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Increases to Assessment The assessment has not been increased in the district since it was created. Therefore, the current assessment is based upon operation, maintenance, and capital replacement costs that existed at the time the district was created. The LMD has operated year-to- year through a combination of reducing maintenance and depleting capital replacement reserves. This is due in large part to the complicated process required to increase assessments created by the passage of Proposition 218 in 1996. However, annual costs have continued to increase, and capital reserves have been depleted, to the point now that this operational strategy is no longer sustainable. The revenue is no longer enough to cover the operational costs. This strategy has resulted in depleting the reserves needed for eventual capital replacements. City staff, in consultation with SCI, recommends the formation of a new landscape maintenance district for the Windsor subdivision to fund a sustainable landscape maintenance program with a dedicated funding source for capital replacements. The process to form the landscape maintenance district is well-defined by Proposition 218 and requires property owner balloting which does not result in a majority protest against the proposed formation. Windsor Landscape Maintenance District 2022-1 is intended to replace Lighting and Landscape Maintenance District 1993-1, Windsor. In the event that affected property owners do not support the new formation and in order to ensure continued funding of these services, although at an inadequate level, the existing Landscape Maintenance District 1993-1, Windsor, will remain active and minimal maintenance such as weed abatement will continue. SCI, with the assistance of the City's Landscape Architect, will be working to determine maintenance expectations and appropriate maintenance standards for the Windsor LMD, and determine the appropriate reserve amount to cover eventual capital replacements. When complete, the required assessment increases will be calculated. This action is the first step in the formation of a Prop-218 compliant District for the Windsor Assessment Districts. The action before City Council today is for authorization to conduct public outreach and prepare the Engineer's Report that will address the formation of a new landscape maintenance district. Public Comment Staff provides general information to residents within the Landscape Maintenance Districts as a part of the public notice for confirmation of the Engineer's Report. This notice provides the name and phone number of a staff contact person should questions arise. It is expected that the plan outlined in this report to ask residents to increase their assessment in the relatively near future may result in more public comments than has occurred in the past. If questions are received and answered prior to the City Council meeting on March 15, 2022, City Council will be provided with those questions and staffs answers at or before the meeting. Page 4 of 5