Susana Alcala Wood, City Attorney Jorge Oseguera, City Auditor Mindy Cuppy, City Clerk Howard Chan, City Manager John Colville, City Treasurer
City Council Report
915 I Street, 1st Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2022-00292 April 26, 2022 Consent Item 10
Title: Village Garden Landscape Maintenance District No. 2011-01 – Annual Proceedings
Location: District 1
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution: 1) approving the Engineer’s Annual Report; 2) declaring the intention to levy and collect assessments for maintenance of landscaping improvements for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022/2023 for the Village Garden Landscape Maintenance District No. 2011-01; and 3) setting a time and place for a public hearing on May 31, 2022.
Contact: Arwen Wacht, Senior Development Project Manager, (916) 808-7535, [email protected]
, Sheri Smith, Special Districts Manager, (916) 808-7204, [email protected], Department of Finance
Presenter: None.
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Schedule of Proceedings
3-FY 2022/23 Engineer’s Annual Report
4-Resolution – Approving Engineer’s Annual Report
5-Exhibit A – District Boundary Map
6-Exhibit B – FY 2022/23 District Budget & Parcel Assessment
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: On June 9, 2011, Council approved the formation of the Village Garden Landscape Maintenance District No. 2011-01 (District) under the California Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 (California Streets and Highways Code § 22500 et seq.), called the “1972 Act.” The property owners within the North Pointe subdivisions one through five and the Norwood subdivision petitioned the City to form the District to provide landscape maintenance services in the area (see Exhibit A for a map of the District). The District provides for maintenance of masonry walls, landscaping, and irrigation systems within these subdivisions.
Maintenance efforts include periodic mowing of grass, trimming of trees and shrubs, fertilizing landscaped areas, furnishing water for irrigation of all plant material, as well as upkeep, repair, and replacement of the irrigation system, planted materials, amenities, and masonry walls.
Pursuant to the 1972 Act, an Engineer’s Annual Report for the District (Report) is required to be prepared for City Council review and approval. The Report describes the improvements to be maintained by the District and recommends the assessments to be collected to fund such maintenance. The Report has been prepared and filed with the City Clerk, as directed by the City Council on March 15, 2022. Council approval of the Report is now required before the City can collect assessments in an amount sufficient to provide partial funding for landscape maintenance costs of the District for FY2022/23. The Council must also adopt a Resolution of Intention for its levy and collection of assessments for the District and then hold a hearing at a future date to formally confirm the assessments.
The District funds only a portion of the total cost of providing landscape maintenance services to the District. The Report separates the benefits of the District between “special benefits” to the assessed parcels and “general benefits” that do not directly benefit those assessed parcels. Only special benefits can be funded by District assessments. Analysis of the District amenities shows that assessed parcels receive approximately 80% of the benefit from the improvements. This percentage is the special benefit provided by the District. The remaining amount must be funded from other sources. The funding sources and budget for the District are detailed in the Financial Considerations section below and on Exhibit B to the Resolution.
Policy Considerations: The actions in the recommended Resolution are required by the 1972 Act for annual proceedings of an existing district.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): Under the CEQA Guidelines, continuing administrative activities of an assessment district and creation of government funding mechanisms or other government fiscal activities which do not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment do not constitute a project and are therefore exempt from CEQA review (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15378(b)(2), (b)(4)).
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
Rationale for Recommendation: The recommended Council actions support funding for landscape maintenance services in the District via property-based assessments. The recommended Council action is also necessary to allow staff to notify the public of the proposed hearing, which has been set for May 31, 2022. At the conclusion of the public hearing, staff will recommend Council adopt the budget and levy the assessments.
