The county and Los Osos Community Services District will develop a plan in upcoming months to implement a state law that would lift financial pressure from low-income homeowners when they receive bills for the new Los Osos sewer.
John Waddell of the county Public Works Department told the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that officials will map out a program, including public outreach, to implement AB 1125, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law last week.
Waddell did not give a specific timetable, but the law takes effect Jan. 1, 2012.
The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, authorizes the county and the Los Osos Community Services District to come up with the program to offset costs.
Many low-income and very low-income Los Osos residents have said the cost of the new sewage collection system and plant would be so high it would drive them out of the seaside community.
The Achadjian bill would allow the county to find a way to mute those costs. It also would protect other ratepayers by prohibiting the county and district from financing the offset program using ratepayer funds.
Instead, the program will be funded using federal and state grants.
Achadjian’s bill was introduced at the request of the county board, of which Achadjian was a member before being elected to the Assembly last year.
Supervisor Bruce Gibson called the new law “a significant piece in the ongoing challenge” of getting a sewer system in Los Osos.
In 2007, the Legislature, prodded by then-Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, now the local state senator, authorized the county to take over the sewer project from the services district. During negotiations to secure state funding, the county agreed to develop a program to assist low-income residents.
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
Be the first to know what's going on in San Luis Obispo County. Just tell us how you want to find out — we'll take care of the rest.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from SanLuisObispo.com and get the latest news sent to your cell phone via text message.
By signing up for alerts from this site, you are signing up for a program that may include up to 5 SMS text alert(s) per alert category per day. There is no service fee charged per month but your carrier's standard text messaging and other charges may apply. You may stop this subscription service at any time by sending the text message "STOP" to 72737. You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use our alert services. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, you agree that you have received parental permission both to complete the registration process and to receive SMS content on your cell phone. For help, send the text message "HELP" to 72737. This service will work with ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Alltell, US Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Boost, Virgin Mobile USA, Celluar South, Telos, Centennial, East Kentucky Network, Cellcom, Immix and Rural Celluar.
E-mail »
Twitter »
Facebook »
iTribune »
Subscribe »
RSS »
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.