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Delinquent Los Osos sewer bills heading for property tax roll

July 17, 2017

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors is expected on Tuesday to place delinquent Los Osos sewer bills on the property tax roll.

Out of the sewer charges billed for the last fiscal year, a total of $326,045 remains unpaid, according to a county staff report. The county has not received 14 percent of the funds that were owed.

Delinquent charges for properties range from a little more than $100 to nearly $50,000, with the larger bills belonging to multi-unit locations such as schools and trailer parks. Some of the outstanding bills only represent a portion of what was owed over 2016-2017.

The county plans to assess penalties and interest on those who do not pay the full amount owed. Eventually, the county could foreclose on homes with delinquent sewer bills.

Numerous Los Osos residents are angry over the possibility of people losing their homes.

“You want to throw people out of their homes?” said longtime Los Osos resident Cinthea Coleman, 70.

Coleman received one of the letters notifying property owners about a delinquency, she said.

“I sent the letter back saying I don’t have $175,” Coleman said. “I’m living on less than 900 dollars a month.”

Other Los Osos residents say the number of delinquencies reinforce the notion that sewer bills are unaffordable.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Los Osos property owners will have the opportunity to present objections to the sewer service charges they have been billed. The complaints will receive due consideration, according to the county staff report.


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Next time you say you love the Coastal Commission, think about that they had hand in this. Next time you want to protest something like the sewer, think of the consequences. While I agree not a great site but anyone remember one of the final delays of redesign and moving the treatment plant?


Or the delay, delay, delay since the 80’s? While I feel bad for people involved in this, did you support any of the above? Did you protest any of the above? Did you support delaying any of the above? Then your hands are dirty to.


Construction costs never go down and only get more costly with time but we watch people sit and delay projects for this or that and then act surprised way down the road that costs have increased. SMFH.


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Let’s modify it a little bit:


“Would have been way less expensive if Supervisor Bud Laurent had not led the Los Osos people to believe that they could get something very expensive for nothing by stalling the project for two decades.”


Would have been way less expensive if Mayor Jamie Irons had not led the people of Morro Bay into believing that they could get something very expensive for nothing by studying the project for almost a decade:(


Same thing Laurent did in Los Osos, studies, studies and more studies!!!

My understanding is Morro Bay has spent over three million on studies already and have finally realized that many/most of the citizens can’t afford the $240.00 per month sewer bill:(


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“studies, studies and more studies” spending more and more and more taxpayer money, it’s the public sector way. Then when to comes time to actually do anything, claim there’s no money, big surprise, and say that there has to be a new tax or fee to pay for it. All the time public sector salaries , benefits and pension go up up and away.


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If the people would have listened to Bill Coy the Los Osos sewer project would have been built would have cost the citizens of Los Osos next to nothing. If the people of Morro Bay would have listened to Bill Yates and the City Council at that time the sewer in Morro Bay would be finished by now and would have cost 35 million dollars. Jamie Irons and Bud Laurent sold the people of their respective communities a bill of goods to get elect and, in the process, forced people on fixed incomes to have no chance to continue living in houses that they worked for years to call home.


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The property owners of Los Osos have Bruce Gibson and his sidekick Adam Hill to thank for this mess. Don’t vote for these boneheads in the future, unless you like watching your hard earned dollars go down the crapper (literally).


Morro Bay folks … are you paying attention to this?


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WRONG! They have those responsible for delaying the sewer, bankrupting he community, and stealing over $6,000,000.00 in taxpayers hard earned money to pay for their malfeasance to thank.


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Would have been way less expensive if Supervisor Bud Laurent had not led the Los Osos people to believe that they could get something very expensive for nothing by stalling the project for two decades.


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There are plenty of folks to thank for delaying the project and in turn skyrocketing the costs.


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True…back then, Los Osos was the red-headed orphan stepchild of the county. he would rather shoe up at the opening day of Little League to promote himself than address the real issues of no sewer, dirt roads, no sidewalks, curbs, gutters or sewer. Yet, he in part allowed the uncontrolled build-out that ultimately led to today’s destruction of a community.


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Some people brought this problem on themselves they did not look ahead to tomorrow just spend.Driving prestige cars they really could not afford. I could not even think of living on social security because of the wages they paid in the 40s to 80s.so I planned ahead I kept my cars an average of 13 years.


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Thank you “recall board’ for destroying a once beautiful beach side community…you must be very proud of yourselves.Your shameful legacy will live on in perpetuity.


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Destroyed? Overall, after tearing up all the streets, the streets are in better condition than they were before. I’m not seeing any other differences, other than the fact I have less money to spend. What am I missing?


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Wake up Jimmy! The less money you have to spend is directly related to the fact that the “recall” board cancelled an approved, permitted, funded project and then filed bankruptcy after failing to return the $6,000,000.00 SWRCB low interest loan ant was supposed to be used to BUILD THE APPROVED SEWER.

Do some homework and you will quickly see YOU have been screwed by the “recall ” board that swore they had a project that was better than TRI-W…and never delivered.

It’s shameful.


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Once again, I will remind Los Ososans that they made their bed and have to lie in it. They blocked the sewer in the 70’s with glee in anticipation of the resulting building moratorium that would deny entitled landowners the ability to build on their property. The value of vacant land plummeted and landowners were financially hurt. Did they care? No. Do I care how much Los Osos sewers bills are now? No.


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interesting. i got a bill but i had sold my property, so i should have owed a portion of it. someone took my information and said I was not alone and they didn’t have an answer yet. that was back in about March.


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Morro Bay residents pay close attention. You’re next!


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If someone can’t afford their utility bills, perhaps they should sell their property and be a renter. Their property is now worth far more since the sewer was instituted.


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When a person is retired, they would like to remain in their home as long as physically possible. RENTING is higher than what they would pay in rent. I do believe, like a previous article stated, this is nothing more than economic cleansing.


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I meant to say RENTING will be higher than what they are currently paying in property taxes, since the homes are probably paid off.


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It’s not that they can’t afford their utility and tax bills. It’s the fact that these utility companies, service districts and government taxes are monopoly and just keep on fleecing us without any oversight whatsoever.


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Pay your bill is one thing but we all now know that all of these righ rates and extra taxes are mostly going to cover the cost of government employees and not for the actual cost that is being provided.


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Property owners just fold escalating taxes into the rent, and most renters pay their own utilities anyway. Are you trying to drum up clients for your own overpriced rental units?


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