SR 06:136 - Laserfiche WebLink

Road and in areas where potential geologic hazards exist. The City Council has appointed itself as the Board of Directors for each GHAD and appointed the Finance Director, City Clerk, City Attorney and Public Works Director as officers of each District. Post GHAD Formation Procedures/Effects of Proposition 218 After the GHAD is formed, the Council/Board must take a number of steps before it becomes operational, including passing a budget and levying an assessment. Each year, before levying the annual assessment, the Board must adopt a resolution declaring its intention to order that the cost and expenses of maintaining and operating the district shall be assessed against the properties benefiting thereby. The resolution is to contain a report setting forth the yearly estimated budget, the proposed assessments to be levied, and a description of the method used in formulating the assessments. After the resolution is adopted, a notice is mailed to all property owners advising them of the contents of the resolution and advising them of the time, date and place of the public hearing when their protests can be heard. At the public hearing, the Board considers any protests and makes any revisions to the proposed assessments. The Board may then confirm the assessments and order the levy and collection of the assessments. Proposition 218, enacted in the November 1996 general election, makes it more procedurally complex, in certain situations, to levy the assessment. Generally speaking, after Proposition 218, property owners within an assessment district such as a GHAD must be given an opportunity to vote on the annual assessment. A majority of those actually voting must vote in favor of the assessment to levy it. For example, if only eleven (out of 100) property owners voted, six votes could defeat the assessment. Because of this annual uncertainty, staff has concerns about the continued viability of these types of districts. Nevertheless, because of the way these four GHADs were formed, and the benefits of these types of districts, staff continues to recommend that the annual procedures be followed for these four districts. An important exception, however, to Proposition 218's requirement that the property owners be given the opportunity annually to vote on the assessments occurs when: (1) the district was formed by the vote of all the property owners then owning land in the proposed district; and (2) the proposed annual assessment is not higher than the previous year's assessment other than increases due to an inflation factor, such as a construction cost index. The Oak Tree Farm, Moller Ranch, Laurel Creek Estates (The Preserve) and Lemoine Ranch Estates GHADs conform to the two exceptions described above. In addition, Oak Hill Estates and Kolb Ranch Estates were annexed into the Laurel Creek Estates GHAD by a vote of all the property owners then owning land in the proposed areas of annexation. Accordingly, no vote of the current property owners is required to levy this year's assessments. SR 06: 136 Page 5 of 32