Santa Barbara County Municipal Code § 28-80 Authority

The purpose of this article is to provide a procedure for collection of charges for highway lighting in county service areas providing such services provided that the board, after holding an advisory election, determines to make charges in any of the said service areas for highway lighting services.

(Ord. No. 3145)

This article is provided for in section 25210.77a of the Government Code, as amended. The authority for an advisory vote in the said service areas is Elections Code, section 5353.

(Ord. No. 3145)

(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 each county service area furnishing such services and deducting therefrom the amount of estimated funds available from sources other than such charges to provide such highway lighting services. The total amount of the annual charge shall be apportioned among all of the parcels of the real property within each county service area furnishing highway lighting. The written reports to be filed 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 each such county service area shall be divided into the total of the annual charge to determine the basic benefit unit cost for each such county service area. The benefit factor for each such parcel of real property shall be multiplied by the basic benefit unit cost to determine the amount to be collected from each such 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 of the ensuing fiscal year, computed on the basis of the estimated benefit to each such 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 shall fix a time, date, and place for a hearing on the reports and for filing objections or protests thereto. The county clerk shall publish a notice of such hearing, as provided in Government Code section 6066, prior to the date set for hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation, printed and published in the County of Santa Barbara.

(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 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 encumbrancer for value has been created and attached 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 role for collection.

(Ord. No. 3145)

The board of supervisors has heretofore directed the county clerk to place a measure on the ballot for the June, 1980 election, which measure shall be advisory to the board of supervisors as to whether or not the voters desire to have charges made for highway lighting purposes as set out in the final confirmed reports. After the results of such election are in and tabulated, the board shall, by resolution, determine which of the county service areas, if any, shall have such charges made therein.

(Ord. No. 3145)

This article V of chapter 28 of the Santa Barbara County Code shall take effect and be in force thirty days after its adoption on March 3, 1980, and its publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the County of Santa Barbara.

(Ord. No. 3145)