Archive for the ‘Helping Hands’ Category
CCSD Secrecy At It’s Finest
On August 11, 2008 Amanda Rice submitted a public document request asking for several items. She asked for copies of emails from General Manager Tammy Rudock to the Board during a given time period, copies of emails from CCSD to the League of Women’s Voters, and copies of any contract between CCSD and the League of Women’s Voters regarding the Prop. 218 protest. The CCSD response, signed by Ms. Rudock, said that she doesn’t retain “sent” emails, that there were no emails to the League nor was there any contract. The following is a reprint of my August 30th email to Ms. Rudock:
Dear Ms. Rudock,
At a time when there is a great deal on community concern about transparency at the CCSD, it is very disturbing to see the public records response received by Amanda Rice. In her request she asked for copies of some of your “sent” emails.
The attached public records response says in part ” Ms. Rudock does not retain sent emails in the regular course of business and I have checked and she did not retain any such emails.” Since the response letter is signed by you, could you please explain who the “I” refers to when the response is talking about your practices.
I have serious concerns, shared by many other Cambrians, that you do not retain “sent” emails. What record do you have of the electronic correspondence you have with others? As CCSD is a public agency, Cambrians have a right to access the records of public business, and ordinary and prudent business practice is to keep records of correspondence. Can you please provide me with an explanation of why such records are not retained.
Among the recipients of this message are the CCSD Board and the CCSD District Counsel. I sincerely hope that you will ensure that the practice of the General Manager maintaining no record of electronic correspondence will be terminated immediately. If this same practice is being followed by any other CCSD employees it should be terminated immediately as well.Richard Davega
Appeal from AboutCambria.com for Your Support
I originally started AboutCambria.com as a place for Cambrians to share information about the issues surrounding the rate increase that was rejected last fall. As I continued to learn about the District, it became clear that an additional source of information - one that could augment what could be found on the CCSD’s website and what is printed in the Cambrian. Although it isn’t yet everything I hope it can become, it has come a long way.
We recently had to change to a new web host because there have been so many visitors we brought down the server on the old host (more than once). Since the move we’ve averaged about 250 visitors per day. There are now 62 people subscribed to the feedblitz newsletter that sends out an email when new articles are posted. (See right column to sign up.)
I want to keep this resource growing and thriving and have come up against the limits of what I can do by myself financially. A few readers have already donated generously to AboutCambria.com and to them I say thank you. They have helped keep the hosting and some of the software tools paid for. With the new host and the amount of time involved, I need to get some more financial support to keep this project alive and continue to pay my mortgage, so I can remain a Cambrian.
You can donate to the cause (not tax-deductible, but definitely a few points toward good karma) using paypal by clicking the little gold guy at the end of almost every article. Any amount will help cover the costs. I’d like to stop digging a deeper hole, so every dollar counts. If you prefer to avoid paypal, I will be at the CCSD meeting this Thursday or you are welcome to send check by mail (2220 Ardath) or call me (4191) to arrange a transfer from your offshore account. Any and all donors will receive my deepest gratitude and a thank you (with a link to a site of your choice) on a new Supporters page - though if you prefer to remain anonymous, that will be respected.
Thanks to everyone who writes for AboutCambria.com and everyone who reads it. I hope it will continue to improve and be a resource for our community in the years to come.
I believe that the best way to have a good community is to make sure there is information and conversation easily available accompanied by citizens paying attention to what their representatives are doing in the name of the community. We don’t have to all agree, but we do have to communicate.
More valuable than a gallon of gas? Say YES! with a small donation today.Tags: 93428, aboutcambria, appeal, donation
Prop. 218 Protest Count Entering Day 18 (Not Including Weekends)
Three weeks have passed since the hearing on the rates, two since the date originally scheduled for the announcement of its success or failure. Those watching the process during the first week (before they closed their doors to the public) say actual counting didn’t start until Friday, July 18 and continued through that weekend. Validations started Monday the 21st of July.
