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Paavo Ogren leaving county for Oceano manager position

May 9, 2014
Paavo Ogren

Paavo Ogren

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo County Director of Public Works Paavo Ogren is slated to exit his county job for the position of Oceano Community Services District manager, according to the district’s website.

Ogren approached district officials requesting the position at a yearly base salary of $196,000 a year. Ogren’s predecessors Lonnie Curtis and Tom Geaslen’s base salaries were set at $126,000 a year. Raffaele Montemurro, who was terminated in 2011, had a base salary of $87,500.

Touting his experience in finance and accounting, Ogren requested the district manager salary and another $65,000 for the district accountant position in order to arrive at the $196,000 base salary.

Nevertheless, under former district manager Raffaele Montemurro, the district did not have an in-house accountant. Then, under Geaslen, a district accountant position was created without board approval for 30 hours a week at $30 an hour, or $46,800 a year.

In addition, government bodies do not generally permit the manager who signs checks to also produce the accounting and the checks because of check and balances protocols.

The district is currently running more than $170,000 over budget, according to the district’s warrants. In order to cover Ogren’s salary, the board could elect to sell excess water or raise utility rates.

In his present position, Ogren oversees 180 county employees. Oceano currently has six employees, three of whom work in the office and three of whom work in the utility yard.

Since 2006, nine people have held the Oceano district manager position.


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Good for him!!

Why would anyone want to work in Los Osos?

Constant abusive behavior, pick, pick, pick!! Ugly people doing ugly things constantly.

be well, Mr. Ogren


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To clear things up “Pavo”, if he is going to be our General Manager let’s at least spell his name correctly.


So, Paavo will be paid a higher salary than;


1. The Governor of California


2. THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY SHERIFF.


Thank you, OCSD board for setting the bar so high!


Btw you want him to be your Account too, way to go with the check and balance.


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Oh Pavo, have you forgotten that Julie and her posse ride the Vengeance Trail.YOU destroyed her plans of a lifetime of obstructionism and now you are going to work for the community that told her and Jeff to butt out.

Oh Pavo, you have just given her at least another decade of things to complain about.


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“Oh Pavo, you have just given her at least another decade of things to complain about.”


And I can’t wait to hear every one of them! C’mon, Julie- fire up that keyboard and let’s get the ball rollin’ here!


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Here you go Pelican1. The subject is just too juicy to ignore.


http://calcoastnews.com/2014/05/paavo-ogren-leave-slo-county/


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Oceano “where the sewer meets the sea”. When are you going to elect some intelligent and knowledgeable people to your Board that have the capacity and will to oversee the District?


This is the third tainted candidate the board has hired as General Manager, and once they hire people they don’t track the expenses. These board members are either too lazy or too dumb to hold their positions. With their hiring record, they need to review the expenses every single month, and if they don’t understand the accounting, they need to have it explained by the General Manager to their satisfaction or by someone outside the office who understands the figures.


Ogren is obviously being nudged out of county government. Why else would he go from a job with 160 employees to one with 6. Board members, do you know why? Do you? Really? Or is the Board “dumb and dumber” all over again?


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Citizen:


Do YOU know why? Do you? Really? Of course you don’t, but it is fun to speculate anonymously on an online bulletin board isn’t it?!


Here’s my guess:


A $70,000 a year raise. Take THAT to the bank.


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miles, you should reread the article. You seem to misunderstand the money here. Paavo isn’t getting a $70,000 raise. Oceano is paying $70,000 more for a GM than ever before.

The sad thing is they can’t afford $126,000 they’ve been paying since 2012 either.

A district of this size (operating budget of $1.2M and the pass through of another $2.8M for water (Lopez and State and sewer to the Sanitation District) should be paying south of $100,000 for a GM.


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Just another fleecing of the taxpayer. i guess it’s just business as usual until we taxpayers stand up and say enough is enough.


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Just another example of excessive compensation in a small district that is headed for bankruptcy. $ 196,000 is one big number to supervise six employees.Looks like Bell,CA.

all over again.


We need to re-balance budgets so that we have the funds for water, sewer, infrastructure and public safety at cost efficent price levels that residents can afford without tax and rate increases.


Did anyone actually do a background check on this new employee ? Do a google search and form your own opinion.Lawsuit, drugs, court records, emails, party house. This guy is bringing a lot of baggage to the job.


This reckless financial action, is just one of many that has forced the district to take a loan to pay it’s bills after a 25% water rate increase and a budget that is projected to be in the red.


I hope that this action will bring the long overdue investigation to the Oceano Community Services District. We need the state to takeover and appoint a Independent Manager to run the district until some order and fiscal discipline is restored.


Fixed Income Seniors, The Working Poor, and Hard Working Families just trying to make it in this slow growth economy deserve a fair square deal from our elected directors.


This board is out of control and has lost touch with the people they have sworn to serve under oath.


We will remember the number $ 196,000 in November and when you want a Sanitation Rate Bailout and another Water Rate Increase.


Register- Run For Director- Vote


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more on this story …… “Among Ogren’s resume enhancements were his citing of overseeing an AFFORDABLE sewer for Los Osos property owners, avoiding LAWSUITS by jilted sewer contractor(s) (well just one so far) who want millions more for the Tacker/Schicker/Cesena debacle result), as well as Ogren serving without stain under a Board of Supervisors with three of it’s Supervisors’ sexual or playtime antics (and ETHICS) making the news regularly, all of said BOS overseen by an incompetent or bunkered/entrenched County Counsel……..”


Goodness, this stuff couldn’t be made up by Jay Leno joke writers looking for work.


(Actually, Mr. Ogren, maybe we should go “light” on you. Amidst those above you and other public servants salted around the county, and standing in comparison to that lot, you actually looked fairly DECENT, Sir. )


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