Julie Tacker wrote an opinion piece on CalCoastNews which, sadly for her, drops her credibility even lower due to many the misstatements and just plain untruths.
Let's go through them one by one:
Ogren likely chose to skip his stint as the LOCSD manager because in a sworn statement Buel admits Ogren directed Buel to back-date a contract that ultimately landed the district in court and was integral to the district ultimately filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
Firstly, none of us has seen Mr. Ogren's resume. We must presume it was either a handout at the Wednesday meeting that you Julie must have attended, or you got it quickly through a public records request. OK, for this purpose of refutation, we believe that the LOCSD stint as IGM was not mentioned. You then make a wild assumption that this omission must be due to the back dating of a contract Ogren directed causing the bankruptcy!
NOT TRUE!
Your board's stopping the project caused the bankruptcy! All the time, money and effort you and Lisa put in to trying to make the backdated contract a lawsuit was for absolutely NOTHING, it
was and
still is a non-issue! Spending money on speculative will-it-stick-on-the-wall issues like this is what caused the bankruptcy in Los Osos!
I won't even go into your silly speculations on a county official influencing a CSD director.
The only way to afford his exorbitant salary is to raise rates and/or sell Oceano’s most valuable asset – its water.
NOT TRUE! You really have no idea what monies he can save in crafting an actual budget, something so screwed up in Oceano, it hasn't managed a timely audit in years. For instance, the vacant accountant position will be his and the car allowance won't. Our new GM in Los Osos is still trying to unscramble the mess your board made of the money, so you are in NO position to opine on finances.
The OCSD last met in closed session on April 23rd and there was “no reportable action” taken. Somehow direction was given to legal counsel to negotiate and draft a contract.
Now Julie, you know how that works, remember the PZLDF contract with attorney Shaunna Sullivan that YOUR board wrote with no public knowledge at all, enraging even your supporters?
A tremendous amount of work went into finagling the formula in which to pay this kind of salary. How was this direction given by a majority of the board if there was no reportable action on the 23rd? The result smells of the all-to-often Brown Act violating practices that OCSD board members believe they are immune from.
Yes, we in Los Osos would like to know how the reserves vanished under YOUR watch in 2006. Brown Act violations? Finagling? When did your board direct the GM to withdraw monies held in RESERVE for fire department and water department improvements because you had somehow spent those reserves AND had no funds left to pay the bond payment either! There is no public record on how or where that money went at all! Now that smells even to this day as we are still paying the money back! Your board did not have a clue as to the meaning of the word "transparency."
Ogren will likely be out of touch with its citizens.
Why? He certainly is very well acquainted with many Los Osos citizens in all income brackets.
Los Osos Waste Water Project is mid-way through construction; already $10 million over budget and $15 to $20 million in lawsuits and claims for damages are lining up.
NOT TRUE! The project is NOT over budget, the extra costs for the treatment plant are WITHIN the budget. The lawsuit is Paavo's fault? NOT TRUE. And you don't even consider the County's counter suit as having any validity in this? You just assume ARB is correct?
In Oceano, Ogren’s work as public works director at the county has been unsuccessful at getting a Habitat Conservation Plan in place for the Arroyo Grande Creek.
NOT TRUE! it is listed in the Special Districts Budget for 2013/14. Page 5 reads: "The 2013/14 budget was endorsed by the Flood Control Zone 3 Advisory Committee on March 21, 2013. Ongoing efforts include the Arroyo Grande Creek Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)…"
http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/AD/2013-14+Special+Districts+Budget.pdf
Perhaps Ms. Tacker is not aware of how long these things actually take. The one for Los Osos was stopped in 2005 due to the recall board stopping the sewer project. Since the county took over and began actual sewer project work, our plan is finally in the works again and with years ahead of it too.
Ogren is as a former employee of the Wallace Group.
So.....? What does that have to do with anything?
It did not go unnoticed that the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District, under the leadership of John Wallace, failed to hold the county responsible for flood-waters rising and pouring off the county owned airport contributing to the cause of the massive sewage spill.
Oh, so Mr. Ogren worked for the Wallace group, and the Wallace Group didn't ding the County on the spill.....because Mr. Ogren once worked for them? No. You are off-the-wall conflating responsibilities and events in an untrue and illogical manner.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/09/07/2216530/south-county-sanitation-district.html
The spill was on December 19 and 20. However, the County had already gone for a permit from the Water Board, called an Emergency Coastal Development permit, issued December 16. They were working on the upcoming problem. It was bad news for everyone that the spill happened, but it wasn't the County's fault, so John Wallace did not hold them accountable for a reason.
http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2011/1/F6-1-2011.pdf
Ogren’s departure from the county is welcomed.
No, it isn't. You speak only for yourself and the weekly anti-County ranting crew.
His arrival in Oceano will likely bankrupt the community services district and he needs just four years to do it.
It took your board less than a year to do in Los Osos. I guess you don't want to speculate that even someone you despise could do a "better" job at bankrupting a community than you did! Pitiful, really.
