June 20, 2009 - Request for Administrative Hearing, Tulare County

Request for Administrative Hearing, Tulare County
Regarding: Snow removal, maintenance of roads.



The Responsibilities of County Government
The County of Tulare is responsible for maintaining the property entrusted to it for the benefit of the people. Roads, buildings and other infrastructure are maintained by the County as part of their responsibility to the people, who remain the source of power exercised by government in their names. This is the essential principle of American governance.
The Board of Supervisors for Tulare County asserted the right to limit the responsibility for road maintenance, thus lowering their costs for what is legally deemed to be an essential service and violating their obligation to maintain county property held in trust for the use and benefit of the people of Tulare County.
Despite the acceptance by residents that this service is not the responsibility of the County an examination of the statutes of the State of California indicate that it is the obligation of the County and should be provided at no further cost to tax payers.

Quote from the State of California: “The only statutory obligation is that a County is responsible for maintaining it's property in a manner that does not constitute a "dangerous condition" of public property as defined by Government code Section 830(a), i.e. "a condition of property that creates a substantial (as distinguished from a minor, trivial, or insignificant) risk of injury when such property or adjacent property is used with due care in a manner in which it is reasonably foreseeable that it will be used."

The violation is of long standing. Denying the obligation for maintaining all County roads forced homeowners to provide for snow removal themselves at a cost additional to the taxes paid to provide that service. These monies should be refunded.

When the actions of those entrusted with authority violate the statutes of the State of California the process mandates that they be informed of the violation and how the issue can be resolved. If that fails an Administrative hearing is called.

Reasonably foreseeable

It is entirely foreseeable that roads will be used in all seasons of the year. Homes, businesses, and commerce take take place in these areas in exactly the same way they do in the more central areas of the County.

Roads that remained uncleared have placed families at risk of their lives and denied the possibility of emergency services. Disabled individuals have been put at risk of their lives. Elderly individuals have also been placed at risk.

These conditions have been perpetuated and justified by the County Board of Supervisors by inserting the fallacious assertion they possess the right to determine categories that allow them to deny maintenance to some citizens. In Tulare County this violation of rights has been perpetrated on residents and citizens living over 5,000 feet. The failure to maintain roads is a violation of the power entrusted to the Board of Supervisors and is is arguably grounds for their removal from office if corrective action is not taken immediately.

That County policy has been open to the convenience of individual supervisors is proven by the fact that Supervisor Mike Ennis owns a cabin at an elevation of 7,200 feet. The County of Tulare substantially subsidized snow removal to his front door. The address of that cabin is54738 Chinquapin in Sequoia Crest.

Repairing the damage in the face of economic meltdown

Tulare County and the rest of California and the nation generally, face a stark reality. The prosperity to which Americans became accustomed is gone. As a family whose parent has lost their job come together to ensure that what is essential continues while they recover we in Tulare County must ensure services that are the legal obligation of the County are carried out while the means to continue to provide other, less essential services, are taken up as line items in the County budget to be considered on a case by case basis. These issues provide the opportunity to see these issues clearly.
For many years now the County Board of Supervisors have spent money entrusted to them by taxpayers that did not carry out their essential duties. Those involved in County government have acknowledged that there is much waste that could be cut without impacting services. To 'use up alloted money' new computer systems are routinely ordered and other alloted money spent to create the appearance that more is necessary.
This cannot be tolerated. Unnecessary expenditures, for instance the raise the County Board of Supervisors voted for themselves last autumn, should be rescinded and the money paid to them returned to be used to provide essential services for the people.
(Information on the raise the Board of Supervisors alloted themselves at the time the Federal Bailouts took place)
The County must continue essential services while cutting costs in ways that do not compromise their obligations to serve and protect all the people. Identifying essential services and providing them reliably is a first step in that process. It cannot create categories of service based on criteria unsupported by their obligation to maintain County property and ensure the safety of those using that property. It cannot provide special services for its own employees.
Ensuring Essential Services
There are eight separate communities in the mountains east of Porterville, in the supervisorial district of Mike Ennis. The cost of services forced on residents by the Board of Supervisors provided to these communities are outlined below. The cost for providing the service of snow removal for one year for all areas is

Pierpoint & Camp Nelson 4,426 Foot Elevation – No charge for snow removal

There is no additional cost for snow removal at Camp Nelson or Pierpoint. Each of these communities are directly accessible off highway 190. Therefore there is no additional expense for snow removal through an access road.

