Title
Chief Administrative Office, on behalf of the Grand Jurors Association, recommending the Board consider revisions to Board of Supervisors Policy B-10 relative to the publication of the annual Grand Jury Final Report and Responses. (Refer 9/14/10, Item 29, File No. 10-0759)(Est. Time: 5 Min.)
FUNDING: General Fund.
Body
Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost: Potentially minor General Fund savings associated with reduced publication costs.
Background: On September 14, 2010 the Board adopted several revisions to the Board of Supervisors Policy Manual (see File ID 10-0759). Policy B-10 requires the Chief Administrative Officer to arrange for the publication of the Grand Jury Report and Responses in the form of a newspaper tabloid. The Chief Administrative Office proposed deletion of Policy B-10 reasoning that newspaper publication was time consuming and unnecessary given the availability of Grand Jury information via the County website. The Board chose to retain Policy B-10 due to the concerns of the Grand Jury and the Grand Jurors Association. In addition, County Counsel determined that Policy B-10 could not be deleted unless a replacement policy was adopted because Section 210(a)(12) of the County Charter requires the Board to adopt "policy and procedures for wide distribution of the Grand Jury Final Report and the Board of Supervisors Response to the Final Report." The Grand Jurors Association indicated that it would work toward an acceptable revision of Policy B-10.
The Grand Jurors Association has worked with the 2010-11 Grand Jury, as well as the 2011-12 Grand Jury on Policy B-10 revisions. If adopted, the new Policy B-10 would:
1) Require that the Grand Jury Report and any associated summaries be featured on the main county website for three months following its release.
2) Require that the Board of Supervisors response to the Grand Jury Report be featured on the main county website for an additional three months following its adoption...
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