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Tuolumne County Will Lose Without CAL FIRE

Tuolumne County’s partnership with CAL FIRE provides far more than firefighters and engines. It brings experienced personnel, command leadership, dispatch technology, training, equipment support and access to a statewide emergency-response system—while limiting many of the employment, workers’ compensation and disability risks the county would otherwise have to manage. Before replacing this decades-old public partnership with a private contractor, residents deserve a complete accounting of what could be lost and what the true long-term cost would be.

Board of Supervisors Agenda Breakdown

Don't have time to read a 265 page agenda packet? We do. Here's a quick guide to the key decisions, presentations, and public hearings before the Board this week.

This week's meeting includes decisions on housing, road and bridge projects, labor agreements, and a public hearing involving eminent domain. We've highlighted the items that could have the biggest impact on Tuolumne County and explained what they mean in plain English.

The Anatomy of a Controversy

The High School Road project started as a proposal to build eight storage buildings in Jamestown. It eventually became one of the most closely examined development projects in recent Tuolumne County history.

In Part 3 of our Civil Grand Jury series, we break down the timeline in plain English. We look at the permitting process, the county’s new conflict of interest policy, Amador County’s involvement, questions surrounding the fire hydrant, and the Grand Jury’s findings.

This article is not about politics. It is about process. It is about understanding how government works, how decisions are made, and why public trust matters.

Behind the Devastation

The Community Development Department touches nearly every resident of Tuolumne County. Whether you’re building a home, opening a business, remodeling a kitchen, or filing a code complaint, chances are you’ll work with CDD. A new Civil Grand Jury report paints a troubling picture of what happened inside the department during 2025, describing staffing losses, declining morale, budget cuts, and a loss of institutional knowledge that continues to affect county government today.

07/07 BOS AGENDA EXLPAINED

After last week’s budget meeting, this Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors agenda is much shorter—but there are still several important issues on the table.

We’ll break down the Groveland fire assessment, proposed changes to the County’s tourism agreement, ambulance fee updates, and more. We’ll also explain how you can use Oral Communications to ask the Board questions about the recent Grand Jury reports.

The Grand Jury Just Told the County It Has a Trust Problem

The Tuolumne County Civil Grand Jury didn’t investigate one bad decision. It investigated how our county government operates. Its findings raise serious questions about ethics, transparency, conflicts of interest, public records, and accountability. Here’s what the report says, why it matters, and what every resident should know.