Tulare supervisors vote to serve as trustees of Tulare Public Cemetery District after public hearing

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously July 1 to appoint the board of supervisors as the trustees of the Tulare Public Cemetery District, following a public hearing on governance concerns and the district's insurance status.

County staff told the board that the supervisors had adopted a resolution of intent on June 10 and that a public hearing was required within 60 days. Israel Sotelo, chief of staff, summarized the legal notice and protest rules: “Any registered voter within the jurisdiction of the district may file written protests … protests must be made in writing and submitted to the Clerk of the Board before or at the time the public hearing is held.” Staff reported that no valid written protests were received, which left the board with the options available under state law.

The hearing drew several speakers with sharply different perspectives. Steve Prezant, who identified himself with the Tulare Cemetery board, said he “support[s] either option A or C,” and urged the board to act. Community member Charlie Ramos urged supervisors to take control, saying the district could not “get business done.” Several other residents — including Gary Cepeda and Alberto Aguilar — urged the board to act and to investigate financial records and management practices.

Opponents of the existing trustees or of continuing current management raised specific operational concerns. Anna Lamone described a disputed pre-need fee and said she was told the district attorney’s office advised the fee was not a district charge. Kingsbury-area trustee Xavier Avila, who remains on the district board, said he favored option A but warned that installing a new board alone would not resolve deeper problems and urged the supervisors to investigate.

Supervisor Dennis Townsend moved to appoint the Board of Supervisors as trustees under Option A, with conditions laid out in his motion: the district must accept liability for past and future obligations (not the county); the district must retain insurance; the district must reimburse the county for staff time and costs incurred during the takeover; the board will form an ad hoc committee to recruit and mentor replacement trustees; and current board members who served within the last five years should not be reappointed. Supervisor Macari seconded the motion. The vote was 5-0 in favor.

After the vote, the board directed county counsel to prepare a resolution consistent with the board’s findings and the motion. Supervisors also asked staff for a 90-day update and a plan to stabilize district operations and to pursue legal remedies if county employees are harassed during district work.

Next steps include drafting the formal resolution and scheduling the required follow-up reporting; the county will staff the district while trustees are the board of supervisors, and the supervisors signaled an intent to recruit new local trustees after operations and procedures are corrected.