Putting the waste in SLO County Integrated Waste Management Authority

March 25, 2026

Julie Tacker

OPINION by JULIE TACKER

After years of financial missteps, greed, and corruption, the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA) just can’t stop themselves. Frittering away our money seems to be all they know how to do.

Now, they are again throwing good money after bad.

In a January CalCoastNews opinion piece. I shared with you examples of wasteful expenses including, high-cost salaries, staff lunches, airfare for employment interviewees, and adding staff positions. This was after hiring consultants for payroll and human resource services.

Over the last five-years financial mismanagement in this tiny agency has led to, conflicts of interest and embezzlement. There have been several investigations, resignations and an arrest.

The 2023 payroll anomalies, still under investigation, led to the hire of an outside bookkeeper in early 2024. This individual was paid a flat rate of $2,000 a month to reconcile the small agency’s monthly expenses, assist with payroll and retirement, and among a few other things, prepare monthly financial reports.

The data entry, general ledger coding and time card tracking is done by IWMA staff, is handed over to the bookkeeper to be a “second set of eyes.” With about 200 transactions each month, $2,000 a month was too much for too little.

After an abysmal audit for fiscal year 2022-2023, the IWMA issued a request for proposals for bookkeeping services. It was expected that the current bookkeeper would submit a proposal to continue her work, she did not.

In fact, soon after proposals were submitted in mid-December, she abruptly resigned, “at the advice of my attorney and my insurance company that I discontinue services with the IWMA completely.”  Giving rise to concern about the agency’s money, at the time of her resignation, October and November’s financials weren’t complete.

Another bookkeeper was hired, for just $1,450 per month, and a new request for proposal was circulated.

After much discussion, the IWMA board, on a 7 to 1 vote, with the only voice of opposition being that of Vice President Navid Fardanesh, engaged a CPA firm from Clovis. This was the second lowest bid, for up to $10,000 a month.

Fardanesh’s voice comes from the position of representing the county’s 33 special districts. These districts are all small; some have experienced financial mismanagement themselves, and his fiscally conservative watchful eye is appreciated.

Contrary to the representatives from the city’s and board of supervisors, who supported the $120,000 annual contract to come from agencies that have discretionary funds and staff’s to rely on, without taking a real interest in ways to cut costs and implement efficiencies at the IWMA.

At issue at the IWMA is internal controls, this is important in a small agency, as a checks and balances approach is a best practice in accounting. The IWMA has been plagued by individuals who are calculating their own hours, retirement and benefits, with a “thumb-on-the-scale” that benefit that individual.

There are nine board members, one from each of the seven cities, one county supervisor and Fardanesh, one representative for the twelve community services district’s with solid waste authority.

The IWMA is a Joint Powers Authority of these entities. Your representative should hear from you to put this agency under a microscope.

The more the IWMA outsources their job duties; the less the employees have to do. Makes one wonder if they can start cutting staff positions to reduce costs, or if we will just follow the money right into the landfill.