Citizen Complaints
About Citizen Complaints
The primary function of the Alpine County Civil Grand Jury is to provide unbiased oversight and to investigate complaints from citizens about the operations of county and city government, school districts and special districts, as required by law. The grand jury assures citizens that government is operating efficiently and in an ethical, honest manner. The grand jury investigates policies and procedures and makes recommendations to improve local governmental operations.
Investigations
The civil grand jury conducts three types of investigations.
- Mandatory investigations—those that the California Penal Code requires the grand jury to undertake.
- Discretionary investigations—those over which the legislature has given the grand jury jurisdiction, but has stated it is not required.
- Citizen complaints — those complaints within the jurisdiction of the grand jury received from a citizen. The statutes preclude the grand jury from considering complaints on matters currently before the court, matters that are the subject of litigation, matters involving agencies located outside the county, matters involving privately-held companies, and matters involving the fiscal and administrative operations of the Superior Court.
Acceptance
Anyone may ask the grand jury to conduct an investigation of an issue within its jurisdiction. Whether or not the jury chooses to investigate such a complaint is entirely within its discretion and may be affected by workload, resource limitations, legal restrictions, or if a previous grand jury has already reviewed the topic of the complaint. If a matter does not fall within the Civil Grand Jury’s investigative authority, or the jury determined not to investigate a complaint any further, no action will be taken, and there will be no further contact with you from the Civil Grand Jury.
Final Reports
The findings and recommendations of those complaints and issues the jury chooses to study are published in a final report. Reports are distributed to public officials and to the community, at large, through the media, public libraries, and the Internet. Statutes require the entities reported on to respond.
Confidentiality
In all its proceedings and investigations, the grand jury is sworn to maintain complete secrecy. The members of the grand jury apply the same objective standard of conduct and responsibility to all persons and entities, and are not influenced by sentiment, conjecture, sympathy, public feelings, passion, or prejudice.
Term of Service
The grand jury’s term of service begins July 1 and ends June 30 of the following year.
Process
The grand jury will acknowledge receipt of your complaint. Please mail the Citizen Complaint Form to:
Alpine County Grand Jury
P.O. Box 518
Markleeville, CA 96120