Shortfalls in Clovis Cemetery District: Report finds district in violation of state laws

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- "Is Something Missing in the Clovis Cemetery District?" That's the question posed to the Fresno County Grand Jury, which now says the answer is yes.

The Clovis Cemetery District is a special district and is responsible for five cemeteries in the eastern part of Fresno County.

Because of its status, the district is required to follow rules and regulations set by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo).

Of the violations found by the Grand Jury, the most upsetting to families were lapses in the maintenance of the grounds and the lack of a website.

Clinton Kneeland lost his wife of 54 years, Judith, in 2021 to Covid. Her death was devastating to the family.

"When there would be hard times, she would be the encouragement that would keep me going," said Kneeland. "She was just a very loving mother and grandmother and great-grandmother. Everybody loved her and loved being around her."

The process to get her buried at Clovis Cemetery added more stress after the sudden loss.

"There was no way to reach them through the web, there was no way to know all you had to do is leave a message," said Kneeland. "Sometimes, I'm not sure you know if it was heard or not, because it was not responded to."

Kneeland said at the time of his wife's death, he asked about pre-paying fees for his own burial, but never heard back.

The Grand Jury reported the district is currently working on a website, which Kneeland hopes smooths communication in the future.

The district is funded in part by property taxes and by gravesite purchases and burial fees.

The report found the district does not have a formal budget and has not been through an audit since 2019, while they're required to conduct yearly audits by state law.

"It's important, of course, for special districts to follow a lot of these rules, transparency, access for the public, all of that is important with audited financial statements," said Nathan Magsig, Fresno County Supervisor. "It gives an opportunity for an outside entity to take a look at the operations of any organization and provide recommendations."

According to the report, one of the reasons the district hadn't been audited in nearly five years was because their former accounting firm was disqualified from practicing.

The district is governed by a board of trustees appointed by the County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Nathan Magsig says changing leadership could have led to discrepancies.

The report did state the district was aware of most of the issues and was working on improvements prior to the investigation. That includes having a qualified accounting firm prepare financial records from 2018 through 2023.

Representatives for the District said they were not ready to make a statement on the report as they still need to review it. They have 90 days to respond to the Grand Jury.

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