City of Gonzales
PUBLIC WORKS / CITY ENGINEER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: July 22, 2024
FROM: Patrick Dobbins, Public Works Director/City Engineer THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Resolution No. 2024-40 and Resolution No. 2024-41 California Breeze Assessment Districts Annual Assessments Increases
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Conduct a public hearing on the proposed increases to the annual assessments for the California Breeze Benefit Assessment District and the California Breeze Parks and Open Space Assessment District.
2. Accept comments, accept ballots (if any), and close the public hearing.
3. Continue the item to later in the meeting to allow the City’s consultant to tabulate the submitted ballots.
4. Reopen matter to announce outcome of election. If proposed assessment increases are approved by majority vote, adopt resolutions establishing new assessment rates in California Breeze Benefit Assessment District and California Breeze Parks and Open Space Assessment District. If there is a majority protest to the proposed assessment increases, take no action on the attached resolutions.
5. Adopt Resolution No. 2024-40, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Conducting a Public Hearing, Considering All Assessment District Protests, Approving the Engineer’s Report, and Confirming the Levy of the California Breeze Benefit Assessment District NOS. 1, 2 and 3 for the Fiscal Year 2024-2025
AGENDA
ITEM
18 6. Adopt Resolution No. 2024-41, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Conducting a Public Hearing, Considering All Assessment District Protests, Approving the Engineer’s Report, and Confirming the Levy of the California Breeze Parks and Open Space Assessment Districts NOS. 1, 2, and 3 for Fiscal Year 2024-2025.
BACKGROUND
The California Breeze Benefit Assessment District provides funding for the maintenance of the roadways, streetlights, storm drains, retention basins in the subdivision. The California Breeze Parks and Open Space Assessment District provides funding for public landscaping and irrigation systems along Herold Parkway and in Meyer Park.
The California Breeze Assessment Districts were the first assessment districts established by the City.
The formation documents for these districts did not include an annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment to the Maximum Annual Assessment amount (the other six districts have an annual CPI adjustment). Therefore, the assessments for the California Breeze Districts have not kept up with inflation and the City’s General Fund has been subsidizing the districts’ expenses for the last several years. As of June 30, 2024, California Breeze has a negative balance of $252,187.
This effort to increase these California Breeze Assessments is being done in parallel with the annual assessments efforts for this subdivision based on the current maximum assessment, should the Prop 218 process to increase the maximum assessment fail.
REVIEW & ANALYSIS
The Engineer Reports for the two districts, as prepared by Harris Associates, are attached.
As presented at the June 3, 2024, Council meeting, staff recommended that the new maximum assessment amount be phased in over a three-year period for the Benefit Assessment District. The table below shows the proposed annual assessment amounts over the three-year phase-in period:
California Breeze Benefit Assessment District
Subdivision
Phase
Current
Assessment
FY 2023/24
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2024/25
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2025/26
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2026/267
Phase 1 $187.00 $287.34 $366.33 $392.67
Phase 2 $185.34 $287.34 $366.33 $392.67
Phase 3 $234.38 $287.34 $366.33 $392.67
As presented at the June 3, 2024, Council meeting, staff recommended that the new maximum assessment amount be phased in over a four-year period for the Parks and Open Space Assessment District. The table below shows the proposed annual assessment amounts over the four-year phase-in period:
California Breeze Parks and Open Space Assessment District Subdivision
Phase
Current
Assessment
FY 2023/24
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2024/25
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2025/26
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2026/27
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2027/28
Phase 1 $227.00 $325.00 $406.26 $507.82 $574.94
Phase 2 $227.00 $325.00 $406.26 $507.82 $574.94
Phase 3 $271.76 $325.00 $406.26 $507.82 $574.94
PROPOSITION 218 BALLOT PROCESS
The authority and process for increasing assessments, enacted by voters in California by the passage of Proposition 218 in 1996, is set forth in Articles XIII C and Section 4 of Article XIII D of the California Constitution. The process, as detailed in the Engineer’s Report for each District, requires assessment increases to be put to a vote of impacted property owners via a noticed procedure. The written assessment notices, ballots, and addressed return envelopes were mailed to property owners of record in the involved assessment districts on June 7, 2024. Mailing the ballots on June 7 fulfills the requirement for ballots to be mailed at least 45 days prior to the scheduled public hearing date. The public notice for the public hearing was published in the July 10 edition of the Salinas Valley Tribune Tonight’s public hearing is to consider objections and protests to the proposed assessments. At the conclusion of public testimony, the City Consulting Assessment Engineer will open and count the submitted ballots. During the count, this matter will be paused to allow time to tabulate the ballot results.
