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SLO County agency mistakenly sends check to board member

April 22, 2025

SLO County Supervisor Jimmy Paulding

By KAREN VELIE

In line with its history of conflicts of interest and financial mismanagement, San Luis Obispo County’s waste management agency mistakenly sent a $700 check to a board member at the end of last year. Even though he was not owed the payment, San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Jimmy Paulding held on to the erroneous check.

While city council and community service board members are provided a $100 stipend for each SLO County Integrated Waste Management Authority meeting they attend, county supervisors are not permitted payment as attendance is considered part of their job.

In this case, IWMA management staff erred when they issued the stipend check to Paulding on Dec. 30, 2024, IWMA Executive Director Peter Cron told CalCoastNews this week.

In the March 12 IWMA board packet, staff listed the $700 check to Paulding, which caught the eye of county activist Julie Tacker.

After receiving an email from Tacker, Cron quickly admitted the mistake, noting Paulding had not cashed the check.

This is not the first time the IWMA has mistakenly sent a check to a member of the Paulding family. In late 2024, the IWMA erroneously sent $4,500 to a nonprofit headed by Paulding’s wife.

An IWMA employee was tasked with sending $4,500 to Ecologistic, a nonprofit. However, the staffer erred and asked the county to send the funds to the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo (ECOSLO), a nonprofit headed by Kendra Paulding.

The county then sent Kendra Paulding’s nonprofit the funds.

After IWMA staff discovered the error, they asked Kendra Paulding to return the money, which she did.

 


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Why does it seem that whenever there is something slimy going on at the county, Jimmy Paulding’s name somehow comes up? And holding onto the check is an admission of guilt in my books.


7

It’s a bit weird, to say the least, that he didn’t cash the check, meaning he must have known that it wasn’t quite right. Why didn’t he return it immediately or have it canceled right away? Waiting months and saying nothing until a diligent member of the public nails him, whoa! The handling of this check is highly questionable behavior for a county supervisor. Again, terrific work, Julie, and to CCN Velie for making it public.


54

Good on Paulding for not cashing the check, he did the right thing. Glad to see CCN presenting favorable coverage of elected officials they normally critique.


-38

L.B., It might be more accurate to say Paulding didn’t do the worst thing, which would have been to cash or deposit the check. The fiduciary responsibility of a board member of a government agency with a history of financial mismanagement and a history of having already made a similar error with Paulding’s wife would have been to return the check and keep a written record of having done so. It would also have been a better indicator of the family’s approach to financial management of the agencies govern.


11

Umm..mistakingly???


12

Are you kidding me?


How many time does this happen where Julie Tacker doesn’t catch it?


SLO Govt. needs to be audited.


114

I agree, Kalifornia. Best practice is a rotating 5-year in-depth financial operations audit of each department. SLO County has a record of sub-agency discrepancies that cries out for agency audits.


17