The City of Morro Bay has filled a couple of vacant advisory board seats.
A split City Council recently appointed Lyn Wickham to the Public Works Advisory Board (PWAB) and appointed Tom Starnes to the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee (CFAC). Both votes were 3-2.
Their terms will expire Jan. 31, 2027.
PWAB advises the City Council on matters pertaining to the Public Works Department, things like road maintenance, street tree and parks maintenance, major capital projects and public works strategic planning.
CFAC primarily reviews the City’s spending of its two special sales tax measures — Meas. Q and E.
Meas. Q was a half-cent sales tax hike passed around 2006 after the Fire Department’s fire station on Harbor Street was condemned due mainly to damage in the 2004 San Simeon Earthquake.
Citizens rallied to pass the tax hike and put the fire department right again.
It’s stated intention was to support the fire and police departments needs, road repairs and storm drain maintenance.
But those intentions weren’t written into the law, as that would have triggered a requirement for two-thirds approval of voters. Instead the City Council promised to use the money for the stated uses.
Meas. E is a 1% sales tax intended to support public safety — police, fire and harbor patrol — but that also wasn’t specifically written into the law for the same reason as Meas. Q.
It’s CFAC’s duty to hold the City Council to its word to spend these funds as promised, though as an advisory board it has no power under the law, beyond public scrutiny and the power of public opinion.
