January 1, 2007

County Report

Top county agenda: public safety and emergency preparedness

By Supervisor Ken Yeager
Special to the Times

Faced with the possibility of federally imposed state prison population caps, I reluctantly joined other members of the board of supervisors to create a planning team to consider the possibility of locating a Secure Re-entry Facility in Santa Clara County for state inmates who are within 12 months of release.

The state is proposing to build and staff re-entry facilities throughout California if local governments locate a site and make a commitment to continue services after inmates are released. These post-release services are valuable and important but would have to be funded by the county. This concerns me because we are already making cuts in alcohol and drug and mental health services for our county residents.

As provided in Assembly Bill 900, the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007, inmates would receive services such as mental health care, substance abuse treatment and vocational training while housed in the re-entry facilities. These kinds of services currently are not available to inmates, who are released with little preparation for re-entering society.

The state legislation authorizing re-entry facilities was passed in response to a lawsuit regarding overcrowding of state prisons, which is now pending before a panel of federal judges. It is possible that the court will place a cap on the total number of state prisoners. A cap would seriously impact our county, because we send about 200 inmates a month to state prisons. If such a cap were imposed, these inmates would not be transferred to the state from our county jails.

The planning team, consisting of 10 members representing all of the public safety and justice departments of the county, will collect information and work with the state and other counties to more fully understand how these facilities will function. The group will also explore the feasibility of expanding local capacity either at Elmwood or Main Jail South at the Civic Center in San Jose.

I believe it is prudent for the county to do the necessary planning, should a federal mandate to restrict the number of state prisoners by sending them to the county early. This should not mean we endorse this shift in the prison population. I worry that the state will not live up to its promises, leaving the costs of the prison program to the county.

Supervisor Blanca Alvarado and I will serve on a steering committee that will look at policy implications of a re-entry facility and the impact on local communities. We plan to make recommendations to the full board next spring.

County beefing up fire protection

During the Dec. 4 board of supervisors meeting, my fellow supervisors supported my request for county staff to draft an ordinance that would allow county fire officials to make sure residents keep “defensible spaces” around their homes to slow fires from sweeping through the open areas of the county.

I was astounded to discover last month that many state fire regulations are considered voluntary in unincorporated areas of the county because our fire officials do not have the resources to enforce them.

According to state laws regarding defensible spaces, homes in areas that have an elevated risk of fires must have 30 feet of landscaped area around them to slow the spread of a firestorm. In addition, homes in very high-risk fire areas must have an addition 70 feet of space clear of dead trees, dry, flammable brush and low-hang branches. A county fire official estimated that less than half of homeowners in these areas are complying with the law.

In addition, the county’s evacuation plans are in need of updates to reflect growing populations, and county government should have a system such as reverse-911 in place to contact residents in the event of an emergency.

I expect county staff to return next year with recommended language on the ordinance, which could include a suggestion that residents vote on benefit tax assessment district. With this district, only residents who use the county’s inspection and fire protection services would be charged for the work.

These preparations need to be done before we are faced with a fire on the scale of the recent one in Southern California so that we are ready when it hits.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. You can call (408) 299-5040 or e-mail Ken.Yeager@bos.sccgov.org.