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Los Osos administrator to get 23 percent pay increase

April 30, 2017

Back row: Roy Hanley, Renee Osborne, Lou Tornatsky and Marshall Ochylski. Front row: Jon-Erik Storm and Vickie Milledge.

By KAREN VELIE

Less than a month after the Los Osos Community Services District Board voted to increase water rates by as much by as 65 percent, the district is considering increasing the pay of its part-time administrator by 23 percent.

Six months ago, on Oct. 27, the board voted unanimously to contract with Grace Environmental Services for $78,024 a year. Because the district contracted with a consulting firm rather than a person, it was not required to pay benefits.

On May 4, the district board will do a review of its General Manager Renee Osborne and also reevaluate the contract with her company, Grace Environmental Services. The district board will also consider a proposed draft budget that has the general manager’s contract at $96,000 a year, a more than 23 percent increase.

On Friday, the same day the May 4 agenda was posted, the district sent out notices of the proposed water rate increases. Under Proposition 218, agencies must inform customers of water rate increases 45 days prior to the proposed rate hike. If more than 50 percent of customers reject the rate increase, it is void.

Nevertheless, the district needs approximately $5 million in new infrastructure including a nitrate removal facility and new wells, to ward of sea water intrusion and protect from over pumping. Because water conservation efforts led to lower revenue, the district’s water department was running in the red last year.

The proposed water rate increases are expected to bring in between $500,000 and $900,000 a year over three years.

Osborne is the district’s 16 general manager in a span of 16 years.


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Where / when do we go to vote on this? “If more than 50 percent of customers reject the rate increase, it is void.”


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When someone smart and informed runs for the board that person doesn’t get elected. I can only conclude that Los Osos wants an unformed or ignorant board.


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I wonder, if even for second, did any of our esteemed Los Osos leaders think… “Maybe we should not be handing out huge raises at the same time as raising rates…”. SLO county: the first act of every elected official is to stop thinking and start compromising what, if any, ethics they have.


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Really unfortunate timing. These negotiations should have waited until July.


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And the insanity continues a decade later. Founded in, and perpetuated by the actions of the “recall board” referred to by some as the “fecal five.”

It’s hard to believe that after all this time, the lingering stench remains with little hope for a brighter future.


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This is why I supported a community discussion surrounding dissolution in my campaign.


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Everytime I read the paper or watch the news it seems like all the public service entities want more money from taxpayers as they say thjey need it because they haven’t got the funds to continue the services. Then in the same breathe they hand out outrageous raises to themselves.The state raises gas tax’s saying we need it for roads and what have they done with all the money they have recieved already. They now will pass a bill #640 that will make all the retail services charge a tax on their service ( haircuts,dental work etc) to add more money to the state to waste away at taxpayers expense. All these government service departments work on the theory of don’t manage the money you have efficiently as you can always get more from the taxpayers. We should get rid of all these clowns and start over but unfortunately all the politicians have the same spend spend view as it doesn’t come from their pocket so they don’t care.Pretty soon your first 8 months of wages will be going to tax’s and you get the remaining 4 months to live on. Take a look around and see if you can come up with things that do not have a tax or fee attached to them. Not very many if any. You can’t even die in piece without a tax put on it.


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Why do we need a nitrate removal facility? I thought the Sewer System was going to solve the Nitrate problem….


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Damn good question shelworth, but don’t hold your breath for an answer.


We haven’t even finished the 183 million (or so) Wastewater Project, allegedly necessary to stop releasing nitrates into the groundwater & now they want a Nitrate Removal Plant!


What this town really needs is a CSD removal facilitator to handle our long awaited divorce.


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The sewer “cleansing” of the upper aquifer will take decades — if its even successful.


A nitrate removal facility already exists at the South Bay well, two more are identified as necessary. One at 8th St. well and one for Golden State’s system. These costs are anticipated in the Basin Plan adopted by the court in the adjudication of the basin.


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Al of these increases and rates that are being applied by the county, cities and community service districts are for the most part just to take care of our public servants. How many of us have received a 23% pay increase? If one looks at the budgets of these institutions you will see that every year the percentage of the budgets just keep increasing for employment (benefits and perks) while the service might stay the same or may decrease. At some point this is all going to gave in when most of our tax payment will go towards employees and services will decline. Remember that they claim that they have to do this in order to have the best or they may leave. Wouldn’t it might be nice if they did leave and the system made a correction and hired people under the same conditions that we the taxpayers are hired for our jobs?


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This a fantastic photo of the exec board … Everyone smiling while they rape the district rate payers.


But where is Bruce Gibson and Adam Hill … they should be in there smiling too … POS.


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Oh to get paid by the Tax Payer….the never ending Milk Cow.


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