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Oceano board members quit

March 29, 2011

Jim Hill

Two members of the Oceano Community Services District board have resigned, citing disagreements with district manager Raffaele Montemurro over his accounting practices and failure to follow the board’s direction.

Board members Jim Hill and Carole Henson tendered their resignations on Monday.

In board president Hill’s resignation, he cites 18 examples where Montemurro has failed to follow board instruction. Both Hill and Henson voiced frustration at Montemurro’s refusal to have the district’s financial audit performed by two outside firms as instructed by the board.

“What happened to the $12 million that he can’t find?” Henson asked. “He lies to everybody. He runs the show and won’t do as directed.”

In early January, the board instructed Montemurro to have a draft audit available to the board by March 23—a task Hill said the district’s manager refused to complete.

“Montemurro hasn’t taken anything to the auditor,” Hill said. “He says we are almost there. We have been almost there for nine months of excuses and lies.”

In addition, Hill suspects Montemurro has been comingling property tax funds and sewer and water fees because of materials he has provided the board which refer to pooled funds.

Henson contends board members are left in the dark because Montemurro has refused to allow them to examine the books.

“He says the crooks are gone. Trust me,” Henson said. “The general manager is supposed to work for the board of directors.”

The three remaining board members, Lori Angello, Matthew Guerrero, and Mary Lucey, have 60 days to appoint two new board members or hold a special election.


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I’ll repeat what I wrote earlier, to make it clear what I am and am NOT alleging:


“Because the Board, with Angello on it, has dragged its feet regarding a proper investigation, we don’t know who the guilty parties are.”


Notice the “don’t know” part.


So, please, let’s get on with a full and proper investigation by an outside agency and clear the air.


And my apologies to the Angellos for anything I wrote that has been misinterpreted.


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Oceano really needs to get involved and pay attention to who gets on their CSD board.


There are some really foul individuals who are posting slander and aspersions without any evidence or backup. I can attest that these persons have an agenda that citizens may or may not agree with.


At the minimum, citizens should be concerned that such disgusting personal mud-slinging is going on with the goal of disparaging their CSD board. Does Oceano want these sorts of persons to get control of their CSD? Oceano deserves better for their district than such personalized crudeness.


If Oceano does care (and past evidence indicates citizens may not) then they should demand proof of these horrendous aspersions that, at best, have little connecting facts behind them.


If Oceano does not care, then expect nothing to get better.


The politics of the board will always be debatable, but I hope that Oceano wants to engage in district issues, not slander of those who have volunteered their time in their community. I even credit those past board members I disagree with for volunteering and putting their names in public.


I challenge “wiseguy” and the other anonymous nags posting here to do the same: put yourself out there if you have a credible opinion. Post your irrefutable evidence instead of innuendo. If you claim fact, then back it with links and documents.


Realistically, no one really reads all these negative comments save a few interested parties. I hope those few persons are able to recognize conspiracy and denigration from actual known facts.


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It is really apparent that wiseguy and catnip are just miserable people that think that posting lies and slander about others will make them appear to be better. It is really sad that there are people out there that will stoop to this level. I feel sorry for you. The Angello’s will continue to run their business and be successful while they contribute to the betterment of Oceano as they have always done and when you go away no one will ever know you were here.


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Actually, it goes beyond that. By posting anonymous slander they don’t have to take responsibility or put their true reputation on the line. They know a certain segment will tend to have doubts and their slander will affect the reputation of their victims. It’s really despicable.


If someone wants to argue politics, fine. If someone has some real truth, then put your name behind it and stand with your own words. Or, alternatively, post or disclose some real evidence.


Notice, that their aspersions have never even once appeared in a news story? Because no news source (or even a personal blog with a responsible name attached to it) would print such a thing. It’s just garbage unless you can back it up with evidence or your name. This is exactly the American standard used in court–your accuser must face you and make his or her allegations. Anonymous posters are simply holding a kangaroo court. I hope Oceano doesn’t get caught up in it.


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Kev, my buddy, my pal, you should be glad you don’t know my “true identity.” If you did, you might sh*t your pants.


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Doubtful. Makes no difference except the credibility of your posts.


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The Angello’s just need to go, period!


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So SloRider, Kevin Rice, you don’t have any ties with Dave and Lori Angello? These people aren’t your friends? What about Montemurro? What about Jim Hill?


