Somethin' Ain't Addin' Up -- The Bumpus Factor
Since my original post concerning the park and rec money that the Los Osos Community Pool Association is asking to be transferred to the county, I've seen something interesting come up a few times in the comments section, and I don't know what it is... something about someone named Bumpus that bequeathed $100,000, or something like that, to the LO park/rec fund.
I'm not familiar with that. If someone could give me the details in the comments section, I sure would appreciate it. Is that in a different account, or what?
The reason I'm interested, is because if that's true -- if Bumpus did bequeath $100K to the park and rec fund, then somethin' ain't addin' up.
According to Will Clemens, Department Administrator for SLO County Public Works, the $50 assessment by the Supervisors in 1996 raised about $275,000. And that sounds about right. There are about 5,000 properties in Los Osos, $50 x 5,000 = $250,000 (thank God it's simple math). So at least that's in the ball park of the $264,838 mentioned in the LOCPA e-mail.
However, the LOCPA figure leaves the ball park in a hurry when we mix in Bumpus' alleged generous gift. All of a sudden, if, indeed, there was another $100k added, the Los Osos park and rec fund should have about $375,000-plus-interest ($275,000 from the 1996 county assessment, and $100K from my man Bumpus.) And that interest -- and I'll be conservative here, because I'm bad at math -- should add at least another $25,000 to that, shouldn't it? So, now we're looking at about $400,000.
Let's see here... where's my calculator:
$400,000
- $264,838
- - - - - - - -
$185,162
I have a question. If Bumpus' gift was in the park and rec account, then what in the hell happened to the $185,162?
It sure didn't go into their web site.
###
I'm not familiar with that. If someone could give me the details in the comments section, I sure would appreciate it. Is that in a different account, or what?
The reason I'm interested, is because if that's true -- if Bumpus did bequeath $100K to the park and rec fund, then somethin' ain't addin' up.
According to Will Clemens, Department Administrator for SLO County Public Works, the $50 assessment by the Supervisors in 1996 raised about $275,000. And that sounds about right. There are about 5,000 properties in Los Osos, $50 x 5,000 = $250,000 (thank God it's simple math). So at least that's in the ball park of the $264,838 mentioned in the LOCPA e-mail.
However, the LOCPA figure leaves the ball park in a hurry when we mix in Bumpus' alleged generous gift. All of a sudden, if, indeed, there was another $100k added, the Los Osos park and rec fund should have about $375,000-plus-interest ($275,000 from the 1996 county assessment, and $100K from my man Bumpus.) And that interest -- and I'll be conservative here, because I'm bad at math -- should add at least another $25,000 to that, shouldn't it? So, now we're looking at about $400,000.
Let's see here... where's my calculator:
$400,000
- $264,838
- - - - - - - -
$185,162
I have a question. If Bumpus' gift was in the park and rec account, then what in the hell happened to the $185,162?
It sure didn't go into their web site.
###
posted by Ron at
2:02 PM
9 Comments:
Yep, its called embezzlement, malfeasance, scandal ...
Zounds, Pandora should have kept her nose out of Dan Blesky's business. Now all the chickens have come to roost.
By
Anonymous, at 4:40 PM, June 29, 2006
Ron! This had me puzzeling too!
I was going to suggest that the CSD start bingo games at all CSD functions in order to be able to tap into the recreation fund and thereby escape the bankruptcy judge and the obligatory tieing to the traintracks. When visions of the ghost of Daddy Warbucks went, Huh?
"What the heck have you done with my money?!"
Curious indeed!
You GOT to be lovin this
Mike Green
By
Mike Green, at 8:11 PM, June 30, 2006
I think that we know why Ron thinks that we'll save money by having the plant out of town...
By
Shark Inlet, at 10:42 PM, June 30, 2006
If memory serves, and Pandora and,I believe, Terry Rea, the Pool Association Treasurer, said at the CSD meeting, Mr. Bumpus had pledged $100,000. When it took forever to get the whole pool idea goine, plans kept falling through, funraising going slow, etc. the Bumpus Trust (I think it was) withdrew the offer and donated the money to some other recreation programs for use by kids.
Also, there are two seperate pool funds: One held by the CSD, which contains the one time TAX money collected and another fund which consists of the PRIVATE donations which is held at Mid State bank.
By
Churadogs, at 8:17 AM, July 02, 2006
Thanks, Ann
Its now clear as pool water.
By
Mike Green, at 10:29 AM, July 02, 2006
The most amazing thing about the meeting is that parks and rec could take the money, get a better interest rate with it and it could actually be used as matching funds toward grants that the County could (and would) apply for but that the LOCSD board said that they want to study the issue before even moving it out of the general fund.
