SLO County agency mistakenly sends check to board member

April 22, 2025

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 2023, 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.