If you don’t admit this you are a liar!


What were your motivations when coming to the OCSD meetings besides supporting Lori Angello appointment, even after knowing it wasn’t legal? You don’t live in Oceano. Don’t you and the Angello’s do business? Don’t you support the same cause?


You have no credibility, and it’s because you aren’t intellectually honest.


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Dear Catnip,


Let’s analyze:


You question my credibility as an anonymous voice? What are your ties? What are your motivations? What are your causes?


I’m not doing business with anyone above. You’re really just a rumor conspirator.


The fact is: you have no credibility.


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Interesting that I earlier mentioned the possibility of documents having been shredded and now you demand that I show you “documents” to prove criminal wrong-doing.


Unfortunately one of the problems is a continual LACK of proper documentation in matters pertaining to money and the OCSD.


If there WAS easily obtainable and verifiable documents, then maybe this problem would have been resolved by now.


But the question remains: WHERE DID THE FREAKIN’ MONEY GO? (AND the documentation!)


HELP! S.O.S.! Is there any independent agency (or Super hero, or Super Sleuth) who can conduct a proper investigation into this obvious governmental mess? HELP. Please HELP!


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“But the question remains: WHERE DID THE FREAKIN’ MONEY GO? (AND the documentation!)”


No the big question is (once again) WHAT FREAKIN MONEY? I honestly don’t know what money you’re talking about. I truly would like to know about what you’re talking about. You’ve said it over and over but you won’t give me a clue as to what money is missing. I keep hearing about missing money but you won’t elaborate. You’re going to need more than that to have a ‘proper investigation’.


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“There are some really foul individuals who are posting slander and aspersions without any evidence or backup. I can attest that these persons have an agenda that citizens may or may not agree with.”

Now that’s the pot calling the kettle black! You should practice what you preach, Kevin


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It may have been that Lori Angello wanted to get on the board long enough to have access to the OCSD shredder and documents that were around for the many years her husband was on the board and had his hands in everything.


Where is the investigation? HELP! S.O.S!!!


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I can name a few things Dave Angello had his hands in, instrumental in bringing the Sheriff station back to Oceano, building the Senior Center, Boys and Girls Club, restoration of the Oceano Depot, just to name a few of the positive things the Angello’s have done for Oceano. So Wiseguy, please try to control your pathetic little jealousy and maybe go out and do something positive for a change.


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Because the Board, with Angello on it, has dragged its feet regarding a proper investigation, we don’t know who the guilty parties are.


But one thing I do know is that volunteer or charitable efforts don’t absolve anyone from responsibility for crimes.


The mafia and other organized crime groups make a point of contributing to charities and such in communities. It’s simply a matter of public relations. Kelly Gearhart in the north county also had people defending him based on HIS contributions to charity. He was even “Citizen of the Year.”


So, bottom line is that even “Citizens of the year” rip people off.


So, I’ll ask again: WHERE DID ALL THE FREAKIN’ MONEY GO?


(And, isn’t it interesting that the Angellos played a major part in recruiting the current OCSD general manager who had NO experience whatsoever in running a community service district. He seems to be a bit of a mystery. Again, something doesn’t smell right and the board has seemingly done little or nothing to clear the air.)


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Yes, I do recall Mr. Angello having a hand with the Boys and Girls Club of Oceano, the very same club that HIRED A CONVICTED CHILD MOLESTER as its director, who proceeded to molest children in Oceano, after having done similar things in another state. Ooops!


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Oh come on, you’re getting carried away WiseGuy. I’m no fan of the Angellos but I’m no fan of anyone on that board and I also don’t care for Monte. But you are making the Angellos out to be worse than Hitler. You’ve mentioned convicted child molesters and the mafia as if Angello had something to with purposefully hiring and conspiring to hurt children. You are blaming Angelo for everything wrong with the board, stealing money, beach issues, the fire dept. and all of the problems with the town of Oceano. You give them more power than they have. I’m no fan of thier politics but they aren’t that bad. Simply because they advocate for the OHV doesn’t make them horrible people. Personally, I don’t feel that they are all there but you hurt any credibility that you might have had on this topic when you blame them for everything other than the crucifiction of Jesus and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was on another post of yours. Come on,,,give us a break. Too much hatred is bad for the soul. I’m sure that the Angellos love their children, work hard and do the best they can with what they have. Although IMO they aren’t that swift thinking regarding politics they’re not evil.