Once the ballots are counted, this matter will be resumed to allow the Consulting Assessment Engineer to announce the results of the election and to allow the Council to consider action on the proposed new assessments. If the ballots submitted in opposition to the proposed assessment increases do not exceed the number of ballots submitted in favor, the Council may approve the increased assessment amounts.
Once approved, the Tax Rolls would be provided to the County of Monterey Tax Assessor by August 1 for inclusion on the property tax rolls for Fiscal Year 2024/25.
If the proposed assessment increases are not approved, the Council will move forward with the process of levying the existing unadjusted California Breeze assessments for FY 2024-2025 by way of separate action this evening.
Explain Recommendation and How it Supports the Vision
Gonzales will continue to be a safe, clean, family-friendly community, diverse in its heritage, and committed to working collaboratively to preserve and retain its small town charm.
Explain: Increasing the assessments in a phased-in approach for the two California Breeze Assessment Districts will fully fund the costs for the specified maintenance efforts.
Explain how the Recommendation Directly Implements the Mission The City Council and Staff of the City of Gonzales will realize our Vision by providing the leadership, commitment and resources necessary to provide excellent services that enhance the quality of life of our diverse community. X Yes ___ No
Explain: Collection of the assessments provides funds for the maintenance of a variety of improvements that enhance the quality of life in the subdivision.
City services will be delivered in a cost-effective, respectful and friendly manner to ensure the safety and well being of the residents and the promotion of business, recreational, housing and employment opportunities in an environmentally sustainable manner. X Yes No Explain: See above Vision.
Strong fiscal policies allow us to provide appropriate infrastructure for:
• Public Safety Yes No X NA
• Housing _ Yes No NA
• Recreation X Yes No NA
• Environment X Yes No NA
• Education Yes No X NA
Explain: Collection of the annual assessments enables the City to maintain specific improvements in the California Breeze subdivision.
ALTERNATIVES
- If approved by the voters, the Council may approve the new assessments in the California Breeze Assessment Districts.
- If not approved, the Council should adopt the assessments for the California Breeze Assessment Districts proposed via a separate Council action on this evening’s agenda
BUDGET IMPACT
Moving through a Proposition 218 process to increase the annual assessment amounts and include an annual Consumer Price Increase for the two California Breeze Assessment Districts would provide for these Districts to fully fund operations and maintenance of these respective districts.
If the ballot measures are not approved, the existing California Breeze assessments are not sufficient to fund the various maintenance efforts in each assessment district. The City Council will need to decide whether to continue backfilling the budget deficits with General Fund monies or reduce the maintenance efforts to a level that can be funded with the current assessments.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Conduct a public hearing on the proposed increases to the annual assessments for the California Breeze Benefit Assessment District and the California Breeze Parks and Open Space Assessment District.
2. Accept comments, accept ballots (if any), and close the public hearing.
3. Continue the item to later in the meeting to allow the City’s consultant to tabulate the submitted ballots.
4. Reopen matter to announce outcome of election. If proposed assessment increases are approved by majority vote, adopt resolutions establishing new assessment rates in California Breeze Benefit Assessment District and California Breeze Parks and Open Space Assessment District. If there is a majority protest to the proposed assessment increases, take no action on the attached resolutions.
5. Adopt Resolution No. 2024-40, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Conducting a Public Hearing, Considering All Assessment District Protests, Approving the Engineer’s Report, and Confirming the Levy of the California Breeze Benefit Assessment District NOS. 1, 2 and 3 for the Fiscal Year 2024-2025
6. Adopt Resolution No. 2024-41, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Conducting a Public Hearing, Considering All Assessment District Protests, Approving the Engineer’s Report, and Confirming the Levy of the California Breeze Parks and Open Space Assessment Districts NOS. 1, 2, and 3 for Fiscal Year 2024-2025.
Attachments:
1. Resolution 2024-40 Ca Breeze Benefit
2. Resolution 2024-41 Ca Breeze P&OS
3. Public Hearing Notice
4. Engineers Report for California Breeze Benefit Assessment District
5. Engineers Report for California Breeze Parks and Open Spaces Assessment District