Mountain View Municipal Code Div. 7 Maintenance Districts

a. Proceedings. Whenever the council determines that the cost of maintenance and operation of any public improvement of a local nature is not appropriately financed under Division 7 of Article III, proceedings may be undertaken pursuant to this Sec. 17.128.30.

b. Council powers. The council may, by resolution, declare its intention to order that the costs and expenses of maintaining and operating any or all public improvements of a local nature, including the cost of necessary repairs, replacements, fuel, power, electrical current, care, supervision, and any and all other items necessary for the proper maintenance and operation thereof, shall be assessed either partly or wholly upon such district as the council shall determine will be benefited by the maintenance and operation of the public improvements proposed to be maintained; the amounts so assessed to be collected in the same manner and by the same officers as taxes for city purposes are collected.

c. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide an alternative procedure by which the council may provide for the payment of the whole or any part of the costs and expenses of maintaining and operating any public improvements which are inherently local in nature, payable from annual benefit assessments apportioned among the several lots or parcels of property within the maintenance district established therefor, the nature and formula or formulae for which is to be determined in the proceedings in which jurisdiction is provided therefor.

d. Resolution of intention. The resolution shall contain a statement of the formula or formulae upon and by which annual assessment levies for the payment of said costs and expenses will be apportioned according to benefits among the several lots or parcels of property within the maintenance district to be established therefor. The application of said formula or formulae may or may not involve the exercise of discretion and said formula may prescribe a maximum rate or amount of annual benefit assessment to be levied for such purposes. In the event that the application of the formula or formulae does not involve the exercise of discretion, annual hearings on the application of the formula or formulae shall not be required. In the event that the application of the formula or formulae involves the exercise of some discretion, the approval and adoption of the annual report required by subsection n shall be preceded by an annual hearing thereon. In such event, such report shall be prepared and filed with the city clerk on or before ten (10) days prior to the date of such annual hearing thereon to be held on the last Monday of July in each year. Notice of such hearings shall be given and the hearings held in substantially the same form, time and manner (except for the date and purpose of the hearing) as notice and hearing on the engineer's report provided in Sec. 17.182.2.

The hearings shall be limited to questions arising from the application of the formula and the areas as to which discretion was exercised in such application.

e. Written protests and oral objections. In connection with the hearing provided for the establishment of the maintenance district, owners may file written protests against and make oral objections to and may be heard as to the fairness of said formula or formulae in the same manner, at the same time and with like legal effect as provided for in other written protests and oral objections in Chapter 26 of Part 3 of Division 7 of said Streets and Highways Code.

f. Initial modification. At said hearing, the council, of its own volition or in response to any protest made, heard or considered, may make modifications in the formula or formulae for the purpose of making the same more fair and equitable; provided, however, that before making a final order in said matter it shall set said matter for hearing at a subsequent meeting of said council, which it shall call or to which it may adjourn; provided, further, that it shall give notice of the time, place and purpose of said meeting, by one publication in a newspaper in which the original resolution of intention or notice of improvement or notice of hearing on the formation of the maintenance district was published, at least ten (10) days prior to said hearing. If the formula or formulae includes a maximum rate or amount of annual benefit assessment and such modification consists solely of a decrease in such maximum rate or amount of annual benefit assessment, the council may order such decrease by resolution and no hearing need be had thereon.

g. Majority protests. If the council finds that protests thereto are made by the owners of more than one-half of the area of the property in said maintenance district subject to benefit assessment to pay said costs of maintenance and operation, no further proceedings shall be taken, unless the protests are overruled by an affirmative vote of four-fifths of the members of the council, for a period of six months from the date of the decision of the council on the hearing. The council may adjourn the hearing from time to time.

h. Final determination. At the initial hearing or at the subsequent hearing on the modification of said formula or formulae as herein provided or at any meeting to which either shall have been adjourned, or at any meeting of the council subsequent to the full hearing of said matter, with or without said matter having been submitted, the council, by resolution, shall finally adopt a formula or formulae for the apportionment of benefits in said annual assessment levies, which shall be that stated in the resolution of intention, or said separate resolution, or as modified, and its determination shall be final and conclusive against all persons.

i. Subsequent modification. If, at any time following the final establishment of the formula or formulae for said annual assessment levies, the council shall, by resolution, determine that, by reason of changed conditions or because of defects or insufficiencies therein disclosed by its application, the established formula or formulae is, in any particular, inequitable or unfair, or may be made more equitable and fair, the council may, by resolution, so declare, stating the reasons therefor, and fix a time and place of hearing thereon.

j. Notice. The city clerk shall cause a copy of the resolution adopted by the council as provided in subsection i. to be published once in a newspaper in which the resolution of intention or notice of improvement or notice of hearing on the formation of the maintenance district in said proceedings was published, to be mailed, postage prepaid, to all owners, and to be posted on or near the council chamber door or any bulletin board in or adjacent to the city hall. Said publication, mailing and posting shall be completed not less than ten (10) days prior to such hearing.

k. Hearing and determination. At the hearing provided for in subsection i, protests may be filed, heard and acted upon in the manner and with like effect provided in subsection f.

l. Budget—Contents. The city manager shall annually cause to be prepared a budget for the costs and expenses of maintaining and operating any or all of said public improvements of a local nature during the ensuing fiscal year which shall include the following:

1. The gross amount required for the costs and expenses of maintaining and operating said public improvements;

2. The balance available at the end of the fiscal year for such purpose;

3. The amount, if any, to be contributed by the city to pay any part of said costs and expenses; and

4. The balance of the amount necessary to pay said costs and expenses.

m. Benefit assessment. The amount provided in subsection 1.4 shall be raised by an annual benefit assessment on all of the lots or parcels of property within the maintenance district.

n. Report. In each fiscal year that a balance is provided in the budget pursuant to subsection 1.4, the city engineer shall cause to be prepared a report, in writing, for each maintenance district, which shall, under appropriate headings, show the amounts to be provided in the budget for maintenance and operation pursuant to subsection l, and by properly headed columns, show the following data as to each lot or parcel of property within the maintenance district in columnar form:

1. A description of each lot or parcel of property in the maintenance district, by a legal description, assessor's parcel number or other description sufficient to identify the same;

2. The amount of assessment to be levied against each lot or parcel of property in the maintenance district in accordance with the formula or formulae; and

3. Such other information as will be necessary or useful in applying the formula or formulae adopted by the council.

o. Filing with city clerk. When the report has been completed by the city engineer, it shall be signed by him and filed with the city clerk on or before the last Monday in July of each year, unless a hearing is required under subsection d. in which event it shall be filed on or before ten (10) days prior to said last Monday in July as provided in subsection d. Upon receipt of the report, the city clerk shall present it to the council for its consideration.

p. Adoption by council—Decision final. The report shall be reviewed by the council and approved and adopted by resolution. Upon approval and adoption as herein provided, all decisions and determinations of the council shall be final and conclusive.

q. Certification and filing. The report, together with the certificate of the city clerk as to the fact and date of approval and adoption of said report by the council as provided in subsection p shall forthwith be delivered to the director of finance of said city, who shall thereafter deliver said report, as adopted, to the officer designated by law to extend ad valorem property taxes upon the tax roll on which they are collected.

r. Benefit assessments—Posting. The officer designated by law to extend ad valorem property taxes upon the tax roll on which they are collected shall post to said tax roll the total amount of the benefit assessment levied and to be collected for said year on each lot or parcel of property within the maintenance district as set forth in said report. The amount so posted shall appear as a separate item on the tax bill.

s. Method of collection. The special benefit assessments shall be collected upon the last equalized secured and utility tax rolls upon which said ad valorem property taxes are collected. They shall be in addition to all of said ad valorem property taxes, and shall be collected together with, and not separate therefrom, and enforced in the same manner and by the same persons and at the same time and with the same penalties and interest as are said ad valorem property taxes. All laws applicable to the collection and enforcement of said ad valorem property taxes shall be applicable to said special benefit assessment levy, and the assessed lot or parcel of property, if sold for taxes, shall be subject to redemption in the same manner as such real property is redeemed from the sale for ad valorem property taxes, and if not redeemed, shall in like manner pass to the purchaser.

t. Omitted property. If any property within the maintenance district is erroneously omitted in any such report, said property shall be assessed for the omitted amount in the next year after such omission is discovered, and appropriate provision shall be made in the report for said year.

(Ord. No. 17.79, 4/30/79; Ord. No. 19.79, 5/14/79.)

a. Applicability—Petition. The provisions of Sec. 17.128.30 shall be applicable to maintenance districts formed before the effective date hereof, regardless of the law pursuant to which said maintenance districts were formed, if all of the owners of all of the lots or parcels of property subject to benefit assessment to pay said costs of maintenance and operation request, in writing, that the alternative method for the levy of the benefit assessment as provided in Sec. 17.128.30 hereof shall apply.

b. Applicability—Council action. The council may, by separate resolution, declare its intention to order that the alternative method for the levy of the benefit assessment as herein provided be made applicable to maintenance districts formed prior to the effective date hereof and shall fix therein a time and place for a hearing thereon.

c. Hearing—Notice. Notice of said hearing shall be given by the city clerk who shall cause a copy of said resolution of intention to be mailed, postage prepaid, to the owners of any lot or parcel of property subject to a benefit assessment to pay said costs of maintenance and operation as herein provided, to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, and to be posted on or near the council chamber door or any bulletin board in or adjacent to the city hall. Said mailing, publication and posting shall be completed not less than ten (10) days prior to such hearing.

d. Protests. At any time not later than the hour fixed for the hearing of objections in the resolution of intention, the owner of any lot or parcel of property subject to assessment in said maintenance district to pay the costs of said maintenance and operation may make written protest thereto.

e. Hearing. The council shall hear and pass upon all protests thereto, and its decision thereon, expressed by resolution, shall be final and conclusive.

f. Majority protest. If the council finds that protests thereto are made by the owners of more than one-half of the area of the property in said maintenance district subject to benefit assessment to pay said costs of maintenance and operation, no further proceedings shall be taken, unless the protests are overruled by an affirmative vote of four-fifths of the members of the council, for a period of six months from the date of the decision of the council on the hearing. The council may adjourn the hearing from time to time.

g. Consolidated hearing. The procedures under Sec. 17.128.30 hereof relating to the alternative method for the levy of benefit assessment may be consolidated for hearing purposes with the procedures under this section.

(Ord. No. 17.79, 4/30/79.)