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Ms. Typo, Wiseguy didn’t bring up the Boys and Girls Club out of the blue. It was “Cry-Me-A-River” who listed the Boys & Girls Club as one of the (apparently) positive things the Angelos accomplished. Wiseguy just pointed out a negative thing associated with the B&C Club.


There are also other issues about the Angelos raised by WiseGuy. Do you agree with his opinions? Did the Angelos try to stall an investigation?


Whether or not the Angelos love their children or not is really irrelevant to what WiseGuy posted. No one said they were evil. I didn’t read Wiseguy blaming them for “everything wrong with the board, stealing money, beach issues, the fire dept. and all of the problems with the town of Oceano,” as you claim he is.


That kind of claim against what another person posted (or argued) is called a “straw man argument.”


Wikipedia’s definition for a straw man argument is as follows:


“A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent’s position.[1] To “attack a straw man” is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by substituting it with a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition (the “straw man”), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.”


The reason I bring this up is that I believe local politics is a very important avenue to impact the life we live, because it is at the local political level our input may actually have a positive impact. Often, attempting to deal with issues on a national level (i.e., via directing communication to Congress and the President) is a largely wasted effort.


The issues raised by Wiseguy are important, and addressing them by ad hominem statements and straw man arguments, as well as with platitudes (“too much hatred is bad for the soul) has little impact on the issues at hand.


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The minute that child molestation is brought up it strikes a nerve with everyone. Now when readers hear about the B&Gs Club they will relate it to the child thing (I don’t even want to type out the words again) and the Angellos, it’s horrible. It’s like when Beck compares the president to a Nazi, he didn’t call him one but there is no need to bring it into the discussion, it is just to add an undertone message. There were all kinds of attacks ie fraud. I asked what WG and CN were talking about. If there is fraud then I would like to know, not gossip but truth. If there is fraud then I will be the first one to turn on the Angellos but there has been nothing that I’ve seen that indicates such a thing. How do we know that Angelo knew Monte before he came on board as GM? And even if they did, they might have known that he is incompetent. I’ve hired people that I knew that I later regretted with no malice intended.


I can say that you are a ‘hoe’ or that someone else might be a terrorist. Anyone can throw out such things but without some type of evidence it means nothing but a senseless attack. I must say that when I saw the molester thing it turned me against anything that WiseGuy might have to say. If you are going to talk about ad hominems and straw men then you are describing WiseGuy and Catnip.


You asked if I agree that the Angellos tried to stall an investigation. I don’t know. I have watched every meeting and I haven’t seen any evidence of that. As far as money,,,what missing money? Monte tried to suggest when he first came on as GM that funds were missing but that’s been debunked. What missing money are you guys talking about? As I said I watch these meetings and I haven’t seen anything legit about missing money. If there is missing money how do you know that Angello had anything to do with it? If you are privy to inside info then let us in on it, if not then stop accusing people of things that you don’t know about. I bring up their children because I put myself in their shoes. If someone was writing things about someone in my family then it make me feel horrible for my children. These are strong accusations. It sounds as if you guys are blaming the Angellos for everything wrong in Oceano and I just don’t buy that. As I said, I’m not fan of any of them on that board. With facts I could be swayed to turn on any of them but I certainly wouldn’t go about in by slandering them.


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All I’m implying is there was a stupendous, even horrifying lack of judgment by whoever had a hand in hiring that Boys and Girls Club Director, the complete story of which has never been made public as it would embarrass too many “prominent” people.


But one thing is a clear fact: The director was arrested and convicted and this was NOT some drummed up case, as there were numerous victims in Oceano and elsewhere. And wouldn’t you know, The Tribune ignored the story!


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It’s been my observation that the Angellos care very much about Oceano. Although Ms Angello would not have been my choice when vying for her position at the time of the appt., she appears to want to get the people’s business done. Her husband had offered reasonable comments from the audience, and his historical knowledge was valuable. I miss his appearances and contributions….