According to Ms. Rudock, the staff is not working on this full time anymore. A friend who went in to the CCSD office to pay her bill today asked the questions a lot of Cambrians have on their mind about the Prop 218 voting: First, can I find out if my protest was counted? The standard answer, provided in a nice way, was “not until the counting is finished.” Concerned her vote would not be validated and added to the total AFTER the counting was done, she asked if she could leave a sample of her signatures, since she has two distinct ways she signs things. The woman behind the counter (Suzy, I believe) was helpful, but unsure whether or not she could accept such a thing (though she was very helpful and professional - even during and after a call from a customer who was clearly neither). Monique came into the front office during their conversation and took the copies of my friends signature, though she wasn’t sure they’d use it.
The staff has likely been fielding many calls and visits every day of the past three weeks, some less than polite. Most of the staff is just as in the dark as the rest of the community, as the counters work behind closed doors and with no small amount of secrecy. The District Clerk, District Counsel, two other CCSD staff members and the League of Women Voters reps (I assume) had been working on the count…whether this is still the crew counting and how many hours a day are devoted are unknown.
Doing a bit of math, if they check each and every protest (up to 2001, the number needed to defeat the increase) and each one is examined for about 5 minutes, it would take about 167 hours for one person to count and validate that many. That comes out to about 20 full-time 8 hour days with no lunch break. They MUST be getting close. It’s been over two weeks since an update - so how about one? Perhaps the Cambrian will have some new information….For now, here is some information originally posted as a comment to another post. Recommended reading from Mary Webb, who watched the whole first week of counting - free of charge to Cambrians. Thanks, Mary.
From Mary Webb:
It took 3 CCSD employees and 2 (CCSD paid) League of Women Voters representatives eight full days to alphabetize and review 2500 protests. Although the CCSD continues to label this review a “League of Women Voter’s” process, most League questions were directed to and answered by CCSD staff members Pam Duffield and Kathy Choate. In fact, the C.F.R. observers were concerned enough about this lack of oversight by the LOWV at the beginning of the week that we asked the League of Women Voter’s to observe what Duffield and Choate were doing, rather than sorting and alphabetizing the protests by street name. In response to our requests, LOWV Sara Horne agreed to move her chair closer to the CCSD employees following our request for more oversight.
After one week, of sitting in mandatory silence and observing the CCSD staff and League of Women voters sort and alphabetize and remove ballots for signature concerns, and supposed duplicates, we were finally getting to the validation process. Friday, July 18 was spent in an orderly fashion checking off addresses alphabetically, beginning with “A thru F”, a process that took 7 hours. I learned a lot on Friday as the CCSD staff was finally talking loud enough that we could hear what was being said, and the conversation involved the actual dispositioning of the protests. In other words, I could figure out what they were deciding and compare the results to my county database of protest names, addresses and parcel numbers.
When we (the Cambrians for Fiscal Responsibility) observers left on Friday, July 18, District counsel Art Montandon announced that the CCSD staff was going to meet “in the offices” over the weekend to review some of the protests that were questionable. Mr. Montandon explained that the League of Women Voters was not expected to attend this weekend review. The citizen observers were not invited to attend as it was to be held in the district offices, rather than Suite 204, and they were physically going to check files.
On Monday morning July 21, at 9:00 a.m., contrary to Art’s statement, we discovered that the League of Women voters did attend this weekend session with the CCSD staff. I also discovered that protests involving street addresses “G thru Z” had been reviewed over the weekend, and, unfortunately, I and the C.F.R. observers missed out on the conversations regarding the validating of all of those protests.
The League and staff proceeded to review protests they pulled over the weekend comparing them to the CCSD’s ‘ratepayer’ list, to see if those people can be found on the County’s property owner list or a “CIS” list.
As the protests are compared to differing lists, it is readily apparent to anyone witnessing the process, that the County’s list contains more current information and more accurate information than the CCSD’s ‘ratepayer’ list or the “CIS” list. Many of the protest names and addresses that did not show on the CCSD database were approved by checking the county’s list. When this scenario occurred, CCSD Staff member Pam Duffield often asked “why are these names on the county list - has this change taken place recently?” only to be answered by CCSD clerk Monique “no , those changes in the County’s database had taken place in either 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007.” I could have answered that question myself as most of those names and addresses appeared on the database I was referring to, which is a County list of Parcel Numbers, but did not show on the CCSD’s ‘ratepayer’ list.