Financial Considerations: The total estimated expense budget for the District in FY2022/23 is $40,348 as shown in Exhibit B of the Resolution and detailed in the Report on file with the Infrastructure Finance Division of the Department of Finance, designated by the City Clerk’s Office as the repository of documents associated with special districts. Pursuant to the Report, $32,202 of assessment revenue can be used to fund special benefits and $8,146, the remaining 20.19% of the district maintenance and administration costs detailed in Exhibit B, will be provided by the operating budgets of the Department of Public Works, Streets Division and Department of Finance, Infrastructure Finance Division.
Pursuant to previous Council action authorizing automatic annual increases to the District’s maximum authorized assessment amount (Resolution No. 2011-419), the maximum authorized assessment amount for the District is automatically increased for FY2022/23 by
3.21% based on an increase to the 2022 CPI index. The proposed actual assessment for FY2022/23 represents an increase to $135.40 per single family home to address rising maintenance costs for the District, as it will increase by 10% (an increase of $12.30 per single family home) from the FY2021/22 assessment of $123.10 per single family home. The FY2022/23 assessment is approximately 35% below the maximum authorized assessment of $210.27 for FY2022/23.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
Attachment 1
SCHEDULE OF PROCEEDINGS
VILLAGE GARDEN LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE DISTRICT 2011-01
FY2022/23
March 15, 2022 Council – Direct Filing of Engineer’s Report
April 26, 2022 Council – Approval of Engineer’s Report and Resolution of Intention and Set Date for Public Hearing
May 21, 2022 Publish Notice of Public Hearing
May 31, 2022 Council – Public Hearing, Council Orders Annual Levy
August 2022 Assessments to County for Placement on Tax Roll
RESOLUTION NO.
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
RESOLUTION APPROVING ENGINEER’S ANNUAL REPORT
AND INTENTION TO LEVY AND COLLECT ASSESSMENTS FOR
MAINTENANCE OF LANDSCAPING IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE
VILLAGE GARDEN LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE DISTRICT 2011-01
FISCAL YEAR 2022/23
(Pursuant to Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972)
BACKGROUND
A. The Village Garden Landscape Maintenance District No. 2011-01 (District), the boundaries of which are depicted in Exhibit A, was established by the City Council and approved by the property owners on June 19, 2011.
B. The City Council established the District under the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 (California Streets and Highways Code § Section 22500 et seq.) (the 1972 Act), and has previously levied assessments on property in the District to pay for landscaping maintenance services and related services within the District, all in accordance with the 1972 Act.
C. On March 15, 2022, City Council directed the Supervising Engineer of the Department of Public Works, designated by the City Council as the Engineer of Work for the District, to file an Engineer’s Annual Report in accordance with the provisions of the 1972 Act (Resolution No. 2021-0075).
D. The Engineer’s Annual Report includes analysis that quantifies the amount of special benefit derived from District activities by the parcels paying the assessment. The result of the analysis is that 79.81% of the maintenance and administrative services provided in the District are a special benefit to the parcels paying the assessment within the District and
20.19% of the services are a general benefit that do not directly benefit the assessed parcels. Pursuant to state law, the City can only collect assessments to the extent that the improvements provide special benefits to assessed parcels and must utilize other sources of funding to provide the general benefit portion. A detailed budget is shown on Exhibit B.
E. Although the maximum authorized assessment amount for the District is automatically increased from Fiscal Year (FY)2022/23 by 3.21% based on an increase to the 2022 CPI index, the actual assessment amount will also increase for FY2022/23. To cover expenditures and maintain a prudent fund balance, the FY2022/23 assessments levied will increase to $135.40 from the FY2021/22 assessment rate of $123.10. However, this actual assessment amount is still lower than the maximum authorized assessment amount for the District.
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1 The City Council finds and determines that the background statements A through E are true and correct.
Section 2 The City Council hereby approves the Engineer’s Annual Report for FY2022/23, that is on file with the Infrastructure Finance Division of the Department of Finance, designated by the City Clerk to be the repository for special district documents.
Section 3 The City Manager or the City Manager’s designee is hereby authorized to make any necessary budgetary adjustments associated with the approval of the Engineer’s Annual Report for FY2022/23.