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You’re right WiseGuy. I wonder about these negative votes you have received on this subject. I think it is very likely someone controlling this board wants to change perceptions of reality. By the way, how is the Karen Velie defense fund going. It seems to me the OHV’s and Kevin P. Rice has been given a lot of play on this site. Could a large donation to the defense fund come from this group? (Hill was a member of this group also) Maybe Velie needs to disclose her donors to this fund, and what they expect in return?


Here are a few things Angello is responsible for:

1.) Using nepotism and getting his son a job on the OCSD fire dept

2.) Using politics to fire certain key firefighters in order to advance his son to Captain

3.) Refusing to recuse himself on any matter relating to the OCSD fire dept

4.) Takken-Angello development fraud which has cost ratepayers over $200,000

5.) Oceano Community Center – 6 million spent on a two million dollar building. Didn’t stay open a year.

6.) Angello – King scheme to sell Oceano water to pismo beach high end subdivision

7.) Lori Angello illegal appointment, faciliated by Hill

8.) Use of OCSD fire equipment to pull vehicles from Dunes and creek

9.) No disclosure of his off roading business contract with the state in which he receives over $500,000 a year

10.) His longterm relationship with GM Montemurro prior to the GM being hired.


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Thank you Catnip. Those facts deserve to be made public.


The OCSD is a mess, criminal investigations are LONG overdue, and STILL, little or nothing significant is being done about it.


THIS IS A TRAVESTY and if it isn’t taken care of EVERY taxpayer in SLO County will feel its effects.


HELP! S.O.S.! Oceano needs help! EMERGENCY! Please!


Oceano needs help from the outside. HELP HELP!


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Regarding #4. What fraud are you talking about? If there is fraud then I would like to know.

#5, I don’t believe that the Angellos had the power all by themselves to build that Community Center. I’m sure that other people had a say in it.

#6 Angello wasn’t the only one that wanted to sell that water. It was Monte’s idea, she went along with him and a few other board members.

#7 Angello didn’t appoint herself.

#9 Who are the Angellos supposed to disclose their OHV business to. It’s pretty common knowledge when you see the big ATV sign that says ‘Angellos’ that their business depends on OHV. Who were they hiding from?

#10 What was his long term relationship with Monte?


Some of these are real questions but others are just in response to your accusations. I really am curious to know if you really do know something about Monte’s relationship with the Angellos and if there is fraud and if there is some issue with disclosure of his OHV business. The problem is that like WiseGuy, when you go on and on about how evil they are it makes it hard to believe most of what you say. I don’t agree with 99% of what comes out of the Angellos mouths but I don’t believe that they are evil or even that they are bad people,,,perhaps misguided but not evil. Now Monte on the hand,,,,,


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Typoqueen, I’m not going to try to convince you. Your mind has already been made up, although you try to disguise this as best you can. I’ll cite one example however.


“#9 Who are the Angellos supposed to disclose their OHV business to. It’s pretty common knowledge when you see the big ATV sign that says ‘Angellos’ that their business depends on OHV. Who were they hiding from?”


When you become an elected official you are required to fill out a form 700 with the FPPC which lists your properties, businesses, ect. In other words, the things that could cause a conflict of interest, which could result in a disqualification to vote on certain issues.


Call Monte up and ask him to send you Lori Angello’s form 700. She doesn’t list 95% of the property she owns, nor does she reference their concessionaire license with the State parks which nets them over 500K a year.


Yet she has voted on numerous issues that would have resulted in a conflict if these facts were known.


I don’t see any honesty in her dealings with the ratepayers, and this was the same as when Dave was on the board.


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Sorry to say it, but something never smelled right about the Lori Angello appointment. It was a set-up deal, a sham, but sort of moot now because the situation has gotten so bad at the OCSD you can’t give a board seat away there.


Something sure as heck needs investigating there, that’s for sure. That this has gone on for so long, with so much money “missing” and no one held accountable, is astounding and disturbing and shows what depths this county has sunk to as far as government accountability. Where was Katcho? Where is “Tex”? Where is the D.A.?


WHERE IS ALL THE FREAKIN’ MONEY THAT IS MISSING?


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If you would like to know a little more of the story, then check out http://www.governorjerrybrown.net and view the videos of past OCSD meetings! Notic below who the new OCSD Attorney is!!!!!!!!!