Although the staff complained about their intermittent internet service it’s important to know the county list can be downloaded into your computer without having to be ‘on line’. CCSD staff member Monique commented that “half of the owner’s names may have been dropped from the CCSD’s rate payer list when the CCSD databases were updated”. Once this was discovered, I wondered why the CCSD didn’t just compare ballot names to the County database, and work from that list rather than the CCSD’s ‘ratepayer’ database. Seems it would have saved a lot of time…and money.
There are stacks of protests that have been checked against one ‘list, but not ‘all’ lists, and other tenant protests that will only be checked against ‘certain’ lists. If the CCSD does not have a tenant’s name on their tenant list, and the owner of the property has not protested, I believe those votes may be discounted, even if that tenant has paid a CCSD bill. According to the League of Women voters, there are protests that are ‘suspect’ as the signatures do not match a limited signature ‘database’ at the CCSD office, and those may be declared invalid. Art admitted the CCSD only has about half of customer’s signatures on file at the CCSD office! I am also concerned that there are tenants who have signed protests that the CCSD may not know are tenants. Couldn’t we just get a cancelled check from those people who have protested and paid a CCSD bill at some point in the last year? There are protests that have been called ‘duplicates’ that I believe represent more than one vote as the customer has more than one APN (assessor’s parcel number) with water, and there are protests that have been set aside for review, due to confusion on ownership name if the property is in a trust account.
Protests were placed in separate stacks for ‘review’; some are considered ‘provisional,’ some are considered ‘duplicates’, and some are ‘verified’. Art says there are no actual ‘rejects’ yet, because each one will be review again before calling it a ‘reject’. Art said we would be able to obtain copies of the ‘rejects’ once the vote is certified, but it is unclear whether we will be able to act on a ‘reject’ or discuss ‘rejects’ after the vote is certified and before any action is taken on a rate increase.
If the protest does not succeed, Cambrians for Fiscal Responsibility will request a 10-15 day period in which to try to verify supposed ‘rejected protest forms’. On Friday, Art said he didn’t know if they would be finished with the process Monday, July 21. This prediction turned out to be correct – the count has not been completed as of this writing, Saturday August 2, and the citizens have not been given an estimate of when the count will be completed and certified.
I, and others, have questions about the methodology used for this process and submitted questions, not only to the CCSD, but in person, to the League of Women Voters expressing concern during the vote verifying process. Those questions have never been answered. Because the CCSD never set forth a procedure for this vote protest, I believe the League of Women voters did not fully understand the complexities of our situation when counting began Tuesday, July 15. This is not a Presidential Election – there is no database of voter’s signatures in this process as there would be in a Presidential Election. I believe the League is just now realizing it is NOT “one person = one vote” as in a Presidential election, nor is it “one site address = one vote”, but it is actually “one parcel = one vote” according to property ownership (or ratepayer) and water meter account. It’s unfortunate that these questions were not answered by the CCSD Gen. Manager, and clarified in full before beginning the process of protest validation. I believe the citizens of Cambria, the CCSD staff, and the League of Women Voters would all been better served.
So, will we reach a majority of 2001 (a number that must be substantiated)? In July, Montandon didn’t believe the CCSD would continue to pay him or staff, to research all the ‘questionable’ ballots once we reach the supposedly successful 2001 number. In effect, we are now paying Mr. Montandon, CCSD staff, the League of Women voters (and a handwriting expert?) to ‘re-review’ all of the votes because the process was not clear enough in the beginning.
Mary
Morro Bay Wins Grant for Public Participation
An organization called Common Sense California is offering grants for communities to use for public participation projects. CSC awarded $2,500 to City of Morro Bay Fire Department as it gathered its citizens to discuss the possibility of contracting fire services to Cal Fire. Cambria could certainly use some help like this - perhaps the Board will choose to apply for one of the grants available before the September 10, 2008 deadline. Just a thought….
More about the grants:
Common Sense California (CSC) has announced the offering of $125,000.00 in funds to municipalities, school districts and non-profit organizations that are attempting to engage their citizens in legitimate, informed decision making through their “Citizen Engagement Grant Program.”
