SAM Adopts $12.5M in Budgets, Confronts $2M in Infrastructure Overruns

The Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside board moved swiftly through two fiscal year budgets totaling more than $12.5 million on June 8, but the real story was what those numbers don't yet include: a major force main project whose price tag is still unknown and rising, a treatment plant sitting on a lapsed easement, and a growing consensus that decades of tight budgeting have cost the agency millions in delayed repairs.

• Board adopts $11.55M general budget, acknowledging it will need a mid-year amendment once the Montara force main price arrives

• $2M+ in Capital Improvement Program (CIP) overruns across six plant upgrades since 2021 laid bare in detailed presentation

• Directors reject linking SAM's lapsed treatment plant easement to the Landstra property deal; Half Moon Bay signals willingness to grant standalone perpetual easement

• Board backs expanding Landstra parcel easement from 4.5 to all 9.8 acres for flood control and habitat restoration

• Solar PPA public hearing opened and immediately continued to June 15 as deal complexities mount

• Public commenters warn that county planners may recalculate mid-coast development permit caps, potentially surging new sewer connections

The board unanimously adopted Resolution 03-2026, setting the SAM general budget at $11.55 million for FY26-27 — a $1.48 million increase over the prior year — while openly acknowledging the number is a placeholder.