Governor Jerry Brown, RE: Statute of Limitations and Prejudicial Error in regards to evidence withheld from discovery by the County of San Luis Obispo Molly Thurmond, Esq. (SBN 104973)Exhibit #579 (Appendix 15) Prejudicial Error or Not? Photo/Statement Documents withheld by County Of San Luis Obispo And Railroad at trial as allowed by Judge Tangeman, as Judge Tangeman Stated “All Right” County of San Luis Obispo Causation in permits and drainage requirements on private property. OCSD and Caltrans correcting 2002 drainage complaint problems in 2002/2003 as stated in exhibit #579 Complaint, Caltrans-McKinley Testomony P. 645 and (RA exhibit #1768) changing the Statute of Limitations! Date of Stabilization!


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I’ve been telling my friends that the attorney doesn’t strike me as very professional. One little thing that bugs me and it’s very little but it seems odd is that she doesn’t use a laptop. At most meetings, city, county etc. the attorneys use a laptop to refer to. For example it’s not unusual for attorneys at these meetings to refer to case law. They have all types of legal answers at the push of key. But she dosn’t. I noticed that the Pismo attorney now uses an iPad instead of his usual laptop. She just kinda sits there and does nothing, dosn’t even take notes. From day one I found her to be a bit different than most.


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Some members on the Board were very hasty in signing a 5 year contract with Montemurro, along with a raise. What prompted them to do that before he could be evaluated on performance? How expensive would it be to fire him?


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I feel sorry for the residents of Oceano. This manager and some members of the board are arrogant, rude and appear to suffer from paranoia. The GM and several directors managed to run Dahl and Dean off, after the resignation of another. The appointment of Angello was deemed illegal, but, hey, who cared? Hill and Lucey were two that voted on a new computer system, selected by Montemurro, with no competing bids. Lucey disrupts meetings with accusations and is extremely rude. Montemurro’s latest mistake was releasing emails that should have remained confidential. What will the repercussions of that be? The shining star is the newest member, Mr. Guerrero. Can he possibly endure this fiasco?


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You are so right about Guerrero. He seems to be the only form of sanity that I’ve seen on that board (at least I believe he is). The only thing that makes me wonder about him is that he can tolerate the others. Dahl and Dean were okay, they were better than what they have now (other than Guerrero). But even they had their issues.


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What emails were released? Almost everything is a public record and SHOULD NOT be confidential. What was “confidential” about them?


Dahl left for a higher paying job on the school board. Angello is no longer “appointed” as she entered the last election contest and was unopposed. She was elected by default in November.


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The emails that were released by Montemurro to the directors were confidential regarding Simas, according to the dialogue at the last meeting. Mr. Guerrero questioned the release and the Board’s attorney agreed that they should not have been, but that “it is what it is.” Henson commented that in this case, the opposition now knows the game plan. Please listen to the tape or watch the meeting for a more accurate account.

It’s my guess that Mr. Dahl was also tired of the treatment he received while serving on this board.

I realize that Ms Angello is now legally elected, but the court decided that her appt. was not legal. I believe Ms Dean is attempting reimbursement for attorney’s fees. Right?


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Interesting about the emails. I don’t understand what would be inappropriate to share with the governing board, though.


Yes, Dean is seeking reimbursement. I find the whole circumstance odd as Dean was the director officiating the appointment. She held the gavel and presided over the appointment. It’s bizarre that she in effect proved her action was illegal and is now seeking damages from the CSD taxpayers for her own action. Legally, it’s not quite that simple, but the net outcome is nothing more than that. Who knows, an election would probably have cost more than the legal bill anyway.


It’s not worth attacking Dean over at this point except that I can’t see what she accomplished other than proving her legal argument was correct. The CSD doesn’t seem to be able to avoid these kinds of money wasting debacles and get down to business.


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I don’t know the email answer, but it seemed to be clear that a mistake was made.

I remember that Ms Dean was officiating the meeting you referenced and acted on the advice of the then Board attorney. However it seemed that she became aware after the fact that an error was made, and the attorney confirmed that and offered corrected advice, which was ignored. Ms Dean seemed to want to repair the damage that had been done and correct the error with her suit, particularly since she officiated. I think it was important to establish the correction in order to avoid the same error in the future. It’s my understanding that in the appointment of 2 new Board members that all 3 remaining directors must agree. I can see that happening since Ms Lucey and Ms Angello seem to be likeminded and Mr. Guerrero is professional and amiable. So, now the right people need to apply for the position.


