HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11191996 - C137 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra
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FROM: y ' Costa
Phil Batchelor, County Administrator x, z
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DATE: November 19/ 1996
SUBJECT: Community Incident Reporting Policy
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt the Community Incident Reporting Policy.
BACKGROUND:
High profile incidents which occur in Contra Costa County typically
generate significant community and media interest. This policy
provides a method of informing, in an expedited "emergency manner, "
the relevant persons in authority of serious incidents which should
be brought to the attention of individual members of the Board of
Supervisors .
The 'employees reporting such incidents should be mindful of the
statutory provisions relating to this policy: the California
Public Records Act, Better Government Ordinance, and Brown Act.
This policy establishes criteria and procedures for reporting
incidents .
I . Reportable Incidents
A. Threats to the citizens ' 'health or safety. Examples :
1 . Refinery or other industrial explosion, fire or
chemical release.
2 . Any accident large enough to require multi-agency
response.
3 . Escapes from County facilities .
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S): p
ACTION OF BOARD ON ` APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
0
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I 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: Dean Lucas (5-1077 ) ATTESTED . � [ •Z 2 99�a
County Administrator PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
All Department Heads SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY DEPUTY
M382 (10/88)
�yl37
Community Incident Reporting Policy
November 19 , 1996
B. Community disasters, disruptions or demonstrations .
Examples :
1 . Airplane crash, bus or train wreck in which lives
are threatened or lost.
2 . Earthquake or other natural disaster resulting in
emergency response.
3 . Interruptions of County operations, such as
building evacuations .
C. Any incident for which the media shows more than routine
interest. Examples :
1 . Politically sensitive issues .
2 . State or Federal investigations .
3 . Incidents involving County employees .
II . Notification
A. Notification will occur immediately upon documentation
that the incident meets one or more of reportable
incident criteria.
B. Service . Chiefs will use the reporting procedures
established by the Office of Emergency Services (OES) .
C. The OES Duty Officer will notify one of the following in
order of priority:
1 . County Administrator
2 . Chief Assistant County Administrator
3 . Assistant County Administrator
4 . Sheriff-Coroner
5 . Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
6 . Health Services Director
7 . Public Works Director
8 . Social Service Director
D. Departmental representatives will notify one of those
listed in Paragraph C above, in order of priority.
E : The person notified in Paragraph C will notify the Chair
and individual members of the Board of Supervisors.
III . Reporting Procedures
A. Expedited emergency reports of significant incidents will
generally be oral . To the extent that any memorandum or
writing is made, which by its nature would fall within a
non-waived exemption to the Public Records Act which
exempts the document from disclosure, adequate
precautions should be taken to preserve the
confidentiality of the record. Without such an
exemption, all such writings would be considered to be a
public record subject to disclosure.
B. When reporting to the members of the Board, the emergency
report of the incident should be strictly factual with no
discussion of possible future County action because of
the Brown Act's prohibition of any preliminary
determination of a Board consensus by any means outside
of a publicly noticed Board session.
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Community Incident Reporting Policy
November 19, 1996
C. Whenever an emergency oral report of a serious incident
has been given to the individual Board members, the
communication to Board members, its date, the subject
matter and a note verifying that only strictly factual
information was communicated should be prepared and
placed in an appropriate file by the person who
communicated said information to the Board members . The
record is a public document unless exempt under the
Public Records Act or other statutory provision.
D. If the Chair or Vice Chair of the Board of Supervisors,
or in their absence, the most senior supervisor
available, deems the matter significant enough for Board
discussion and consideration, the County Administrator
and County Counsel should be consulted to advise whether
an emergency meeting, a noticed open session meeting, or
a noticed closed session meeting would be appropriate
under the Brown Act.
E. The County Counsel shall advise of the appropriate
procedures and records to be followed in each of such
meetings to insure compliance with the Brown Act and
other statutes . The matter should then be placed on the
open session or closed session agendas as appropriate and
the proper public statutory notice or advice to the media
should be given.
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