This notice is intended to inform you that the Board of Directors of the Los Osos Community Services District (“District”), will hold a public hearing regarding adjustments to solid waste rates (“Proposed Rate Adjustment”) proposed by Mission Country Disposal, Inc. (“Mission Country Disposal”) for properties and customers receiving solid waste services within the boundaries of the District. The Proposed Rate Adjustments will be considered by the District Board of Directors at the date, time and location specified below. Consistent with the requirements of Proposition 218, this notice also provides you with the following information:

• The Date, Time, and Place of the Public Hearing; and
• The Majority Protest Procedures; and
• The Basis of and Reason for the Proposed Rate Adjustments; and
• The Proposed Rate Adjustment Amounts.

A Public Hearing on the Proposed Rate Adjustments within the District’s boundary will be held on:

Date:            January 9, 2025

Time:            6:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard

Place:           District Office Meeting Room

2122 9th Street, Suite 106, Los Osos, CA 93402

At the Public Hearing, the Board of Directors will consider all public comment in support of and in opposition to the Proposed Rate Adjustments and whether or not a Majority Protest exists pursuant to the California Constitution and the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act (below). If approved, the Proposed Rate Adjustments would become effective January 1, 2025 and each January 1 of 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029.

The Proposed Rate Adjustment for 2025 is based on Mission Country Disposal’s documented cost of providing solid waste services and is a 13.18% increase above current solid waste rates. This cost-based adjustment is necessary for Mission Country Disposal to continue to provide safe, environmentally sound and reliable solid waste removal, transportation and disposal services to the residents and businesses of the District. The adjustments are requested due to:

• Increases in organics processing costs – Third-party costs for the organic waste post-collection processing facility operated by the company formerly named Hitachi Zosen INOVA, and which are not within Mission Country Disposal’s control, have doubled since 2022. The change in cost is the result of changes in facility capital and operating costs.
• Increases in landfill disposal costs – Related party costs for landfill waste disposal at Cold Canyon have remained flat since 2016. The 2025 rate adjustment reflects a market adjustment to these costs, from a per ton tipping fee of $41 per ton (in place since 2016) to a per ton tipping fee of $70. Mission Country Disposal provided market comparison demonstrating the applicability of the $70 per ton market tipping fee.
• Collection costs including labor, vehicles, operating expenses and overhead – These costs are increasing approximately 4.21% in 2025.
• Adjustments necessary for moving to a new methodology for annual rate adjustments that provides for increased rate stability, predictability, fairness, transparency, ease of administration, and cost-effectiveness. These include updated depreciation lifespans for solid waste collection vehicles, removal of a limitation on corporate overhead costs for legal, tax, payroll, human resources, engineering, compliance, IT, training and recruiting programs, and updated profit allowance in-keeping with industry standards.
• Adjustments for new service enhancements, including the ability for residents to exchange a solid waste collection cart once annually at no additional cost, no charge collection for one bulky item during clean-up weeks, and a rate assistance program providing a 20% low-income discount provided to residential customers using 32-gallon cart service (using existing jurisdictional practices on low-income relief for their offered utility type services).

The Proposed Rate Adjustments for 2025 applicable to residential solid waste customers are shown in the table below.

In addition, commencing each January 1 of 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 solid waste rates will be adjusted based on the following:

• Annual change in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Garbage and Trash Collection in the U.S all city average, with a minimum 2% adjustment and a maximum 5% adjustment. Amounts below the minimum or above the maximum will carry forward to the following year.
• Calculation of a 10% profit allowance starting in 2026 (estimated at additional 0.67% to 0.69% adjustment in 2026).
• Addition of a revenue balancing mechanism starting in 2027, wherein actual revenues from solid waste rates over or under projections carry forward as additions to, or offsets against, the annual CPI adjustment.
• Rate adjustments for January 1, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 are not expected to exceed 7%.

The Proposed Rate Adjustments have been independently reviewed for consistency with the
City of San Luis Obispo Rate Setting Process and Methodology Manual for Integrated Solid Waste Management dated June 1994 and in accordance with the provisions of the LOCSD Franchise Agreement, as amended, governing solid waste service within the boundaries of the District. The Proposed Rate Adjustments contemplate implementation of a new methodology for annual rate adjustments which is described in New Solid Waste Rate Adjustment Methodology and 2025 Rates  report authored by independent reviewer, R3 Consulting Group, Inc. The consultant’s report and the complete set of proposed 2025 solid waste rates is available at the Los Osos Community Service District’s office located at 2122 9th Street, Suite 110, Los Osos, CA, 93402 or online at www.losososcsd.org. 

Pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII D of the California Constitution and Government Code Section 53755, the following persons may submit a written protest against the Proposed Rate Adjustments to the District Clerk before the close of the Public Hearing referenced above.

• An owner(s) of property (parcel(s)) receiving solid waste service within the District’s boundary. If the person(s) signing the protest, as an owner, is not shown on the last equalized assessment roll as the owner of the parcel(s), then the protest must contain or be accompanied by written evidence that such person(s) signing the protest is the owner of the parcel(s) receiving the solid waste services; and
• A tenant(s) whose name appears on Mission Country’s records as the customer of record for the corresponding parcel receiving solid waste service within the District’s boundary (tenant-customer).

A valid written protest must contain; a statement that you protest the adjustments in solid waste rates, the address and the Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) of the parcel or parcels which receive solid waste service, and must be signed by either the owner or the tenant-customer of the parcel or parcels. One written protest per parcel shall be counted in calculating a majority protest to the Proposed Rate Adjustments subject to the requirements of Section 6 of Article XIII D of the California Constitution and Government Code Section 53755. Written protests will not be accepted by e-mail or facsimile. Verbal protests will not be counted in determining the existence of a majority protest. To be counted, a protest must be received in writing by the District Board Secretary  before the close of the Public Hearing referenced above.

Written protests regarding the Proposed Rate Adjustments may be mailed or personally delivered to:

Mailed:

Los Osos Community Services District

Attn: Board Secretary

PO BOX 6064

Los Osos, CA 93412

Hand Delivered:

Los Osos Community Services District

Attn: Board Secretary

2122 9th Street Suite 110

Los Osos, CA 93402

If valid written protests are presented by a majority of owners and/or tenant-customers of parcels receiving solid waste services within the District’s boundaries, then the District will not adjust the solid waste rates. Only one protest per parcel will be counted in determining whether or not a majority protest exists.