This week’s San Luis Obispo County government meetings

December 11, 2023

By CalCoastNews staff

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will meet at 9 a.m. on Dec. 12 at the county building.

Under Item 24 on the agenda, the board is scheduled to hear a presentation on the county’s unfunded pension liability, which is currently at $943 million. Staff asserts they will pay off the unfunded pension liability in 17 years, but every year it gets larger.

The retirement plan provides benefits to former employees for the entirety of the member’s life. The current funded ratio is 64.1%. Unfunded liability is the difference between the actuarial liability and the actuarial value of assets accumulated to finance a public pension.

The Atascadero City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12 in the council chambers.

Under Item A-6 on the agenda, the council is slated to confirm the appointment of Daniel Suttles as the new police chief, with an annual salary of $212,593.

Under Item A-5, the council is slated to approve a contract for city attorney services, with a monthly retainer of $13,000 for general legal work and additional services billed at an hourly rate, with the law firm of Richards, Watson & Gershon. If approved, David Fleishman will serve as city attorney and Craig Steele as assistant city attorney.

The Grover Beach City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on Dec. 11 in the council chambers.

Under Item 8 on the agenda, the council will discuss adopting a 112% increase in water and sewer rates.

In September, a consultant recommended the Grover Beach City Council raise their rates to cover the cost of Central Coast Blue, a recycled water project designed to establish a dependable water supply for residents and businesses of Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach. The city is also in need of critical sewer system upgrades.

However, a vocal opposition to the increase could derail the council’s plan. If at least 51% of ratepayers protest the increase, it will fail.

The Morro Bay City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Hall.

Under Item A-6 on the agenda, the council will take the final step in adopting an ordinance requiring stores to manage their shopping carts.

The ordinance will require store owners to mark each cart with a warning that it is illegal to take carts along with the store’s name, address and phone number.

In addition, store owners will need to secure their carts when the store is closed and to produce an annual abandoned shopping cart prevention plan.

Under Item C-2, the council plans to adopt an urgency ordinance and introduce a regular ordinance regarding camping and storage of personal property on public property in an attempt to deal with issues with the homeless. The plan is to a regulate overnight human habitation of vehicles on private property used for business or nonprofit organization operations. Staff expects the program to cost $50,000 to begin the cleanup and for storage containers for the retention of personal property collected during cleanups.

The Port San Luis Harbor District will meet at 1 p.m. on Dec. 12 at the Coastal Gateway Building in Avila Beach.

Under Item 7-A on the agenda, the commission will discuss adoption of a resolution authorizing and directing staff to participate in and support offshore wind farm planning activities. The implementation strategy for offshore wind calls for a network of land-based facilities to meet deployment and operational needs.

The Oceano Community Services District will meet at 6 p.m. on Dec. 13 in the CSD boardroom.

Under Item 6-A on the agenda, the board will discuss and consider extending an offer to Paavo Ogren to serve as interim general manager for $99.38 per hour. In 2019, Ogren retired as general manager of the Oceano Community Services District.

The board will consider retaining a permanent general manager and legal counsel services in closed session.

Also in closed session, the board will discuss a cure and correct lodged by Kim Rose and Alisha Douglas. The two residents are asking the board to cure and correct several alleged Brown Act violations including the disclosure of closed session meeting information by Board Member Charles Varni during open session. Rose and Douglas demand the board refer the violations to the SLO County District Attorney’s Office.