Christmas presents for Grover Beach residents? 

April 11, 2016

Mayor John Shoals

OPINION by RONALD ARNOLDSEN

It’s a Royal Flush. Here is what is coming down the pipe. Grover Beach Mayor John Shoals in his capacity as Chair of the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District has voted to place your septic bill on the property tax bill. In December you get a surprise on your property tax bill.

The real poop is that Oceano’s CSD board member has refused to cooperate with the agreed upon billing mechanism. Oceano has refused to bill residents for sanitary services. Oceano has stopped paying into the system and has opted to place the responsibility on the county via the property tax.

Instead of getting feedback from rate payers, or placing the issue on the upcoming ballet, Mayor John Shoals decided to abandon the current procedure of bimonthly billing for sanitary services.

In December, you will see a chunk added to your property tax.

By making concessions to Oceano, Mayor Shoals has made a big decision for the little people known as rate payers.If something stinks at the Sanitary District, it is the decisions being made by our respective board members.

Legal fees of over $800,000? More odiferous decisions for the small people of Grover, Arroyo and Oceano. Don’t wait, ask Mayor Shoals why we litigate.

Ronald Arnoldsen is a longtime Grover Beach resident and former city council member.


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A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link.

Oceano is the weakest link and an anchor to both Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande, be it the Fire dept or the sewer district.

Yet somehow they manage to pay Ogren more than $250k/yr. to manage less than a dozen employees.

Sure makes you wonder what they’re smoking down there…


Shifting a property’s septic fees to a property’s biannual tax bill? Not a bad idea!


#1 – if done properly, this could be an additional tax benefit come tax time

#2 – if it’s only $23 or so, that’s just adding about $70 per installment; not bad, and see #1.


Too bad they couldn’t do that for the folks on the sewer system, too. I mean, I see one cannot put something like water, gas, or electric on a property’s tax bill, as those are consumption-based, but (to my knowledge) there is no meter for sewage use. Usually, it’s just a percentage of water consumed – which I always thought quite unfair (especially considering how much it costs for additional meters for landscaping, etc – stuff that does not go into sewer/septic).


Oceano and most other CSD’s are often in deep doo-doo (pun most definitely intended), so this seem a reasonable step to mitigate costs that the city cannot sustain. I mean, if they cannot cover the cost of collection, what are you going to do? Tax people more? That’s silly.


Assessments are not tax deductible, only the Property Tax portion of the bill! Sorry, hope you don’t get audited!


Residing in Grover is like living on the bottom floor of a two story outhouse.


Isn’t more like the basement, unless of course you are Mayor Shoals


AGREED!!! It’s not what the laws are in Grover Beach, it’s what they will continue to try and get away with–OUR MONEY!!–because the citizens are poorly represented against this unmitigated level of corruption. There will be NO detailed billing so we know what is going on, just incremental rate increases. Remember, folks, they need money in all forms–they can transfer money to the general fund at will, and they do!!!