Why Tulare County supervisors named themselves to the Tulare Cemetery District Board

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6 days ago

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted to temporarily serve as the board of trustees of the Tulare Public Cemetery District.
The decision, which was made at its July 1 meeting, follows years of complaints about the management of the district, accusations of financial irregularities, and the condition of the two district cemeteries.
Israel Sotelo, Jr., chief of staff for the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, outlined the board's options, before the meeting was opened to public comments.
'The health and safety code requires no other options other than the county supervisors to replace all the board members,' said Steve Presant, Tulare Cemetery Board chairman.
'If they take this option, which I hope they do, they'll actually inherit a fantastic group of employees who actually work very hard, and feel that their job is not just cutting grass and digging holes, but there is a ministry to them, to people in the Tulare community,' he added.
Charlie Ramos, cemetery district vice chairman, said that he was also supportive of supervisors taking over the cemetery district.
'It's just something that needs to be done for the simple fact that we just can't get business done,' he explained. 'The rhetoric has gone to a point where the meetings are unable to happen at all.'
Anna Limon also called for the cemetery board to be dismantled, but added, 'I have to disagree with Mr. Presant as far as the employees, specifically the manager, remaining there as an employee.'
She complained about having to pay fees to the cemetery district that she said should not have been district fees.
'They're cheating the public, and they're not being disclosing of the contracts,' she said.
Mary Sepada was critical of Presant as well as of the district manager, and called for an investigation.
'The main thing is start looking at finances,' she said. 'Where is this money going? Where is it being spent? How much of it is being spent? What account to pay? You know, Peter paying Paul, robbing from one account to another to pay the bills.'
Xavier Avila, district trustee, introduced himself as one of two board members still serving on the board.
'And I'm not going to resign,' he said. 'I'm not going to stop from doing my duty.'
He said, however, that he supported the supervisors becoming cemetery trustees.
'I support it because we can't lose insurance,' he said. 'Without insurance, you can't operate the cemetery. And the cemetery is a very vital function. We have to bury people.'
'The problem is a lack of accountability, a lack of transparency, the misuse of public funds, and that's the tip of the iceberg' said Alberto Aguilar, who also agreed that supervisors should temporarily run the district.
'You have to conduct an investigation,' he said. 'And if you want documentation, I'd be more than happy to provide it to you. The records are there for you to look at or to have somebody look at.
'We need to have a board that the public can trust and respect,' he added. 'You cannot trust and respect a manager who deliberately and intentionally falsifies financial records and is not held accountable.'
County supervisors then discussed their options.
'I just think this is really shameful that this is going on,' said Supervisor Amy Shuklian. 'I'd be embarrassed if I was a member of this cemetery district. I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's power, ego, or ignorance, but something's going on.
'I have a really, a big fear of setting a precedent by taking over the cemetery district because we've had districts in trouble before, water districts, cemetery districts, memorial districts, but we haven't had to come in and take them over,' she continued. 'I'm very hesitant to do this, but for the folks and the families who are grieving, or who may have to place a family member in the cemetery in the future, I may decide to go ahead and do this so we can get in there.
'And yes, we will go in there and make sure things are being done correctly,' she added. 'Seat a new board, obviously, maybe a board that doesn't have the power trip or the ego trip or the ignorance, to do this job.'
'It's very important for the community of Tulare, which is the only reason we are even considering this, to have a cemetery so that their loved ones and community members can be buried, and so that they can also have a place to grieve respectfully,' said Board of Supervisors Chair Pete Vander Poel.
'It's unfortunate that we are in this position, however, there are several factors that have led us to this point,' he said. 'I do know that the district has received notification that if a governance change is not made, there will no longer be any insurance for the cemetery, and that will cease operations altogether.'
He added that there was no choice about what actions needed to be taken 'if we want to continue to have an operating cemetery in the community of Tulare.
'If we do take this action, it's our duty as a board to make sure that we don't set this up for failure going forward,' Vander Poel said. 'We are going to seat ourselves as trustees. We're going to conduct public meetings in a way that members of the public can come and provide their input, and can see the way that the county does business.
'I do not want this to be a forever thing where we're going to come in and we're going to be permanently the Tulare Public Cemetery District board members,' he said. 'I want this to be for a period of time to get the policies and procedures implemented, and the proper training given to the right people so that we set this up for success when a new board is seated at some point in the hopefully not-so-distant future.
'I don't like the potential of setting a precedent, but I also do know that when we are elected officials at this level, we have a duty to the public to make sure that when there is a situation like this that we do step in and make sure that something that is a public need is continued,' he added.
'I echo the sentiments of my colleagues and I think people have lost sight of who this impacts,' said Supervisor Eddie Valero. 'It's the grieving families who seek comfort and care during and after burial. I too was a bit hesitant, but I support my colleagues in the decision to make things right moving forward for this special district.'
Supervisor Larry Micari moved to appoint the Tulare County Board of Supervisors as the board of trustees for the Tulare Public Cemetery District.
'However, I'd like to add that I agree with Supervisor Shuklian that we should not be in this business,' he said, before adding conditions to his motion.
'Number one is the cemetery district is to accept all liability past, present, and future – not the county,' Micari said. 'They need to retain their insurance and if there's anything that comes up, this cemetery district is the one that needs to accept the liability.
'The district is to reimburse the county also for all staff and time incurred and costs,' he said. 'Our staff is busy, we're working, we're doing everything we can. We now have additional responsibilities and the district needs to reimburse the county for time and any costs.'
He added that an ad hoc committee be formed to select new cemetery board members and that Vander Poel be on that committee because the cemetery district is in his supervisorial district.
'And that no board member who has served in the last five years on the Tulare Cemetery District is to ever, and I repeat ever, be reappointed again,' Micari said. 'And I want that note put in the file for the cemetery district so 10 years down the road if their name comes up, it'll be on record they're to never be appointed again.'
He added that county counsel is to become the legal counsel for the district.
'I want a 90-day update with some type of plan or update, as to what staff has discovered and find out what the real issues and concerns are so we can have a plan, start moving forward, and get this turned around,' he said.
'And it's my understanding, and I don't have a lot of details, but I was briefed at the last meeting there were people out there harassing (cemetery) staff,' he said. 'I'm not pointing any fingers, however, I want us to take the same stance we would to protect our (county) staff. If anybody out there is a harasser, I want a law enforcement called and I want us to get county counsel on board to get restraining orders against those people to keep them away from harassing staff.
'So, that is my motion,' Micari added.
'I think that's the most complex motion we've ever heard,' Vander Poel commented.
Shuklian offered a very brief second to the motion, which passed unanimously with a 5-0 vote.
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This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tulare County Supervisors become Tulare Cemetery District Board