The grants are divided into two levels and will be awarded in two timeframes. CSC is offering four “Common Sense Grants” up to $25,000.00 each for use in developing campaigns that involve the public around issues pertaining to city/regional and/or K12 policy. Applications for these grants will be received through September 12, 2008, with recipients notified in early October. “Catalyst Grants” in amounts up to $7,500.00 will be awarded on a “rolling basis”, beginning in late June.
Recent examples of such citizen engagement projects have included land use/infrastructure decisions at the city and county levels, K12 school budget and curriculum policy formation, city-wide five and ten-year visioning plans, plus school regionalization/shared service decisions.
“As a multi-partisan and non-profit organization, Common Sense California is uniquely positioned to support legitimate efforts to engage citizens in important public policy issues, where the “voice” of the informed citizen can really make a difference,” said Pete Peterson, executive director of CSC. “We understand that, oftentimes, California’s civic leaders have wanted to involve the public more on specific policy matters, but either did not have an expertise in various engagement methodologies, or the budget to make it happen. Our Common Sense Grant Program is an attempt to answer both of those challenges.”
What is “Legitimate” Citizen Engagement?
More about the criteria for the Common Sense Grants can be found on the website, but for a glimpse at how CSC defines this term, Ed Everett, the recent City Manager for Redwood City and current co-Chair of CSC’s City/Regional Task Force puts it this way: “Leaders are beginning to understand that on particular policy questions, the focus of control needs to move from the outcome to the citizen engagement process.” In this, they can “take their hands off the wheel” of the outcome and truly concentrate on gaining the input of informed citizens. By creating these “spaces” where citizens from a variety of perspectives can deliberate over an important policy question, there is also the very real opportunity for building community as citizens discuss a localized policy concern that interests all.
How to Apply
All Common Sense Grant applications will be taken through the Common Sense California website: http://www.commonsenseca.org.
Further information about grant criteria and the selection process will also be noted on the website.
About Common Sense California
Common Sense California is a mulit-partisan and non-profit organization that promotes citizen engagement throughout the state as a means of producing better policy decisions, and offering Californians meaningful opportunities to participate in their governance. To this end we both support civic participation financially through our Common Sense Grant Program, but also work consultatively, sitting down with civic leaders to talk about ways in which they can more effectively engage their citizens.
More valuable than a gallon of gas? Say YES! with a small donation today.Tags: Add new tag, civic participation, grants
LAFCO Municipal Services Review To Be Heard July 31
Tomorrow at 9:00am in the San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors Chamber LAFCO staff will present their review of the CCSD to the Commission. The Draft MSR was recently presented to the CCSD. The version that will be presented tomorrow has a few changes and the comments from a few interested parties. You can read the draft version with the comments I submitted by downloading it here.
The LAFCO staff’s responses to my comments will be included in the document presented tomorrow. If you are a government agency groupie and Cambrian, this will be the only place to be tomorrow from 9-10am.
Then look to AboutCambria.com for a report about the meeting!
More valuable than a gallon of gas? Say YES! with a small donation today.Tags: Cambria, CCSD, LAFCO, MSR, Municipal services review, SLO
Where does AboutCambria.com Stand on Cambria Issues?
As we await the results of the second prop 218 ballot validations, it seems like a good time to reflect on why this site was first created and how it has grown and changed. (Those of you wanting a report from the July 24th meeting…one will be up soon!)
So where does AboutCambria.com stand on Cambria issues? The short answer: Behind each and every Cambrian who wants their voice heard and right next to every person who loves this town and wants to contribute to it’s success. Of course, that’s not really an answer, and the longer answer is, of course, longer.
Just to the right of these words is a section in the right column that says
PLEASE NOTE: About Cambria.com was built as a forum for all Cambrians and the community. The ideas and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of AboutCambria.com or any organization or the community as a whole. Express yourself. Comment to show support or opposition. Contribute to state your case.
