Sonora, CA — This weekend’s Mother Lode Views will focus on the final two Tuolumne County Grand Jury reports released during the most recent cycle.
They are entitled Governance Practices Impacting Public Trust and Behind the Devastation focused on the Tuolumne County Community Development Department.
Many of the findings and recommendations were directed at District One Supervisor Mike Holland, and he will share his reactions to several of the findings.
The Grand Jury serves as a government watchdog that reviews complaints made against government entities and makes related recommendations. It is a year-long process that culminates with the publishing of various reports (five this cycle). The government entities highlighted (in this situation, the board of supervisors) are then required to approve an official response.
Holland was specifically criticized in relation to things like a project he was doing as a contractor (and the installation of a related fire hydrant), a conflict of interest related to the passage of a mobile home ordinance, the shakeup in the Community Development Department, and the legality of serving as both a county supervisor and a school board member simultaneously.
After the reports are released, as a practice, the Grand Jury does not further elaborate or take additional questions from the media. It is considered a final document. We offered Supervisor Holland a chance to respond to it since he is mentioned numerous times. He contends that the final two Grand Jury reports do not reflect the full story, and he will share his opinions about things that he says were left out during the 30-minute interview.
The Grand Jury’s report on Governance Practices can be found here, and the report specific to the Community Development Department is here.