Section 4 The City Council intends to levy and collect assessments within the District during FY2022/23. The area of land to be assessed is in the City of Sacramento, Sacramento County and depicted on the map attached hereto as Exhibit A.
Section 5 The maintenance of improvements to be made in the District is generally described as follows:
Maintenance of masonry walls, landscaping, and irrigation systems for the landscape areas within or adjacent to the residential subdivisions in the District.
Maintenance of the improvements will include, but not be limited to, periodic mowing of grass, trimming of trees and shrubs, and fertilizing, together with the regular furnishing of water for irrigation of all plant material, and the repair, maintenance, and replacement of the irrigation system, planted materials, and amenities. Maintenance of masonry walls includes periodic repair as required.
Section 6 In accordance with the City Council’s resolution directing the filing of an Engineer’s Annual Report, the Engineer of Work has filed the report required by the 1972 Act with the Infrastructure Finance Division. All interested parties are referred to that report for a full and detailed description of the improvements, the boundaries of the District, and the proposed assessments upon assessable lots and parcels of land within the District.
Section 7 At 5:00 pm on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, the City Council will conduct a public hearing on the question of the levy and collection of the proposed annual assessment for the District. The public hearing is scheduled to be conducted by Zoom teleconferencing pursuant to City Council findings under California Government Code section 54953(e) related to the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency. However, if the City Council orders City Council meetings to resume in person, then the location of the public hearing will be the City Council Chambers, New City Hall, 915 I Street (first floor), Sacramento, California. The location of the public hearing will be specified on the agenda for the City Council meeting.
Section 8 The maximum authorized assessments for the subdivisions within the District will be increasing for FY2022/23 by 3.21% according to the annual increase methodology previously adopted by the City Council. The FY2022/23 actual assessment of $135.40 per single family home is also increasing by 10% from the FY2020/21 assessment of $123.10 per single family home and is approximately 35% below the maximum allowed assessment of $210.27 per single family home for FY2022/23 as shown on Exhibit B.
Section 9 The City Clerk is authorized and directed to give the notice of hearing required by the 1972 Act.
Section 10 Exhibits A and B are part of the resolution.
Table of Contents:
Exhibit A: District Boundary Map
Exhibit B: FY 2022/23 District Budget & Parcel Assessment
EXHIBIT A
District Boundary Map
EXHIBIT B
Village Garden Landscape Maintenance District No. 2011-01 District Budget
Fund 2231
FY2022/23
Special
Benefit
Contribution
(Fund
2231)
General
Benefit
Contribution
Total
Split of Special and General Benefit
Respectively 79.81% 20.19%
Estimated Beginning Fund Balance 22,083
Total Assessed to Property Owners 31,954
Total Resources $54,037 $8,146 $62,184
Maintenance Tasks
Maintenance 25,539 6,461 32,000
Administrative Costs
Public Improvement Financing 5,637 1,426 7,063 Accounting
Administration 876 222 1098
County Billing 149 38 187
Total Expenditures $32,202 $8,146 $40,348
Estimated Ending Fund Balance 21,836
Year-Over-Year Change in Fund
Balance -247
Parcel Assessment
The maximum annual assessment may be increased for inflation. The amount of the increase will be based on the change in the February-over-February Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area (All Urban Consumers) or a substitute index of a similar nature should that index be discontinued. The maximum authorized assessment amount for the District is being automatically increased for FY 2022/23 by 3.21% based on an increase to the 2022 CPI index.
Note: If the change in the February-over-February CPI is negative in any given year, the maximum assessment in the subsequent tax year will remain the same as in the prior year.
District Name
FY2022/23
Maximum
Authorized
Assessment
FY2021/22
Assessment per
Residential
Parcel
FY2022/23
Assessment per
Residential
Parcel
Village Garden Landscape
Maintenance District No.
2011-01
$210.27 $123.10 $135.40