This statement (plus the one at the very bottom of the page) hint at what I’d like to see this site become. The driving force behind building this resource was to provide a place for “regular” Cambrians (and CFRC members) to exchange ideas, share documents, have conversations, share a calendar and links to useful sites. It’s no substitute for face to face conversations, but I hope an interactive website would help extinguish one of the main things stopping some from participating: time.
The CFRC formed to oppose the fall 2007 rate increase, not to oppose the CCSD. It is difficult not to take things personally in such a small community and there has been tension and some animosity. But our group is still serious about working with the CCSD find a way forward and propose a rates plan that the community would get behind. AboutCambria.com was built to help address the steep learning curve. The volunteers worked hard to ensure their rates proposal would be informed and realistic.
Since AboutCambria.com launched last November, many of the contributing writers focus on improving the oversight and accountability of the CCSD. Not too many cheerleaders for CCSD. I get reactions from some who see this site as a CCSD-bashing, inflammatory and/or insulting site and are not likely to join the conversation. That view is very far from my ideal vision: a democratic, self-monitoring, safe place for dialogs and debates in the interest of our community.
What AboutCambria.com will never be is free from bias. When it comes to discussion of the future of Cambria, I would be a fool to think any site would be unbiased. What this site CAN be is balanced. (And quit thinking I’ve gone all Fox News on you!) Where does AboutCambria.com Stand on Cambria Issues? It stands in support of them. All of them. Because one of the core values of this site is one central to the success of democracy: access to information and education. The founding fathers believed that successful democracy requires well-informed, involved citizens. If AboutCambria.com is providing accurate information about the community and the opportunity for everyone to add to the conversation so everyone is more well-informed and more involved, I consider it a success. If AboutCambria.com becomes a nursery for solutions for Cambria, it will be a resounding success.
AboutCambria.com is not a success yet….And it needs YOUR help. Have you commented or written a post? I have invited the participation of many in the community, including the General Manager and her staff and Board President Joan Cobin. CCSD Director Muril Clift has responded constituents’ concerns that had been posted and contributing a human interest story about Zac Sunderland, perhaps to remind everyone it isn’t ALL About Cambria. Other members of the community who have posted here: Charlotte Darehshori, Clive Finchamp, Doug Buckmaster, Elizabeth Bettenhausen, Rich Davega, Frank DeMicco, Anne Winburn, Lauren Younger, Richard Brownhill and yours truly - Amanda Rice.
Now its your turn. Go on over and read the Fine Print (click tab above) and then get to typing what you think about all of this. Its simple - you can click the “Submit a Post” tab at the top or register to be a member with additional editing tools and permissions. There is no charge to contribute. That’s right - FREE! Contact Amanda if you have any questions or problems with the site.
So where does AboutCambria.com stand on the issues? On the community’s side.
Four Little Thought Packets:
- A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both. ^ James Madison
- Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights. ^ Thomas Jefferson
- Don’t be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against; not with; the wind. ^ hamilton mabie
- Any story sounds true until someone tells the other side and sets the record straight. ^Proverbs 18:17
“…County officials in San Diego recently gave the Palomar Mountain volunteer fire department a grant to buy gel that residents can spray on their homes.”
Perhaps we can get San Luis Obispo County to give Cambria Fire Department a grant to buy gel that Cambria Residents Can spray on their homes. It is available. It works. Does Cambria F.D. have any gel they can use on their trucks?
The CCSD is good at getting grants….maybe they could get a grant for Fire Retardant Gel for the community.
While I applaud the efforts of the Fire Department, and their dedication to our safety, I wonder if I would be better protecting my house from burning down in a forest fire in Cambria if I had spent the $800.00 I paid ( for whacking down the forest floor on my property) on Fire Retardant Gel? Perhaps instead of more water tanks around town for Cambria firefighting, we could invest in some fire retardant gel systems. I think we could buy a LOT of gel for the cost we pay for water tanks.
Any thoughts, or experience with the gel?
You can also buy your own gel Barricade Home Kit
Complete Four 1-gallon containers with garden hose applicator and instructional DVD$685 ORDER ON LINE
Barricade Fire Gel has saved hundreds of homes in the United States
Barricade is now available to homeowners who can apply the water/gel coating on their own property in front of an approaching wildfire, before retreating to a safe area. When mixed with water at the end of a garden hose…
New Fire-Retardant Gel Can Save Homes
“Gel is a 21st-century tool. It has to become a mainstay of the fire service, and it’s not yet,” Waggoner said.
