator will send letters to each City Manager of the 19 cities to request they display Grand Jury brochures and application forms,” • Comments – “Grand Jury members are not well-compensated for their service. Compensation may be an issue that the Board of Supervisors collectively advocates to increase by sending letters to the state requesting a review of Grand Jury compensation of each county;” and DIRECTED the Clerk of the Board to forward the response to the Superior Court no later than July 31, 2013. ATTACHMENTS Response to Civil Grand Jury Report 1308 Attachment 1 to Response to Civil Grand Jury Report 1308 - Map Commute Time Attachment 2 to Response to Civil Grand Jury Report 1308 - Map Percent Seniors Attachment 3 to Response to Civil Grand Jury Report 1308 - Map Median Household Income Civil Grand Jury Report 1308 Contra Costa County Response to Civil Grand Jury Report No. 1308, entitled “Encouraging Citizens to Apply for Grand Jury Service” Findings 1. There is a persistent imbalance of 2 to 1 in Grand Jury applications between Districts II & IV and Districts I, III & V. Response: Having no access to the applicant data, the County is unable to verify the finding. 2. The problem is not the size of applicant pool, but the distribution over the five supervisorial districts. Response: The respondent agrees that equal representation of communities of interest in the grand jury candidate pool would be ideal. Recommendations The Grand Jury recommends that: 1. At public events, the Supervisors and their staff actively encourage applications for Grand Jury service. Response: The recommendation will be implemented at the discretion of each Supervisor and his/her staff when the venue is appropriate. 2. The Supervisors use email and other media they now use to encourage Grand Jury application in their districts. Response: The recommendation has been implemented. The Supervisors have been promoting grand jury service in their constituent outreach. 3. County offices open to the public in all districts display Grand Jury brochures and application forms. Response: The recommendation will be implemented. Some of the district offices currently display grand jury brochures at their offices and all of them are willing to do so in the future. 4. City offices in Districts I, III, and V display Grand Jury brochures and application forms. Response: The recommendation is not applicable to Contra Costa County. However, the County Administrator will send a letter to each City Manager requesting that they display the brochures and application forms. Comments In reviewing the report, County staff overlaid the grand jury’s graphic data onto GIS (County Geographic Information System) maps that display the density of senior (over age 65) population, areas with a one hour+ commute time to Martinez, and areas with higher than statewide median income households. It appears that commute time may be the most significant factor affecting the geographic distribution of applicants and that age/retirement status may also be a significant factor. Household income may also be a factor but it appears to have less correlation to applicants than commute time and age. Lacking the actual source data, County staff findings are not conclusive, but they do suggest that there are other, and possibly more significant, factors affecting the geographic representation of applicants than the amount of advertising/promotion within the districts. Compensation for members of the Grand Jury may also be an issue. Members receive a $15 stipend for each regular and subcommittee meeting they attend up to a maximum of $30/day plus travel reimbursement at the same rate as County employees. The County Administrator will compare Contra Costa’s stipend and per diem rates with other Bay Area counties and advise the Board of Supervisors if an increase is warranted. Grand Jury Applicant (2008 - 2012) and Commute Time 0 5 102.5 Miles Map created 06/20/2013 by Contra Costa CountyDepartment of Conservation and Development, GIS Group651 Pine Street, 4th Floor North Wing, Martinez, CA 94553-009537:59:48.455N 122:06:35.384W ¯ Data Source: Census American Community Survery 5-yr Estimates, 2007-2011; Census Tract Data Percent of Workforce Commuting One Hour or More (one way) Super visorial Districts Less than 10% 10 -15% 15- 20% 20 - 30% More than 30% Each dot represents an application for Grand Jury service over the most recent five Grand Jury terms. ' Grand Jury Applicants (2008 - 2012) and Senior Population 0 5 102.5 Miles Map created 06/20/2013 by Contra Costa CountyDepartment of Conservation and Development, GIS Group651 Pine Street, 4th Floor North Wing, Martinez, CA 94553-009537:59:48.455N 122:06:35.384W ¯ Data Source: Census American Community Survery 5-yr Estimates, 2007-2011; Census Tract Median Age. Median Age is the point where half the population is younger and half the population is older. Seniors as percent of Total Population by Census Tract Super visorial Distr icts Less than 10% 10 -15% 15- 20% 20- 30% More than 30% Each dot represents an application for Grand Jury service over the most recent five Grand Jury terms. ' Grand Jury Applicants (2008 -2012) by Median Household Income Data Source: Census American Community Survery 5-yr Estimates, 2007-2011; Block Group data Median Household Income as Percentage of Statewide Median Supervisorial Districts Less that 50% (< $49,167) 50 - 100% ($49,167 - $61,263) 100 - 150% ($61,263 - $91,894) 150 - 200% ($91,894 - $122,526) More than 200% ( >$122,526) Each dot represents an application for Grand Jury service over the most recent five Grand Jury terms. '0 5 102.5 Miles Map created 06/21/2013 by Contra Costa CountyDepartment of Conservation and Development, GIS Group651 Pine Street, 4th Floor North Wing, Martinez, CA 94553-009537:59:48.455N 122:06:35.384W ¯