County supervisors Tuesday approved changes to compensation for members of the civil grand jury that acts as a watchdog overseeing government entities.
Supervisors approved the changes at their regular meeting Tuesday. The San Benito County civil grand jury was running out of money and had not been meeting as of late. Supervisors responded two weeks ago by setting up an ad hoc committee on the matter, as some officials said they would support allocating additional funds for the rest of the fiscal year while cutting back on compensation to jurors in some areas.
The changes prompted one current grand juror—the group is below its specified allotment of 19 members—to proclaim that the action would dissolve the civil grand jury. There didn’t appear to be any similar sentiment from grand jurors at Tuesday’s meeting.
The civil grand jury investigates and reports on entities using taxpayer dollars and reconvenes on an annual basis. Its members are made up of local residents who volunteer for the job.
At the prior county board meeting, supervisors heard from grand jurors about the need for more funding in order to keep meeting through the fiscal year ending in June. The grand jury was on pace to soon exceed its 2014-15 budget of $19,500 and was asking for $12,800 to get through the rest of the year. Grand jury budgets over the prior four years had gradually increased to $19,500, the amount budgeted this fiscal year ending June 30.
Supervisors approved the additional funding and also an ordinance to change the pay structure for grand jurors. The proposed mileage reimbursement list does not include committee meetings, with those payments to grand jurors helping to cause the budget shortfall this year.