10-09-2007
By JOE KAFKA
Associated Press Writer
HOT SPRINGS, S.D. –
It was the most intense fire ever recorded in the Black Hills National Forest, but nearly all homes coated with a slimy gel were saved while dozens of houses nearby burned to the ground.
The gel was a super-absorbent polymer that can hold many times its weight in water and clings well to vertical surfaces and glass. It is mixed with water and then can be sprayed on homes with a truck-mounted hose or a backpack apparatus, or dropped from a plane.
The substance is relatively new to firefighting, having been developed about a decade ago, and is not widely used. But some firefighters who have tried it are impressed, saying it offers longer-lasting protection than the foam retardants that have been around for many years.
“This stuff really works,” Ed Waggoner of Reno, Nev., a retired California fire boss who now helps direct attacks on large forest fires in the Black Hills. “We’re talking about a water bubble that you put on your house two or three hours before the fire gets there, and it’ll save it when the fire gets there.”
Sabo has developed a $12,000-to-$20,000 gel system that can be attached to fire trucks and recently has begun to sell it to fire departments. (By comparison, a compressed-air foam system for a fire truck, which is what most fire departments use to protect homes, costs about $80,000.)
Read the rest of the article here.
Tags: fire, fire retardant, fire supression, protection
About Cambria’s Growing Library of Documents
This site was born to provide a place for Cambrians to share resources and ideas relevant to the CCSD and it’s rate increase. We were helping each other through a crash course of what our local government can and should be doing. To that end, I have posted many links and documents (accessible by clicking the Library and/or Links tabs at the top of the page.)
To date, the Library has 97 documents from many reputable sources. In the Library you will find:
- numerous CCSD expenditure reports, contracts and financial documents obtained through public records requests.
- Primers and booklets about Community Services District laws and the communities they serve, published by the state and professional organizations.
- Rate Studies and Budgets from other agencies - to compare with what the CCSD has done.
- All about water: supply, demand, drought, management, pricing and financing.
- Publications written primarily for CSD staffs and boards to aide in their service to the community.
- An excel document for doing water quantity conversions (acre-feet->CCSD Units ->Gallons) and water demand calculations.
- Documents focussed on public participation, improving government accountability and civic engagement.
Visit the library to download any of the documents available. Below is a list of the document titles and authors you will find in the aboutcambria.com online library.
If you have any documents you think should be included in the library (paper or electronic), please contact Amanda Rice at 927-4191 or amanda at aboutcambria.com.
|
Document |
Source/Author |
|
2000 Advisory Ballot on Desal |
CCSD |
|
2007 Resource Management Survey |
SLO County |
|
A Guide To Asset Management For Small Water Systems |
National Environmental Services Center |
|
A primer on Municipal Services Reviews of CSDs |
Multiple |
|
Best Management Practices |
California Urban Water Conservation Council |
|
Black and Veatch Long Term Financial Plan Report |
Black and Veatch |
|
Board BRP Presentation from Black and Veatch report |
Black and Veatch |
|
The Brown Act – Open Meetings Law |
State of California |
|
Budget Expenditure Report May 2008 |
CCSD |
|
California Public Records Act |
State of California |
|
California State Auditor’s Review of CSDs |
CA State Auditor |
|
Cal Tax Criteria for Evaluating Infrastructure Bonds |
Cal Tax |
|
Cambria Design Plan |
SLO County |
|
CCC response to Major Amendment to LCP |
CCC |
|
CCSD 2006-2007 Operating Budget |
CCSD Staff |
|
CCSD Agenda- March 27 Meeting |
CCSD |
|
CCSD Budget Expenditure Report - April 2007 |
CCSD |
|
CCSD Budget Expenditure Report August 2007 |
CCSD Staff |
|
CCSD Budget Expenditure Report July 2007 |
CCSD Staff |
|
CCSD Budget Expenditure Report June 2007 |
CCSD Staff |
|
CCSD Budget Expenditure Report March 2007 |
CCSD Staff |
|
CCSD Budget Expenditure Report May 2007 |
CCSD Staff |
|
CCSD Budget Expenditure Report November 2007 |
CCSD Staff |
|
CCSD Budget Expenditure Report October 2007 |
CCSD Staff |
|
CCSD Budget Expenditure Report September 2007 |
CCSD Staff |
|
CCSD 2008-2010 Capital Financing Budget |
CCSD |
|
CCSD Draft Financial Audit |