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Yup. With the exception that I wouldn’t quite qualify the later opinion as ‘ignored’–and I emphasize ‘opinion’ since it was not tested in court yet. Good attorneys on both sides disagreed and much testimony was eventually offered to Judge Crandall.


At the point Ms. Dean had a change of heart the appointment was already under the bridge. It is not possible for the board to unappoint. An appointment has the same legal effect as an election–it is permanent unless the People undo it. Hence, Dean asked Angello to step down voluntarily. Angello refused. I don’t find any fault there as it was two differing opinions at that stage.


In the end, the Court sided with Dean, however refused to remove Angello. One month later Angello won the same seat unopposed in the election.


I respect that the issue was decided by the Court, but I’m not sure the acrimony and potential cost to district taxpayers accomplished anything. Also, one could theorize that the case could have been appealed to a higher court. Nothing is truly proved until the Supreme Court speaks. Thus the value of a ruling on the case seems limited to me. Life goes on…


Yes, I think the remaining three will be able to agree on someone (hopefully).


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@Disgusted, you’ve got it right, that’s pretty much what I heard regarding the emails.


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Keep in mind that “SLOrider” does NOT live in Oceano, and therefore has nothing to lose financially from all the shenanigans that have gone on at the OCSD. He defends Angello because the Angellos are part of the OHV industry and support SloRider’s OHV advocacy. The Angellos seem to be using SLOrider, though I don’t think he realizes it. On the other hand, I can see plenty of reasons for the Angellos to not want to be closely linked to SloRider.


The fact is there is reason to suspect that hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money has been ripped off through the OCSD during years that one of the Angellos was on the board.


Who might actually be guilty of a crime remains to be investigated so that all innocent parties are fully exonerated and the guilty are held accountable.


Is that too much to ask?


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Why do you have to be such a jackanape? You’re simply making accusations based on hate.


I’m 100% in favor of the most detailed investigation possible. Your accusations are simply slander with no basis. The Angellos have lived in Oceano for longer than you have been alive. They have nothing but desire for the best for Oceano. Have you served in any capacity for your community?


I can tell you who I think stole a ton of money, but I won’t write my opinion publicly.


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SLOrider, you’re nothing but a carpetbagger. You don’t live in Oceano, and yet you want to manipulate the board to do things that favor your personal interests.


You have plenty of selfish reasons to want to defend the Angellos. And you have nothing to lose if the OCSD is in shambles and money is missing.


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Now you’re blaming SLORider for Oceano’s issues. Sheesh! I don’t live in Oceano but I also get into the politics of Oceano. Why shouldn’t SLORider get involved in Oceano’s politics if he’s an OHV advocate? If I were and OHV enthusist I would also become active in doing what I could to save it and to keep the beach open to OHV. You sound as if anyone that uses that beach for OHV use is a dirt bag. I certainly hope that’s not how you feel, I expect more from you. Someone has to defend the Angellos against the ridiculous accusations and hatred that you’re spreading about them. I can understand not liking them but you have crossed the line of good taste and decorum. I don’t agree with most of SLORiders political beliefs but he’s always treated me as I treat him, we disagree on most things but we don’t insult each other.


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Has disbanding the OCSD been seriously discussed? What are the pros and cons? And why hasn’t the District Attorney gotten involved, considering all the MANY allegations of thousands upon thousands of dollars “missing”?


What in hell is going on there? This stuff has been going on for YEARS! Where was Katcho? Where is new supervisor Texeira? What in hell is going on?


This situation is beyond outrageous. HELP! S.O.S HELP!


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Katcho didn’t want to deal with Oceano and it appears that Tex. dosn’t want to deal with them either. Monte tried to accuse past employees of doing shady things with the books (taking money). But I don’t believe that was the case. He was simply deflecting away from himself. The past people that he accused were simply guilty of not so great bookkeeping. They do need S.O.S. help. There is going to be some nasty litigation coming up no doubt about it. Why would Monte hire a computer firm that is known to be overpriced and not get any competitive bids ($230Ks). Why would he hire a very expensive auditor and still not receive their services after almost two years? Why would Monte hire the guy that he used as a reference to his job right after Monte was hired,,his way of saying thanks? The county needs to pull up the shirt sleeves and clean that place up.


