City of Morro BayCandidate for City Council

There is no requirement in the initiative to guarantee the new tax is reserved for First Responders.

The new tax will not be placed into a special account for public safety. The City Attorney's Impartial Analysis states the new tax goes into the General Fund, meaning the tax can be spent for most any purpose except sewer and water.

There is no Sunset Clause or ending date specified. The Measure's title “Local Recovery” implies that at some point this tax should end.

Don't be fooled: This tax increase was initiated in 2019 before the COVID-19 crisis.

If there was “tough fiscal accountability,” as is suggested, then there is no need to ask for higher taxes.

​We need:

• CONCRETE CHANGES that make our city financially strong, NOT just TEMPORARY salary reductions, and elimination of PART TIME (umpires, coaches, etc) and PREVIOUSLY unfilled positions.

• STRICT SPENDING RULES that don't bend but keep the City within budget, not expensive consultants for lofty projects.

• A BETTER ALTERNATIVE to a sales tax increase is requiring our city manager to cut the overall General Fund budget by 10%, in addition to cuts already made. A better, long term plan will provide a long term fix to the City's economic woes and preserve our First Responders.

1. In September, 2018, the City advertised the price as $126M.

2. In June, 2020, the cost of the new facility was raised to $130.6M.

3. At the August 11, 2020, City Council meeting, the project manager said he would be asking to raise the "guaranteed maximum price" again. There have been 40+ change orders to date.

​The minimum bid for the 4-pipeline conveyance system to get the sewage to the new plant site and the water away from the new site was $7M over over what's been budgeted.

​The City has yet to state what the additional annual operation and maintenance costs will be for pumping sewage 3.5 miles uphill. There is a yet-to-be-negotiated cost for tearing down the current plant and splitting the property with Cayucos that is not included in the "maximum price."

​The CA COASTAL COMMISSION HAS NO JURISDICTION over a plant if it is not new.  THE WATER BOARD CANNOT FINE us because we will meet secondary treatment standard when Cayucos disconnects from us. Cayucos will begin to operate their new sewer plant built within budget for under $30M.

Our RATES WILL HAVE TO BE LOWERED because the State does not allow overcharging.

The City Council agreed to limit 175 maximum unhosted vacation rentals in residental zones. However, the apporved unlimited unhosted in mixed use zones and commercial zones, which contain many residents. The ceiling of 175 units is to be met by attrition, so it may 3 years before the maximum of 175 units is reached. Hosted vacation rentals are unlimited regardless of zone. Effective enforcement in the next 3 years? 

For me, 3 years into the future is too far down the road for the changes to take effect. They need to happen in 1-1.5 years. In addition, the number of vacation 
rentals allowed is too high considering there are 175 allowable unhosted houses in residential zones plus unlimited unhosted houses in mixed use areas plus unlimited 
unhosted houses in commercial zones plus unlimited hosted houses everywhere. What has really changed in our neighborhoods? Enforcement will be paid for through fees by the owners, 
but will enforcement start sooner than fee are instituted? Is a 175-foot radius between vacation rentals sufficient?