Moss, Levy |
|
CCSD FY 05- 06 Audit Report |
CCSD |
|
CCSD Lobbying Contract Approval |
CCSD |
|
CCSD Owner Customer Rate Increase Notice |
Joan Cobin |
|
CCSD Task 2 and 4 Water Needs and Alternatives |
CCSD |
|
CFRC Board Packet for March 6 CCSD Meeting |
Cambrians for a Fiscally Responsible CCSD |
|
CFRC Suggestion for Quarterly Report Contents |
CFRC |
|
CFRC Water and Wastewater Rates Proposal |
CFRC |
|
Changing the way We Govern- Building Democratic Governance |
National League of Cities |
|
Citizen’s Guide to Joint Powers Agreements
|
CA state senate local gov’t committee |
|
City of Sonoma Water Rates Study |
Jack Weber, Weber Analytical |
|
Climate Action Handbook |
local governments for Sustainability |
|
Community Needs, Community Services |
State of California |
|
Complete Preliminary Buildout Reduction Document |
RBF Consulting |
|
Coping With Climate Change: Short- term Efficiency Technologies |
Woodrow Wilson Institute and Policy Research Initiative of Canada |
|
CPUC Water Rate Adjustment worksheets |
CPUC |
|
Guide to Special District Laws & Related Codes |
CSDA |
|
Guidelines for Leases and Certificates of Participation |
Kathleen Brown State Treasurer |
|
Draft Municipal Services Review |
SLOLAFCo |
|
Executing Your Game Plan: Managing Capital Improvement Projects |
National Environmental Services Center |
|
Financing Open Space and Watershed Acquisition in California |
Trust for Public Lands |
|
General Manager Contract |
CCSD |
|
Growth Management Ballot Measures in California |
Solimar Research Group, Inc. |
|
Growth Management Ordinance Title 26 Of San Luis Obispo County Code |
SLO County |
|
Guidebook To Assist Preparation Of 2005 UWMP |
CA Dept of Water Resources |
|
Improving Performance and Accountability in Local Government |
Gibson, Lacey, Dougherty |
|
Improving the Appraisal Function in Resources Land Acquisitions |
CA Legislative Analyst’s Office |
|
In Hot Water: Water Management Strategies |
National Resources Defense League |
|
Is Water Policy Limiting Residential Growth? |
Public Policy Institute of California |
|
Just The Facts - Water Quality and Supply |
PPIC |
|
LAFCO and Water Management Decisions |
CALAFCO |
|
LAFCO Municipal Service Review Guidelines |
SLOLAFCO |
|
LAFCO MSR Letter from Several Cambrians |
Amanda Rice |
|
Lawns and Water Demand in California |
Public Policy Institute of California |
|
LCP Amendments Response from CCC |
Coastal Commission |
|
Little Hoover Commission Studies |
Little Hoover Commission |
|
Local Government Reporting Program Automated Reporting Guidelines |
State of California |
|
Local Governments Records Management Guidelines |
State of California |
|
Measuring Price Responsiveness in Residential Demand |
Mary Renwick, Richard Green and Chester McCorkle |
|
Monterey Bay Sanctuary Desalination Policies and Action Plans |
NOAA |
|
MSRs, SOIs, And Special Districts |
Chiat, Bill |
|
OPEBs and GASB 45 (A Question and Answer Guide) |
California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission |
|
Pine Knolls Tanks Appeal Documents |
CCC |
|
Preparing For Climate Change |
Local Government for Sustainability |
|
Proposed Desalination Plants in California |
Pacific Institute |
|
Proposition 218 Implementation Guide |
League of CA Cities |
|
Protecting Your Community’s Assets National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities Public Engagement In California |
Yankelovich, Daniel and Isabella Furth |
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Public Involvement Needs Assessment |
Center for Collaborative Policy |
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Self Assessment Tools for Small Community Decision Makers |
National Environmental Services Center |
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SLO County North Coast Area Plan |
SLO County |
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SLO County Treasury Investment Policy |
SLO County |
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Special Districts Financial Transactions Report |
State Controller |
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Standards Of Excellence In Civic Engagement |
The Harwood Institute |
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Summary of the California Public Records Act 2004 |
California Attorney General |
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Templeton CSD FY 07-08 Budget |
Templeton CSD |
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Tools for Financing Water Infrastructure |
US EPA |
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Update to County Growth Management Plan |
County |
