Civil Grand Jury Finds Funding Shortage Hurting Sheriff's Department

Read this article in Spanish here.

San Benito County Civil Grand Jury The latest annual report found the sheriff's department continues to be understaffed, underpaid and has a “poor” communications infrastructure. Its 2023-24 report, released July 1, included investigations into a 1977 San Benito County Water District tax and a county pension fund.

The Civil Grand Jury is convened annually and is composed of 19 citizens who have taken an oath to serve as grand jurors and investigate the operations of various government departments and agencies.

According to the 34-page report, a lack of competitive salaries is a major reason why the San Benito County Sheriff's Department, which staffs the county jail, has a hiring problem. It's a recurring problem, highlighted in previous civil grand jury reports. The report said “large agencies are stealing” the best candidates. It also found that savings from vacancies are being spent on overtime.

The report also notes that the agency's “insufficient funding” affects its ability to modernize its communications systems, even though it contracts out those services to Santa Cruz County.

The civil grand jury recommends that the San Benito County Board of Supervisors increase the sheriff's department's salaries, improve benefits and visit the jail annually. It also recommends that the county install a secondary fence around the jail after the inmate's recent escape. The inmate was recaptured in San Jose within 48 hours.

The Civil Grand Jury also reviewed citizen complaints regarding corruption, nepotism, violations of closed session confidentiality, defamation, misinformation and inappropriate use of social media in local government.

“The jury's investigative process revealed that the challenges facing our community are tainted by dysfunction and take a back seat to the inappropriate behavior of those elected and/or appointed to leadership positions,” the report said.

The report includes two investigations into citizen complaints, including concerns about a 1977 San Benito County Water District tax measure that a resident believed had expired. The civil grand jury found that the ballot measure's text did not include an expiration date.

“In fact, the referendum measure specifically authorizes the property tax for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the system,” the report states.

The Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Auditor's Office add text to the tax item to clarify that there is no end date.

The second complaint concerned the transfer of funds and oversight of the County's Other Post-Employment Benefits Fund. However, the civil grand jury found that the fund was adequately funded to meet benefit obligations and was “properly placed under the control of the County Auditor-Controller.”

Public bodies included in the report are required to submit a response to the findings and recommendations within 90 days of submission of the final report.

BenitoLink will follow up the Civil Grand Jury report with a more detailed article on each of the agencies that were investigated, along with commentary from those agencies.

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