Imperial County Municipal Code Ch. 12.16 Highway Lighting Charges

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a procedure for making and collecting charges for highway lighting in county service areas providing such services.

(Prior code § 26600)

This chapter is adopted pursuant to the County Service Area Law (Government Code Sections 25210.1 et seq.).

(Prior code § 26601)

A. The board of supervisors shall establish the amount of the annual charge to be collected each year by estimating the cost of providing highway lighting in the county service area furnishing such services and deducting therefrom the amount of estimated funds available to the county service area from sources other than such charges to provide highway lighting services. The total amount of the annual charge shall be apportioned among all of the parcels of real property within the county service area furnishing highway lighting. The written report to be filed, as provided hereinbelow, shall establish a benefit factor to be assigned to each parcel of real property on the basis of its category of use. The total number of benefit factors in the county service area shall be divided into the total of the annual charge to determine the basic benefit unit cost for the county service area. The benefit factor for each parcel of real property shall be multiplied by the basic benefit unit cost to determine the amount to be collected from each parcel.

B. Once a year the board of supervisors shall cause to be prepared written reports which shall contain descriptions of each parcel of real property within county service areas which provide highway lighting services together with the amount of the charge for each parcel for the ensuing fiscal year, computed on the basis of estimated benefit to each parcel of real property from such highway lighting service. Such reports shall be filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors.

C. Upon the filing of such reports, the county clerk to the board of supervisors shall fix a time, date, and place for a hearing on the reports and for filing objections or protests thereto. The clerk shall publish a notice of such hearing, as provided in Government Code Section 6066.

D. At the time, date, and place stated in the notice, the board of supervisors shall hear and consider all objections or protests, if any, to the reports and may continue the hearing from time to time. Upon conclusion of the hearing, the board of supervisors may adopt, revise, change, reduce or modify any charge and shall make its determination upon each charge as described in the reports and thereafter by resolution shall confirm the reports. The board of supervisors shall not, however, impose a charge upon a federal or state governmental agency or another local agency.

E. The charges set forth in the reports, as confirmed, shall appear as a separate item on each tax bill. The charge shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary county and ad valorem property taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for such taxes. All laws applicable to the levy, collection, and enforcement of county ad valorem property taxes shall be applicable to such charge; except that, if for the first year such charge is levied the real property to which such charge relates has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value, or if a lien of a bona fide encumbrancer for value has been created and attaches thereon, prior to the date on which the first installment of such taxes would become delinquent, the charge confirmed pursuant to this section shall not result in a lien against such real property but instead shall be transferred to the unsecured roll for collection.

(Prior code § 26602)