To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Consent
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:
title
Fiscal Year 2025-26 Grand Jury Responses: “Emergency Preparedness: The Role of Local Law Enforcement Agencies” and “Friend of Foe? Struggling with Reputation at the Humboldt County Planning & Building Department”
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RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Review and modify as necessary the proposed Grand Jury responses from the Board of Supervisors (Attachments 2 and 4); and
2. Approve the documents, as may be modified, as the response; and
3. Direct the Clerk of the Board, within five working days, to submit two copies of all attached responses to the County Clerk/Recorder, together with a copy of the original reports; and
4. Direct the Clerk of the Board within five working days to submit two copies of the attached responses to the Clerk of the Court, one of which will be forward to the State Archivist, together with a copy of the original reports.
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STRATEGIC PLAN:
This action supports the following areas of your Board’s Strategic Plan.
Area of Focus: Core Services/Other
Strategic Plan Category: 9999 - Core Services/Other
DISCUSSION:
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury investigates and reports on the operations, accounts and records of the officers, departments or functions of the County of Humboldt and other local government agencies. The county sincerely thanks the Grand Jury for its hard work and efforts they have put forth in their 2025-26 Grand Jury reports.
In 2025-26, the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury submitted six reports to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, of which three pertained to the County of Humboldt and were received. Two reports that require responses from your Board come before your Board today.
The third report pertaining to the County of Humboldt titled “The Next Wave in Tsunami Warnings in Humboldt” does not require responses from your Board and only required responses from the Humboldt County Sheriff. This report (Attachment 5) and the Sheriff’s responses to the reports that required his responses (Attachment 6) are included only for informational and transparency purposes.
Responses from the Sheriff have already been received by the presiding judge and Grand Jury. Your Board is not required to approve the Sheriff’s responses related to this report, per California Penal Code Section 933.05.
The following reports that require responses from your Board today include:
1. “Emergency Preparedness: The Role of Local Law Enforcement Agencies” (Attachment 1)
The Civil Grand Jury investigated the role of several local law enforcement agencies, including the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, because “they are among the most visible players in local disaster response.” The Grand Jury required the Board of Supervisors to respond only to three findings and one recommendation in this report.
Summary of Findings
The Civil Grand Jury found that Incident Command System (ICS) training is a core component of emergency response but is typically only received by local law enforcement agencies at the police academy, and without refresher training, that knowledge may degrade over time. The Grand Jury also found that scenario-based ICS training is not frequently conducted by all local law enforcement agencies due to staffing and budget constraints, and when it is held, trainings often focus on coordination and planning rather than specific skills local law enforcement officers may need to respond effectively during an actual emergency or natural disaster.
Summary of Recommendations
The Civil Grand Jury has recommended that your Board add scenario-based ICS field response training for deputies as a separate line item in the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office budget for Fiscal Year 2027-28.
Attachment 2 is the proposed Board of Supervisors response to this report.
2. “Friend of Foe? Struggling with Reputation at the Humboldt County Planning & Building Department” (Attachment 3)
In response to public concerns, the 2025-26 Civil Grand Jury investigated the Humboldt County Planning & Building Department. The Grand Jury required the Board of Supervisors to respond to all five findings and all six recommendations in this report.
Summary of Findings
The Civil Grand Jury found that budget constraints have made it difficult for the Planning & Building Department to recruit and retain qualified staff. It was also found that customer complaint records are not being retained, which reduces transparency, accountability and the ability to improve customer service. Additionally, the Civil Grand Jury found the Planning & Building Department does not have formal process for gathering customer input before making significant changes, limiting its ability to use public feedback to improve customer service. Finally, the Grand Jury did not find that the department’s website displays its hours of operation or communicates that appointments are available during non-public hours.
Summary of Recommendations
The Civil Grand Jury has recommended your Board direct the Director of Planning & Building Department to evaluate whether vacant positions could be consolidated or eliminated, with any resulting savings used to improve compensation for hard-to-fill positions, and report back to your Board by Jan. 1, 2027. It is also recommended that your Board reinstate the department’s Customer Feedback System by Dec. 31, 2026, or implement a new complaint management system by March 31, 2027. The Grand Jury also recommends the Planning & Building Department establish a process for gathering community input before making “significant changes” no later than March 31, 2027. Finally, it is recommended that the department's website is updated by Dec.31, 2026 to clearly display public hours and inform customers that appointments are available during non-public hours.
Attachment 4 is the proposed Board of Supervisors response to this report.
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
General Fund (1100)
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact to providing a response outside of the significant amount of staff time it takes to research and prepare the Board’s proposed responses to each Grand Jury report. The Commission on State Mandates issued a decision in 2002 that certain elements involving the Grand Jury imposes a reimbursable state-mandated program (including providing comments to Grand Jury reports, providing training and consultation, meeting with the Grand Jury, providing a meeting room and support for the Grand Jury), however, the Legislature in 2006 suspended reimbursement payments, making these duties unfunded mandates for the county.
Some individual responses may require additional expenditures.
STAFFING IMPACT:
Some individual responses may impact staff with increased workload.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Those referenced in the Grand Jury reports.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board may elect to modify any responses pertaining to matters under its control.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Emergency Preparedness Report
2. Emergency Preparedness Report - Board of Supervisors Response
3. Planning & Building Report
4. Planning & Building Report - Board of Supervisors Response
5. Tsunami Warnings Report
6. Emergency Preparedness and Tsunami Warnings Reports - Sheriff’s Response
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A