This week’s San Luis Obispo County government meetings

January 16, 2024

By CalCoastNews staff

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will meet at 6 p.m. on Jan. 16 at the county building.

The supervisors are scheduled to hold a study session to review a proposed county ordinance to create a County of San Luis Obispo Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission tasked with drawing district boundary lines every 10 years..

If approved, the proposed commission will be comprised of county residents who are not elected officials, lobbyists, candidates, campaign donors, or their close family members. Members will be selected through an application and selection process, where they will be subject to the criteria and qualifications outlined in the ordinance.

If the board decides to move forward with an ordinance, it has the option to pass an ordinance by majority vote or place the ordinance on the ballot.  Alternatively, the board could direct staff to seek legislation to create an independent redistricting commission.

In 2022,  Supervisor Bruce Gibson lost his bid to create an independent redistricting commission in a 3-2 with himself and Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg dissenting.

.Supervisor Debbie Arnold disagreed with Gibson’s motion, saying supervisors are tasked with redistricting and she does not want to pass that responsibility off to a group of people who were not elected by their constituents.

Several speakers noted that Gibson’s 2021 plan to have a committee select clerk recorder candidates led to a group that did not follow direction and appeared to be partisan in their selection.

The Pismo Beach City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 in the council chambers.

Under item 12-A on the agenda, city staff will provide a progress report on the City Council’s fiscal year 2024-2025 goals.

In its report, staff plans to highlight the council’s top goals for the coming year which include, maintaining a focus on public safety, water supply, conservation, implementing the Central Coast Blue project, building community character, beautification, quality of life for residents, traffic, parking and addressing housing and homelessness.

The Paso Robles City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 in the council chambers.

Under Item L-1 on the agenda, the council is slated to approve Amendment 2 to the Memorandum of Agreement regarding preparation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin. If passed, the amendment will allow the County of San Luis Obispo to serve as a contracting agent while also allowing non-original water districts to seek funding.

However, the San Miguel Community Services District Board has already noted they plan to vote against Amendment 2 because it allows other Groundwater Sustainability Agencies to seek money through grants and the state. Any changes to the Memorandum of Agreement require a unanimous vote of the original agencies.

The Cambria Community Services District Board will meet at 1 p.m. on Jan. 18 at the Veterans Memorial Hall.

Under item 6-a on the agenda, the board is slated to approve a 9% salary increase over three years for management and confidential employees. The increase will cost the district approximately $6,000 over the next six months.

In addition, the board is set to increase the length of administrative leave from 40 to 80 hours per fiscal year at a cost of approximately $23,000 annually.