Front Page  »  

Los Osos penalized for under reporting wages

April 17, 2016

Money toiletBy KAREN VELIE

The Los Osos Community Services District owes fines and interest for under-reporting almost $100,000 in wages during the past two years. The penalties are a result of “quarterly and annual payroll reports not being filed or being filed incorrectly,” according to a district staff report.

In a March 18 letter, the Social Security Administration informed the district that the amount of wages the district reported to Social Security differs by $94,000 from what the district filed with the Internal Revenue Service. If the district does not fix the discrepancies within 45 days, the IRS may charge a penalty, according to the letter.

In addition, the California Employment Development Department sent the district several notices of assessment for failing to properly report wages and pay for unemployment and disability insurances. In just penalties and interest, the district has been charged more than $10,000 in the past six months.

Kathy Kivley

Kathy Kivley

Last year, CalCoastNews analyzed former General Manager Kathy Kivley’s personal payroll and found that she had overcompensated herself by approximately $6,000 during her two year term. Following a district funded two- month investigation into the financial irregularities, Kivley retired in January.

In February, the district hired Peter Kampa to serve as its interim general manager. Shortly afterwards, Kampa announced Michael Doyel was no longer employed as the district’s accountant. Before he left, Doyle claimed that the district’s monthly reports were finished and in order.

However, in an April staff report, Kampa said that Doyle left the district with nine months of incomplete financial reports and that a significant amount of work would be necessary to determine if the information given to the board since the beginning of the fiscal year in July is accurate.

“We refuse to give you those (financial statements) unless they are grounded in fact,” Kampa said explaining while staff reports no longer include financial statements.

Kampa is currently working with three consultants — Warmerdam CPA Group, James & Company, CPA, and the district’s previous accountant, Dale Flynn – to remedy the delinquent notices received from the Employment Development Department, Internal Revenue Services and the Social Security Administration.


Loading...
Subjects:                 
Related:


20 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Instead of a severance package, can’t leave these imposters with a lawsuit for fraud and incompetence?


0

Karen Kruk knifiving with a face like that it should be behind a robbers mask or under hooded sheet. Why do we always wind up with the Creme Of The Crap? Not only LO but the whole county.


0

The answer to that is a bit complex, and not desired to be heard by a great many people.


0

One of the main reasons for the government incompetency is that everyone around here works in government in one way or another. That means you have people like CSD’s or City Councils that are made up of people who also work in the public sector-end result you have the blind leading the blind.


Anyone with any private business experience with employees would know that these violations with EDD and SSA are standard reporting you do each month/quarter. The same as you pay your mortgage or rent monthly.


We have a dearth of “real world” business experience in the central coast and it demonstrates itself each day in what our public officials get away with.


0

You are being generous. My theory is that most people in public service do not actually understand work, and *anything* they do (or their friends) is lauded as incredible, hard work, etc. You will see them decry it at every chance they can. Constantly point out how hard they all “work” – yet, put them in the shoes of a small business owner (or any size) and they’ll quickly learn what work is.


They usually point to the custodial or grounds-keeping staff to show how hard public employees work; and even THOSE, compared to private sector ones are not very efficient or good.


I would LOVE to have TERM LIMITS for ALL PEOPLE ON THE PUBLIC DOLE. You don’t get to keep a government job of any type for more than 10 years total (2 here, 3 there, etc. or 10 in a row… doesn’t matter). Maybe 5 years.


0

The astonishing level of incompetence of public officials here on the central coast is utterly mind-boggling. No, wait- allow me to correct myself here- it isn’t just mind-boggling, it is now downright frightening.


Typically, now such an official is paid a salary of well over $100,000 a year, slathered with lavish benefit packages, and then qualified for a retirement package that is beyond the far reaches of reality.


And what do we get in return? People like this Kivley clown. People who have been fired and run out of other towns, only to come here and make fools out of the numb-nuts and imbeciles who run the local governing bodies. And nobody is accountable for anything- appointed officials, elected officials, nobody. When they get caught, they simply retire or move on to some other hapless and clueless governmental body that has equal or worse record of responsibility to its citizens and taxpayers.


This isn’t even funny anymore- it’s scary. These people are entrusted with our health, safety and general quality of life. And, with only rare exceptions, they have no idea what the Hell they’re doing, and they don’t give a damn.


0

Morro Bay should be put through a complete forensic audit. The current administration and council are totally incompetent and lying about the fiscal situation as it really exists. In the near future Morro Bay will be unincorporated. They love to set goals while realizing that, soon, there will be no money to spend on them. They seem to believe that we’re all stupid. What a sad bunch the taxpayers of this city elected!


