Yuba County grand jury finds four areas working efficiently

Report focuses on medical marijuana, veterans services, evacuations and jail

Members of the Yuba County grand jury conducted four investigations over the past year and found that each area was working efficiently, only making one recommendation for the county to implement.

The jury’s investigations covered: allegations that the city of Marysville’s medical marijuana permitting process was biased; operational efficiencies in the Yuba-sutter Counties Veteran Service Office; how well Yuba County responded to two different evacuations in 2017; and the condition and management of the county jail.

All of the grand jury’s findings were positive. Jury members requested responses from the Marysville city manager, county Health and Human Services, the county Board of Supervisors and the sheriff. Responses are required within 90 days from any public agency and 60 days from any elected county officer or agency head. Medical marijuana permitting process The grand jury investigated Marysville’s permitting process for its medical marijuana dispensaries after a citizen filed a complaint stating the city was “biased” and that the process “resulted in unfair advantage to specific applicant(s).”

The permitting process – before it was recently modified – was carried out in multiple phases, starting with an application and fee and followed by a vetting process of both the applicant and the proposed location. Then, applicants were assigned points by a selection committee and independent consulting firm based on a number of criteria – the two applicants with the most points were awarded dispensary permits.

Jury members conducted interviews with city employees, officials and applicants, and reviewed documents submitted during the process.

“Based on the interviews conducted and documents reviewed, the Grand Jury did not discern any bias of any city employee during the permitting process, or any unfair advantage derived by any applicant,” the report stated.

Because the grand jury found the city adhered to its ordinance procedures and no evidence was found supporting claims of prejudice or preferential treatment, no recommendations were provided to the city.

Yuba-sutter Counties Veteran Service

Office Because Yuba-sutter has such a large population of veterans – 13,322 veterans as of September 2015 – the grand jury decided to look into the Yuba County Veterans Service Office to see how it performs.

The office employees help local veterans identify benefits they might be eligible for through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other state and local government agencies. Employees also help veterans complete necessary forms and file claims for benefits.

Jury members learned more about who the Yuba-sutter Veterans Service Office serves, how services are requested and outreach is conducted, how many people are served by the local office, what its funding sources are and its expenses, how its staffing levels stack up and the specific challenges they face in helping their clients.

The grand jury found that the local office provides a “vital service” and that without its assistance, many veterans and their families would be overwhelmed by the process because the Veterans Affairs system is difficult to navigate.

“According to statistics provided by the CVSO, the services rendered by the CVSO resulted in $3.6 million of lump sum and retroactive benefits paid to local area veterans and increased monthly benefits annualized to $6.4 million in (fiscal year) ended June 30, 2018,” the report stated.

No recommendation was provided. The grand jury did commend management and staff of the Yuba-sutter Counties Veterans Service Office for the work they do.

Yuba County evacuations of 2017 County residents dealt with two different evacuations in 2017 – one in February caused by a deteriorating emergency spillway at Lake Oroville and in October due to the Cascade Fire. One of the designated committees within the grand jury wanted to learn more about the Yuba County Office of Emergency Services and its process of initiating an evacuation.

The jury learned about some of the struggles emergency responders and residents dealt with during both evacuations, how the county’s emergency notification system worked, how important information was disseminated, and how different departments and entities functioned together.

Some common themes from both evacuations included a need for a better flow of information from officials, as well as clarifications on evacuation routes and what animals are allowed at particular shelter sites.

“While there were some problems noted during both the flood evacuations and the fires evacuation, OES plans worked,” the report stated.

Yuba County Jail The California Penal Code requires the grand jury “inquire into the condition and management of the public prisons within the county.” Additionally, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California made it a requirement of the jury to analyze whether the jail was in compliance in certain areas like housing and treatment of inmates in the Yuba County Jail.

Grand jury members interviewed Yuba County Sheriff’s Office personnel about the jail and took two separate tours of the facility – including the laundry room, kitchen, medical area and intake/booking areas.

The jury found that the safety cells – which are used to house detainees or inmates at risk of harming themselves – were physically monitored at least every 15 minutes by staff. They also observed the cells to be clean and in good repair.

Both portions of the jail – the newer portion built in 1995 and older portion built in 1962 – were also toured. The newer portion houses both ICE detainees and general inmate population, while the older portion houses male and female inmates. The jury found that gang affiliation is not a “noticeable problem with less than 10 percent of all inmates being associated with gangs.” The one issue they did find was that there was only one camera monitoring cell activity in each tower in the newer portion of the jail.

The kitchen area was observed to be clean and well organized and has a reputation for serving the best food in all of the state’s correctional system. The medical area has also improved, the jury found, due to a contract struck in 2017 with the California Forensic Medical Group for medical and mental health services – something that has been brought up in past grand jury reports as an issue.

Aside from finding current medical staffing and available treatment had vastly improved since past reports and that jail staff was doing an “outstanding job” of maintaining the jail and meeting the inmate population’s needs, the grand jury recommended the sheriff and county install additional cameras in the tower area.

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