Camp Wishon
McIntyre – McCoy

Cedar Slope - 5,797 Foot Elevation

$80.00 a year for a cabin
$40.00 a year for a lot

Cedar Slope is directly on Highway 190 so there is no extra cost in accessing the community from Highway 190.

Alpine Village - 6,500 Foot Elevation

$32.00 a year – Cabin
$10.00 a year – Lot

Alpine Village is approximately 3.1 miles off Highway 190 over Redwood Drive necessitating the clearing of the road to reach the community.

Sequoia Crest – 7,000 – 7,200 Foot Elevation

Cost of snow removal
$42.00 a year – Cabin
$12.00 a year – Lot

Sequoia Crest is accessed via Redwood Drive, as is Alpine Village. It is approximately 3.1 miles beyond Alpine Village.

Ponderosa - 7,200 Foot Elevation

I have not been able to get the figures for the cost of removal but have been told that the County does not remove snow in the community. Ponderosa is directly off Highway 190

Representatives from the eight property owners associations to ascertain what they pay for snow removal. I contacted the Tule River Reservation Board of Directors regarding the maintenance of roads.

These expenses are included, reasonably, as a tax funded expense for residents in these two communities. As we proceed up the Mountain this changes. Here is what residents pay at different elevations and distance from Highway 190.

Naturally, communities at higher elevations experience more snow fall and are thus in need of more snow removal.

Snow not removed from streets and roads constitutes a dangerous condition. While this measure is general in nature another factor that must be considered is the additional obligation of the County to provide services for such specific needs as disabilities of handicaps. The County of Tulare receives Federal funding to provide services to disabled individuals and this is deemed to be an obligation. These are separate factors but each must be considered.

The statute from the State of California does not provide latitude for maintaining County property in a hazardous condition. I construe this to mean that all roads owned by the County must therefore be cleared and doing so is obligatory on their part. If it is an obligation then it is not optional and must be paid for through taxes already paid by residents. Please let me know if you have another view.

The Costs

Pierpoint & Camp Nelson – 4,426 Foot Elevation

There is no additional cost for snow removal at Camp Nelson or Pierpoint. Each of these communities are directly accessible off highway 190. Therefore there is no additional expense for snow removal through an access road.

Cedar Slope – 5,797 Foot Elevation

$80.00 a year for a cabin
$40.00 a year for a lot

Cedar Slope is directly on Highway 190 so there is no extra cost in accessing the community from Highway 190.

Alpine Village - 6,500 Foot Elevation

$32.00 a year – Cabin
$10.00 a year – Lot

Alpine Village is approximately 3.1 miles off Highway 190 over Redwood Drive.

Sequoia Crest – 7,000 – 7,200 Foot Elevation

Cost of snow removal
$42.00 a year – Cabin
$12.00 a year – Lot

Sequoia Crest is accessed via Redwood Drive, as is Alpine Village. It is approximately 3.1 miles beyond Alpine Village.

Ponderosa - 7,200 Foot Elevation

I have not been able to get the figures for the cost of removal but have been told that the County does not remove snow in the community.

Ponderosa is directly off Highway 190

The official who is in charge of ensuring that services are delivered as mandated by statute and in keeping with the needs of residents is Mike Ennis, County Supervisor. Ennis owns a cabin located at:

Michael T & Diane Ennis
54738 Chinquapin in Sequoia Crest

It is my view that the County is obligated to provide snow removal to all communities on the Mountain with roads owned by the County. I invite discussion of this issue as the first in a series of such discussions. Please use Comments to begin this dialog. 

No response received