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I don’t get it. The board members hire the manager and have the right to fire the manager. So if the manager is not doing his job, why are board members quitting?


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Because there is something in the water there that makes them all crazy, that’s why they’re quitting. During the last meeting they wanted to schedule an emergency meeting to evaluate the city manager’s performance. But the other’s wanted to simply wait until the next meeting as advised by their city attorney. But Carole and Jim felt that it was to urgent to wait so they were mad that they couldn’t get their way. They are right about Montemurro the ‘economist’, he’s as shady as they come. I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could trust the Gotti family. Then we have Carole H. and Jim Hill. They are not all there themselves, especially Carole H.. I’ve never seen anyone that likes to hear her own voice as much as she does.

Now there’s talk about letting the county take over Oceano. The county should take it over but personally I sure would miss the antics that take place during those meetings. There isn’t a better show that’s more amusing than an OCSD meeting. Forget the Melodrama watch an OCSD meeting.


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If the County takes over the Oceano CSD, the Wallace Group may take on a good part of the work.


I don’t know the situation at that CSD, and there may have been prior discussions about quitting if the general manager wasn’t dealt with…but an abrupt quitting has to be hard on the organization.


On the other hand, after what happened in the City of Bell, the council members have be very cautious about how long they continue to work for a local area government if there are strong suspicions about financial improprieties occurring.


It may be a situation where Hinson and Hill wanted to fire the manager, and the other three didn’t. The two might have questions about why the three don’t want to fire the manager fired.


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IMO it doesn’t seem like Lucey cares for Montemurro either. I might be wrong but I’ve seen her pretty aggravated with him,,,but then again she gets aggravated with everyone. From the last meeting it seemed that Jim H. and Carole H. were in cahoots and had some plan about Monte. but they hadn’t told anyone else about it. Mary L seemed to have no idea as to what they were up to. If they had consulted with her or waited until the next meeting she might have went along with them regarding Monte, she might have been on board as far as giving him the boot. Mary L. gets very frustrated with Monte and has called him to floor on numerous occasions. I feel that the two of them quite not just because of Monte but because they just couldn’t get their way on ever issue,,ie they were very frustrated about not being able to sell state water.


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Typo: If “they” (Jim and Carole) had consulted with Mary… it would have been an ILLEGAL MEETING in violation of the Brown Act. The public’s business MUST be conducted in an open meeting, not secretly in advance.


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SLORider, but they did consult with each other (Jim and Carole). It sounded as if they also had spoken with Guerrero. Guerrero knew that they wanted to do this evaluation thing prior to the meeting. Mary was the only one that had no clue. But you are right, it does sound like it could have been a Brown Act violation. I would like your take on all this. Why couldn’t they wait until the next meeting to do the evaluation (evaluation=their words)? The other 3 had no problem with that. What was the urgency with Carole and JIm? It all seems so odd,,,but then again it is the OCSD Board.


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Typo, Let me elaborate further: Jim & Carole do not constitute a quorum. It is perfectly fine for two board members to collaborate. Add Mary and that becomes a majority of the board. The Brown Act requires all meetings of a majority of members to be conducted in a noticed, agendized, public session. This includes “serial meetings” where a majority of a board are involved via separate conversations or emails.


It is okay that Guerrero KNEW, as long as actual discussion didn’t occur. The Brown Act prohibits deliberation and action on an issue without a public meeting, not knowledge of an issue. When a majority of the board actually discusses an issue is when the line is crossed.


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Ms Lucey accused the three of a Brown Act violation, as like Typo stated, it appeared as though the 3 may have been involved in a serial meeting. Henson denied that, and hopefully the accusation was unfounded. I tend to think that 2 attorneys and Henson would know better…


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Which three? Jim & Carole makes two… the GM and attorney don’t count as they are not on the board.


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@SLORider, the the three that seemed to have talked behind closed doors on the Monte issue were Carole, Jim and Guerrero. Lucey asked Guerrero if he knew about this and he reluctantly said that he did. But I’m not sure how much he knew as he voted with Lucey and Angelo to put Monte’s evaluation on the next meeting agenda.


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SLO, Typo is correct. Mary seemed to think there had been a Brown Act violation when the 2 attorneys (Hill & Guerrero) and Henson appeared to have discussed the emergency meeting. Btw, the reaction on Montemurro’s part to the meeting suggestion was unprofessional, unbelievable.


