Support fire protection in Los Osos, not the purchase of a dilapidated school

April 13, 2026

Julie Tacker

OPINION by JULIE TACKER

“Los Osos CSD unanimously approves continued Cal Fire Services” — an April 9 New Times article —speaks only to the action the board took at their monthly board meeting the week before. The reality is the Los Osos Community Services District head-faked City of Morro Bay officials into spending a great deal of time on an apple-to-oranges proposal for emergency services, in what was a predetermined no-brainer to stay with Cal Fire services.

The community of Los Osos is at a financial crossroads.  On one hand it’s grappling with the high cost of emergency services, and the very real potential for a significant increase in its special fire tax, while on the other hand, its board is distracted by the ‘shiny object’ of trying to buy the former Sunnyside Elementary property for a park.

Paradoxically, and understandably, San Luis Obispo County and other CSD’s are looking to off-load or reduce their parks and recreation burdens.

The tax-elephant in the Los Osos district boardroom was Measure B-26, appearing on the June 2 ballot for Los Osos which, if passed, will force the Los Osos district to pay around $6 million to purchase the 75-year old Sunnyside Elementary school. The intent of the measure is to compel the Los Osos district, which has no experience in these services, to operate and maintain dilapidated classrooms, multipurpose spaces, and care for and reclaim the squirrel-infested grounds.

The Los Osos district has been an instigator in the Measure B-26 effort, by ponying up over $100,000 in recreation funds (commonly referred to as “pool funds”) to pay for legal counsel to negotiate a purchase of Sunnyside on behalf of the Los Osos district, conducting a telephone survey of just 354 Los Osos residents and producing architectural renderings of what ‘could be’ if we tax ourselves enough to purchase and maintain the site.

Yet, the cost to realize what ‘could be’ (another $5 million to $10 million) is not included in Measure B-26.

The $100,000 plus spent by the Los Osos district to assist a handful of residents in their wish to tax each parcel of land (large or small, developed or not) $185 a year for the next 15 years, came from recreation funds, which long been characterized as “pool funds.”

The initial “pool fund” was set up in the 1990’s after SLO County facilitated a successful advisory vote of the citizens of Los Osos; they collected $40 from each developed residential parcel intending to fund parks and recreation services.

A short time later, California’s Proposition 218 was passed and when the recreation tax measure was brought to the voters, now needing a two-thirds majority necessary to pass, it failed.

The money should have been returned to those who had paid, instead the $225,000 “pool fund” was transferred to the newly formed Los Osos district. Interest earnings were the only revenue source for the fund. By 2015, the fund had grown to $305,000.

Over many years, and many boards, it was agreed that the fund was a “sacred cow,” and pushed back on several Los Osos district general managers who recommended drawing upon it for salaries and benefits of office staff.

Until fiscal year 2015-2016, the fund was off limits. After that the board quietly began drawing on the fund for administration in 2015, by the end of 2018 the fund would have just $270,000 left. In addition to drawing administrative funds from the “pool fund,” the district board at that time assigned legal counsel to explore dog and pocket parks, which drew the fund down further, with no tangible results.

From 2019 through 2024, the board allocated over $80,000 of general property tax (previously allocated to the water fund) to the parks fund, bringing the balance to over $325,000. Since building a pool was a distant memory, the thinking was the fund would build a $300,000 dog park on land leased from SLO County, just north of the tennis courts at the Community Park.

Reallocating the general property tax to parks and recreation was hotly contested. Those of us paying attention argued that those funds, while only a few dollars in the scheme of things, should be allocated to the fire fund.

Over the last several years, the board has become acutely aware that the fire station is in dire need of modernization, renovation, expansion or completely replaced. Coupled with the rising cost of emergency service staffing, it has not been a secret that the current special fire tax would soon become insufficient and would need to be increased.

Early last year, the school district notified the Los Osos district that Sunnyside Elementary was for sale. The board members lost sight of funding the dog park, and began to pursue the purchase of the school. Knowing full well, the Los Osos district couldn’t fund $6 million for the purchase or operations and maintenance, they knew they needed the taxpayers to fund the tax elephant.

Long story short, the recreation fund, as it stands today has less than $200,000 in it. The money initially for a pool, then a dog park, is dwindling.

The park tax and fire tax appear to be competing. Come June, Los Osos voters will see the parks and recreation tax of $185 per year per parcel on the ballot; while the needed increase to our fire tax (estimated to be somewhere north of $185 per year) will be on a ballot in 2028.

At this juncture, Los Osos voters are not being given a choice between parks and fire taxes. It is quite possible there may not be the community bandwidth for additional taxes, causing one, the other or both to fail.

I recommend putting your money towards critical services, support our firefighters, vote no on Measure B-26 for parks and support the special fire tax increase when it appears on a future ballot.

Julie Tacker is a former Los Osos Community Services District Board member and a 20-year county-wide activist.