Presumably the excuse is that Julie and Chuck want to investigate all the facts and investigate all the options first. Quite reasonable except when you remember that the LOCSD GM transfered the money into the general fund before such a transfer was authorized ...
What may have happened is that the CD was coming due and the GM forgot that he needed a board action to move such funds and forgot to put that on the agenda for the meeting a week or two earlier. Certainly if it wasn't a move to borrow those funds (just like the reserves were eaten up) it was a huge oversight on the part of the GM.
No matter ... Julie and Chuck stopped Steve's attempt to get the money to parks and rec. With the way this board and GM have been acting for the last 8 months (think about a group of 6 year old soccer players), the issue won't come up again until after the CSD is bankrupt or the money has been spent on lawyers.
By
Shark Inlet, at 9:02 AM, July 05, 2006
The item on the agenda was to ratify the IGM's action, done without Board approval or knowledge. How could the Board just willy nilly, no information just vote to send it to the County, Jenny's letter didn't even provide an interest rate. Counsel would need to get involved, this would have to be a binding agreement, wouldn't the people of Los Osos prefer that? Listening to Julie Biggs, it's sounds like that money could get lost to bankruptcy even if it were in the County bank. According to Richard LeGros' email to Julie Tacker a couple of weeks ago, the CSD would have gone bankrupt last March if the old Board hadn't have started the project before the recall, so that's why they pressed on (fools), to get the SRF monies, but they broke their own resolution and paid contractors instead of reimbursing the bonds that had been spent on environmental permitting. Bottom line, the pool money should never have been moved to LO in the first place, the County is the only entity that could (won't) build a pool. We always hear of how the County has money for capital projects, just no funds to maintain them, its the same everywhere else, the school district no longer provides pools, too.
By
Anonymous, at 12:30 PM, July 08, 2006
Hey Ron!
No one has answered your question about Bumpus. Pandora, chime in, where'd it go?
By
Anonymous, at 12:31 PM, July 08, 2006
Hi Anon, two above,
You wrote: "According to Richard LeGros' email to Julie Tacker a couple of weeks ago, the CSD would have gone bankrupt last March if the old Board hadn't have started the project before the recall, so that's why they pressed on (fools), to get the SRF monies, but they broke their own resolution and paid contractors instead of reimbursing the bonds that had been spent on environmental permitting."
You are mistaken as to what I wrote to Julie, why the project construction began, or the CSD being reimbursed $1,200,000 in SRF funds.
I wrote to Julie exactly this: "History has seemed to verify my position. I have no doubt that if I or the then board majority stopped the project that the LOCSD would be exactly in the same position it is now, only sooner. I claim sooner for If the WWP had not commenced, the LOCSD would not have received the $6.4 million SRF draw nor would you or the new BOD had the 3.9 million in SRF money to use when you and the BOD took control. In short, the LOCSD would have been facing bankruptcy much earlier (around March)."
That is what I wrote.
You are mistaken if you think that the old Board only started the project to get access to the SRF Funds. The project was started to bring the community into compliance with water quality laws in the least expensive manner.
Also, you are mistaken to believe that the old Board did not reimburse the CSD for assessment bond monies spent on the project. Earlier in June 2005 the CSD transfered $1,200,000 out of the LAIF account#1011 (where $1,200,000 in assessment bond monies and about $800,000 in CSD reserves were housed) into fund #1012 in order to pay Tri-W project costs that had paid out of fund 1012. After the SRF loan installment was paid to the CSD, the CSD placed $1,200,000 of the SRF funds into the #1012 account to reimburse the CSD for out-of-pocket expenses. There was no need to reimburse fund 1011 for the $1,200,000 spent were BOND PROCEEDS exclusively collected for the purpose to pay for the Tri-W project. I might add that if the new board is wondering where that $1,200,000 is, the answer is that they (the new board) SPENT IT. The $1,200,000 remained in the operations account 1012 after the recall, and was spent. When the State demanded the SRF money back, that $1,200,000 should have been transfered out of fund 1012 and placed in a seperate secure account for tracking puposes. Blesky was advised to do so by Bruce and Pat, but Blesky failed to do so.
Also, the +/- $800,000 in CSD reserves in the LAIF account were never touch or drained by the old CSD board; and they resmained their untouched until Blesky transfered $760,000 of reserve money into fund 1012 on June 5, 2006 in order to pay the CDF fire fee.
I hope this clarifies why your staement was incorrect.
Regards, Richard LeGros
By
Anonymous, at 11:14 PM, July 08, 2006
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