0

You are one step closer to realizing that government has become nothing but a scam set up to steal, cheat, and buy influence at all levels.


It is not just incompetence of central coast officials. The federal govt makes the central coast look like kids Stealing a cookie.


We have to revolt against this scum.


All of it. Democrats and republicans. Fools are so busy being turned against each other in regard to nonsense that they are missing the big picture. They are all ripping you off, big time.


0

The entire blame for this sits directly on the shoulders of Marshall Ochinski and Mike Wright….. No one else to blame. They think your stupid, are you? They’re running for office again, are you stupid enough to vote for ’em? They said your are, wow. You goin’ to let them put you through this again, they want you to. Think about it….


0

It takes 3 consultants to straighten this out? Wow!


0

I stood before them, TWICE, and explained that the numbers were shady and that the heavy redaction of non-confidential information in public records requests make it almost impossible to see what is really going on there.


They LOCSD Board of Directors, as a whole or any one member independently, could have done the same work the public did, to see where Kivley was over-paying herself, after it was brought to their attention. They didn’t. They continued to pay her while they farmed out the work – thus being twice the cost.


Why does the board not get copied on these government agency notices (or any important mail), as due course of their oversight? These notices come and come and come until they are resolved. They clearly have been around for some time and yet the board was completely unaware. Terrible.


I have to believe NO ONE on the board has any business experience, to let this festering financial fiasco go on for as long as it did . . . and who knows for how much longer it will continue.


I’m starting to really understand the growing desire for the dissolution of the LOCSD. Inept people squandering away so much of the ratepayer’s hard-earned dollars and never listening when the ratepayers and community citizens continually point out glaring issues of concern.


0

Los Osos owes Dury Bookkeeping a huge debt of gratitude, AJ’s expertise in bookkeeping sniffed out exactly how Kivley was overpaying herself. Even though the board was given a thorough report in September from us, they opted to hire Jim Gardiner to do what had already been done for free. Gardiner was paid over $5000 and never completed the report, had he, it would likely have to be made public. Michael Seitz convinced the board it would be cheaper to settle than fight her or prosecute her. So they opted for two months paid administrative leave and she waltzed off with her full PERS retirement pension. Why protect a thief?


The board bought the BS that they were operating under “Government Accounting Principles” (how many times did she say it? Geez! Clearly they were not! Three consultants working on different aspects of the accounting to get the 2014-15 audit done and close the books for that year…accurately this time. Ironically, the consultants are cheaper all told then the former in house accountant.


Kivley was a hot mess from the beginning. She convinced the board that monthly committee meetings were not necessary and took too much staff time. What was really happening was her way of shutting out any watchful eyes on her secret way of doing things. The board was warned time and time again by the public that the monthly financial statements (when we could see them) were inaccurate. She couldn’t/wouldn’t answer questions and became irritated with staff, board members and the public when tripped up.


These letters from EDD, SSA and the IRS have been coming for a long time. When I Was a board member I demanded copies of ALL mail (except things like the PG&E bills and the mundane). These letters were likely hidden from the board and perhaps even the auditor. But they are a missing piece to the missing “accrued absences” report that Kivley failed to produce for the last audit. She claimed the software wasn’t run on the last day of the fiscal year and the report couldn’t be run retroactively. So that’s what prompted us to use the public record act to get her personal payroll report and see what she might have to gain by suggesting this particular report couldn’t be gotten.


There will be more collateral damage fall out in the months and weeks to come. It looks like legal counsel got caught in her wake and will be out soon. He really let the board down on this one. Bad advice all around.


0

Where did all the money go under Bleskeys watch back in 2006?


0

Los Osos owes Julie Tacker a big thanks for sounding the alarm on these public employee thieves.


0

Los Osos is the poster child for bad local home town Government….


0

I agree Rich in MB, but it is not just Los Osos, by a long-shot.


The South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District floundered for YEARS, nay, entire DECADES plus, under mis-management, conflict-of-interest, malfeasance and a complicit board majority.


Oceano’s Community Services District has a horrible track record because of inept managers and ineffective board members directing them – even still to this day.


Have you read about all the goings-on at the Coast Commission lately? Shameful.


The rancor and incivility on the Board of Supervisors and within the City of SLO city council? Embarrassing.


Ex-Arroyo Grande Mayor Tony Ferarra’s strong-arm tactics and back room dealings? Thank gawd those days are over and transparency is the new normal.


We live in the “Ooooh Shiny” tourist zone to outsiders but those of us that pay attention know we live in the real dirty world of local politics and government.


0
1 2