City Administrator Dale Neiman prepared responses for the city, with McClain providing the comments specifically about his department.
Among proposals in the 2009-10 report, released this summer, the grand jury wanted the city to charge its public access – or PEG – station fair market value for office space and also sought to have the station audited each year.
Neiman said the city owns the station, so it doesn't make sense to charge it rent, and added that the station already is audited annually as part of the city's auditing process.
The grand jury wanted the city to provide liability automobile insurance for its volunteers, which Neiman said isn't financially possible. He has, however, put together an agreement to bring to the council at a future meeting regarding covering workers' compensation for volunteers when they are inside city hall.
Other suggestions included hiring an attorney just for the station – Neiman said the city's law firm, Best, Best and Krieger, already provides legal services for the station – and urging the city to use redevelopment funds to fix its streets.
Neiman said the city has upgraded 11 miles of arterial and collector streets over the last three years through $4.9 million in grants, but can't afford to fix all residential streets, many of which are estimated to return to dirt if something isn't done to repair them.
Vice Mayor Joyce Overton, who sits on one of the governing boards for the PEG station, said PEG also had responded to the report, adding that some of the grand jurors don't know how government works based on their proposals.
Overton then asked McClain about his responses to the grand jury, noting that his responses seemed fairly terse.
That's because they were, he said.
McClain went on to outline his responses to statements made by the grand jury.
Grand jury recommendations included the department complying with subpoenas issued by the Lake County Superior Court, cooperating with the grand jury as required under law, being more aware of the physical limitations of an aging population, becoming “more cognizant of effective communication, especially in dealing with the elderly population,” using in-house training to increase community policing, creating Web pages and having the department's leadership “develop more proactive responsibility for the morale of its officers and clerical staff.”
McClain's responses in almost all cases – except those relating to creating Web pages – was to disagree with the findings, either because they were inaccurate or the department already was doing them.
Regarding the assertion that the Clearlake Police Department doesn't comply with subpoenas issued by the Lake County Superior Court, McClain said, “That's just a lie.”
He added, “If I sound a little ticked it's because I am.”
The grand jury report noted that, in investigating a woman's claim that she had been forced to the ground and restrained without warning when police came to arrest a member of her family, it subpoenaed a Clearlake Police officer, who did not appear.
McClain's response said the matter was an individual not an organizational one. The officer in question no longer works for the agency.
From the woman's complaint the grand jury made the recommendations about the department complying with subpoenas, cooperating with the grand jury and being more aware of seniors' physical limitations.
McClain said he's been around grand juries for 30 years and never had any issues with them, but he said members of last year's grand jury came in under false pretenses, harassed members of his department and wrote things that are “blatantly false.”
He said the grand jury also attempted to ask about a case that was going through the court system, which he said county counsel told them they had no business doing.
Regarding the report's statements about seniors, McClain said the department has 50 senior volunteers. The real matter behind the recommendation involved a woman who police arrested because she was interfering with the arrest of her son in a domestic violence issue, according to McClain's written report. Both the woman and her son entered guilty pleas.
The grand jury also had covered a complaint by a senior who alleged that his home was burglarized and a significant amount of property – including coins, antique toys and art glass – was recovered during an arrest but not released back to him, which McClain said also wasn't accurate.
“I can go on and on with this stuff,” he said.
McClain said he had toned down the responses, noting he'd been more irritated originally.
The grand jury's comments about morale and what they felt the chief's involvement should be also struck a nerve with McClain.
“I've talked to the guys, they don't want me riding around with them,” he said.
What officers do want, McClain continued, is someone to tell them they're appreciated when they're out on the streets.
In the last three years the department has seen a 33-percent reduction in sworn officers alone, McClain said.
“These guys are busting their butts every day, trying to keep our heads above water,” he said.
“People don't want to talk about the good we're doing, they want to talk about how things are just terrible,” which McClain said is why morale is bad.
The department has issues and tries to address them, said McClain, adding that they're human beings who make mistakes.
“I'm proud of these guys, I support them 100 percent,” he said.
He said people owe the city's officers a debt of thanks. “I can tell you, folks, when you lose nine officers out of 27, that is a huge, huge hit.”
Besides those losses, the department has taken on additional duties with animal control and code enforcement, McClain explained.
He apologized to the council for getting on a soap box, but said he felt his officers needed to hear that they are appreciated.
Mayor Judy Thein also criticized the grand jury's conclusion that the council hasn't taken leadership and should reduce the pay of its members.
She pointed out that the council voluntarily took a reduction in reimbursement for expenses, and when they travel to events they are paying for things out of their own pockets.
“Yes, we are demonstrating leadership,” she said.
There was no public comment on the report response, and the council voted 5-0 to approve it.
In other council business, council members voted to approve draft guidelines for a homebuyer program and a plan to meet the state's recycling requirements. Council members discussed replacing Redbud Park's pier, but decided to bring the latter back for further discussion.
The council also scheduled a budget workshop on Oct. 12.
There was no reportable action from a closed session held before the main meeting started regarding the Sierra Club Lake Group's lawsuit against the city and the developer, KK Raphel Properties LLC, over the city's proposed shopping center development at the Pearce Field airport property.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