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Urban Drought Guidebook |
CA DWR |
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Water Infrastructure Tools for Financing |
EPA |
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Water Rights: Supply Issues For Local Agency Formation Commission |
CALAFCO |
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WATER RIGHTS: Supply Issues for Local Agency Formation Commissions |
CALAFCO |
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Water Special Districts: A Look At Governance And Public Participation |
Legislative Analysts |
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Water Units Conversion |
Amanda Rice |
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What’s So Special About Special Districts? |
Kimia Mizany & April Manatt |
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Working Together- A Citizen’s Guide to Joint Powers Agreements |
Senate Local Government Committee |
Tags: Cambria, documents, library, local, resources
Big Sur on Fire and Online - What You Can Do
As nearly everyone is certainly aware, a major fire is burning a little over 45 miles north of Cambria. Highway One has been closed for at least two weeks and Cambria Fire Chief Putney has been leading a strike team for almost two weeks. According to a 6AM update at Surfire2008.org today, over 72,000 acres have burned and the fire is only 11% contained. There are 2,320 personnel currently fighting this fire and only 3 injuries so far. Surfire2008.org is being updated “officially” twice a day, but is acting as a communication source and bulletin board for locals, so there are posts being put up throughout the day by many in the community.
Anyone visiting the site can see updates on the fire fighting efforts as well as needs and offers to help. Of particular interest to Cambrians should be the pages where people can offer housing or to volunteer and the pages listing needs for housing or volunteers.
For other official fire information, visit the County of Monterey’s Fire Information page. To see a map updated yesterday of the Indians and Big Sur Fires, Click Here. See the change in the affected areas, check out this image from July 1 and July 3.
For information more current, but unofficial, visit the surfire2008.org blog first, then go visit Xasáuan Today, which is continuing to update a back country photo tour of the areas affected by the fire (pre-fire). KUSP radio also has been keeping a great web resource updated regularly. Below is a Google Earth image of the fire details from this morning.
There are many opportunities for people to give their help or financial support to those who are directly affected by these fires. I suggest visiting surfire.org to find out what help is most needed. And keep all the firefighters and other emergency workers in your thoughts and prayers.
Are you prepared for a possible emergency here in Cambria? Visit the Fire Emergency Preparedness pages on the CCSD’s web site. Use the navigation links on the right to learn about preparing for evacuation or staying put if a fire like the one in the Big Sur area threatens our community.
More valuable than a gallon of gas? Say YES! with a small donation today.Tags: Big Sur, emergency, fire, help
Don’t Panic: Your Cell Phone is Not About to be Ringing Endlessly.
Have you gotten this email??
Cell phone numbers going public today REMINDER….all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies today and you will start to receive sale calls. ….YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time it blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number. HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS. It take about 20 seconds.
When I read it, I thought I’d check up on this dire warning. Here’s what I found:
The Truth directly from the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call web site:
You may place your personal cell phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry. The registry has accepted cell phone numbers since it opened for registrations in June 2003. There is no deadline to register a home or cell phone number on the Registry.
You may have received an email telling you that your cell phone is about to be assaulted by telemarketing calls as a result of a new cell phone number database; however, that is not the case. Federal Communications Commission regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers.
I verified this information by checking with the California State Attorney General’s web site and the Federal Trade Commission’s web site where I found this press release from April 2008.
Tags: cell phone, do-not-call