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Regarding the Brown act how is it the Broad of Directors, Ferrara and Nicolls kicked out the public at a recent San Dist meeting when it was time to talk contract negotiations with their boy Mr. Wallace. This makes no sense and makes it look all the more questionable than they already are as to their honesty. I believe Hill and Henson did their best and when repeatedly voted against or their directions were disregarded, they realized it was time to “CYA” and did the right thing by resigning.


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@SLORider, Thanks for the Brown Act lesson. By them leaving as they did then that means that there will be 4 appointed board members, only Lucey was voted in. That seems like some type of violation. Seems like they must have some type of emergency election?


@undertow, how did they do the right thing by resigning. They are the bosses. If Monte was doing something wrong shouldn’t they have discussed it with the rest of the board at an open meeting? Monte and the other board members wanted this evaluation on the next meeting agenda. The dispute seemed to be that Carole H and Jim H wanted to evaluate Monte before the next meeting. Why couldn’t they wait? If I’m the boss I’m not going to quit if one of my employee’s is doing something wrong, I’m going to get the guy out, they didn’t do that. Why? It seems odd to me that they quit instead of taking action. There must be more to this than meets the eye. My guess (total guess) is that there might be some legal issues coming up and they wanted out of Dodge before the poo hits the fan. I can’t find any other reason to justify them quiting. I’ve been watching these meetings and Hill faught long and hard with past board members, he had no problem standing up to them. He went as far as to hang up signs putting down other board members during meetings. why not Monte, they didn’t have any big blow-ups?


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They can appoint until the cows come home. Perfectly legal as long as they have three members left to vote. Otherwise, the County Board of Supervisors can appoint for them. Or, they can vote to hold an election—a likely waste of money since no one really wants the job. Who is going to spend effort campaigning? How many people will pay attention and make any kind of a smart vote?


Oceano may just be too small to have a pool of willing and good people. Might be better to merge with Grover or the county.


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I think you’re right on about more to it than meets the eye and who knows if the public will even know the truth. Somebody asked about the DA not getting involved, but didn’t the DA investigate the OCSD recently? Wallace was once both the Administrator and provided engineer similar to other facilities they deal with and In Oceano case was run off or not rehired after their contract ran out. Must not have gone well as Hill is a proponent of relieving Wallace of his current stint as manager of the San Dist because of alleged illegal activity, poor management tactics, firing employees who were whistle blowers etc as seen here in CCN in past months. If the DA, perhaps the Grand Jury, FBI and who know else cannot do justice what else can a person do besides walk away to save face.


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Closed sessions are allowed for certain types of negotiations, conferences with legal council and personnel matters. It is in the public benefit not to reveal the public agency’s “hand” or legal strategy in open session.


You don’t provide enough detail to really make much of a judgment.


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While I attended and watched very dysfunctional LOCSD meetings, I have to reluctantly agree with you Typo, OCSD is the hair pullingest, cat fightiest reality show out there, for the last two seasons.


At least one Character direct from Central Casting, and no Hollywood Writer could make up that dialogue.


What is the compensation for CSD Directors, about 5$ Hour? (Outside of meeting time included)


Good luck Oceano, either way the citizens loose.


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$100 per meeting. $200 per month. Lori Angello doesn’t not take her checks. It doesn’t pay well enough for any sane person to want to put up with the hassle.


However, I know of three former directors that ONLY wanted the position for the money. It used to be $150 per meeting, plus $50 for subcommittee meetings, which is substantial income for some very low income people who otherwise aren’t there for the job.


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Typo,

We agree on that point. I don’t live in Oceano, thank GOD, but if I’m surfing the channels late at night and happen to see an OCSD meeting on Charter, I get the popcorn ready and settle in. Hollywood couldn’t write this stuff. I LOVE it!


As for Rafaelle…I hate to think what the folks that didn’t qualify for his job were like! I’ve seen more professional management skills at a Cub Scout meeting.


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Perhaps the other three members didn’t want to fire the manager.


If there are financial improprieties going on, as alleged by Henson and Hill, they may have quit to protect themselves.


It doesn’t sound like a good situation–not for anyone, including the CSD’s customers.


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