By CCT STAFF
The Cayucos Sanitary District Board is planning to make their contract general manager an employee with a salary of $216,000 a year plus benefits at their Thursday board meeting.
Since 2012, General Manager Rick Koon has worked under a private consultant contract. As a contract employee, Koon received hourly wages, but no benefits. Under the current plan, Koon’s total compensation is slated to increase by more than 40 percent.
As an employee, Koon will work 32-hours per week supervising five employees and overseeing the coordination of construction of the new wastewater facility project, slated to begin operating in mid-2020.
Other compensation in the contract provides for mileage reimbursement, 20 days paid vacation, medical, dental, vision and retirement benefits totaling nearly $100,000 a year.
While the Cayucos Sanitary District is smaller than most local districts, the proposed general manager annual salary is higher. For example, the Los Osos Community Services District general manager’s salary is $150,000, Cambria Community Services District general manager’s salary is $155,000, and Oceano Community Services District’s general manager’s salary is $170,000.
At their 5 p.m. meeting on Thursday, the Cayucos Sanitary District Board is scheduled to discuss and vote on approving Koon’s employment contract.
These outrageous salaries are being approved by the people we elect to represent us. Every year, about this time, your elected County Board of Supervisors approves the budgets of special districts put forth by the special district boards, usually as consent items – i.e. no discussion. This is how the salaries of self-serving public “servants” are ratcheted up. Every year and every hire the pay goes up, up, up. Each “servant” can then say, “so-and-so” is getting “x” so I should, too, and a little more for good measure. Same thing happens with infrastructure bids. And then, money or favors go back to the middlemen via the well-paid contractors and employees – to- Adam Hill, John Shoals, Jeff Lee.