I am here to make sure the latest Grand Jury report, Planning and Building Services, Exposing the Cracks, is on everyone’s radar. What is exposed in this report is not surprising to anyone who has had to work with PBS lately. The extent of the report, and the obvious attention to detail, is evidence that this report needs to be taken seriously. We must all work together to make sure that not only the issues outlined in the report are addressed, but that the way PBS conducts business is fixed immediately.

There are several points that illicit the reaction “what is heck is going on?”, but the most fundamental issue is that this department is operating without Policies and Procedures in place. It is Supervision 101, basic fundamental leadership, that when you have multiple staff performing the same or related duties, especially when applying rules, regulations, and laws to customers, that comprehensive P&Ps are mandatory to ensure all staff are interpreting and applying the rules consistently to every customer. Without P&Ps you end up with the chaos as outlined in this report. It is the first and most important responsibility of any competent supervisor/manager to provide complete P&Ps for your staff. Anything less is gross incompetence.

I appreciate that the Grand Jury addressed their Recommendations to you directly. This acknowledges the chain of command and emphasizes that the responsibility ultimately rests with you, the Board of Supervisors, to not only do whatever is needed to fix PBS, but to set expectations of every department head and manager within the county. Everyone is watching to see if you have what it takes to make public safety the number one priority in how the county conducts business.

While these recommendations may feel huge and daunting, any competent manager can see what needs to be done. The immediate first step is quite simple. Public Resource Code 4290, Fire Safe Regulations, has been on the books for 35 years; the Rural Density Dwelling Ordinance has been on the books since 1981, with the current version since 2023. These laws aren’t new. Your first course of action needs to be a clear directive to PBS that they MUST adhere to the letter of these laws effective immediately. No waiver, no discretion, no forgiveness. And you must hold all staff accountable and level severe consequences if they don’t comply. Public safety depends on it.

PGE, under the premise of saving money, knowingly and willingly chose to operate outside the letter of the law when it came to power line maintenance. This decision was the cause of the 2017 Redwood Complex Wildfire. What is happening in PBS is no different than this decision. And the resulting threat to public safety is very real. As someone who barely escaped the terror of this event, losing everything I owned, I demand you, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, take immediate action and give clear direction to PBS to adhere to all state laws and county ordinances, effective immediately.