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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-004 - The Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation ActRESOLUTION NO. 2016-004 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING LOCAL PROCEDURES TO IMPLEMENT REQUIREMENTS OF ARTICLE XIIID OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND THE PROPOSITION 218 OMNIBUS IMPLEMENTATION ACT APPLICABLE TO ASSESSMENT BALLOT PROCEEDINGS WHEREAS, Proposition 218 was approved by the voters of the State of California on November 6, 1996 and thereby adopted adding Article XIIIC ("Article XIIIC") and XIIID ("Article XIIID") to the Constitution of the State of California; and WHEREAS, Article XIIID imposes certain procedural and substantive requirements applying to the levy of a new assessment (as defined), the increase of an existing assessment or the extension of an existing assessment; and WHEREAS, the legislature subsequently enacted the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act (Government Code Sections 53750 and following) (the "Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act) to prescribe specific procedures and parameters for local jurisdictions in complying with Article XIIIC and XIIID; and WHEREAS, the City Council believes it to be in the best interest of the community to establish local procedures applicable to the City of Santa Ana (the "City") to implement the requirements of Article XIIID and the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act applicable to assessment ballot proceedings. NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana as follows: Section 1. Statement of Legislative Intent. It is the intent of the City Council in adopting this resolution to adopt local procedures for conducting assessment ballot proceedings that implement and supplement the requirements of Article XIIID and the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act in order to facilitate the undertaking of such assessment ballot proceedings. It is the further intent of the City Council that such local procedures be consistent and in compliance with such requirements. These procedures are not intended to supersede or circumvent the requirements of Article XIIID and the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act. Section 2. Scope of Procedures. The procedures established by the adoption of this Resolution apply to any assessment ballot proceeding undertaken by the City to consider the levy of an "assessment' as such term is defined in Section 2(b) of Article XIIID and Government Code Section 53750(b), the increase of an existing assessment or the extension of an existing assessment. Resolution No. 2016-004 Page 1 of 7 Section 3. Assessment Ballot Proceedings. The following procedures shall apply to assessment ballot proceedings as described in Section 2 above: A. Notice of Public Hearing and Assessment Ballot Proceedings. The following procedures shall apply to any notice of public hearing and assessment ballot proceedings (the "Notice") required to be given pursuant to Article XIIID and the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act: 1. The "record owner" of each "identified parcel' shall be determined. A "record owner" means the owner of an identified parcel whose name and address appears on the last equalized secured property tax assessment roll (the "Tax Roll'), or in the case of any public entity, the State of California, or the United States, means the representative of that public entity at the address of such entity as known to the City Manager of the City (the "City Manager") or the Clerk of the Council of the City (the "City Clerk"). An "identified parcel' means a parcel of real property that the City has identified as having a special benefit conferred upon it and upon which an assessment reflecting such special benefit is proposed to be levied or an existing assessment reflecting such special benefit is proposed to be increased or extended. 2. Prior to levying a new assessment or increasing an existing assessment, Notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to each record owner at least forty five (45) days prior to the date set for the public hearing. If an identified parcel has more than one record owner, a Notice shall be sent to each such record owner. 3. The Notice given in any assessment proceedings pursuant to this section and in accordance with Article XIIID and the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act shall supersede and be in lieu of any statutory provisions requiring notice to levy a new assessment or to increase or extend an existing assessment, including but not limited to the notice required by the state statute authorizing the City to levy an assessment or increase or extend an existing assessment and Government Code Section 54954.6. 4. A Notice shall be given through a mailing, postage prepaid, deposited in the Unites States Postal Service and shall be deemed to have been given when such Notice is so deposited. Failure of any record owner to receive Notice given pursuant to this section and in accordance with Article XIIID and the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act shall not invalidate the assessment ballot proceedings for which such Notice was given. 5. The cost of giving Notice may be included as a cost of the assessment district for which such Notice is provided. Resolution No. 2016-004 Page 2 of 7 B. Assessment Ballots. The following procedures shall apply to any assessment ballot required to be provided in any assessment ballot proceeding pursuant to Article XIIID and the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act: 1. Any assessment ballot shall comply with the requirements of Article XIIID, the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act and this section. An assessment ballot required to be provided in any assessment ballot proceeding shall be mailed, together with the Notice of such proceeding, to all record owners. 2. All assessment ballots must be sealed in the assessment ballot envelope provided with the assessment ballot and returned in such assessment ballot envelope. 3. Each assessment ballot envelope must contain a statement thereon to be signed under penalty of perjury by the person completing the assessment ballot declaring that such person is a record owner or a legally authorized representative of a record owner of the parcel to which the assessment ballot applies. Examples of legally authorized representatives include, but are not limited to, a trustee for a parcel that is owned in trust, a corporate officer authorized pursuant to corporate by-laws or resolution to act on behalf of a corporation as to a parcel owned by such corporation, a general partner authorized pursuant to a partnership agreement to act on behalf of a partnership as to a parcel owned by such partnership. Assessment ballots that are not signed shall not be tabulated. Only assessment ballots with original signatures will be accepted and tabulated. Photocopies of assessment ballots without an original signature will not be accepted and will not be tabulated. 4. All assessment ballots must be sealed in the assessment ballot envelope provided with the assessment ballot and returned in such assessment ballot envelope. All assessment ballots must be returned by mail or otherwise delivered to the Clerk of the Council at the address (the "Return Address") specified on the assessment ballot or at the site of the public hearing pertaining to the assessment ballot proceedings. Regardless of the method of delivery, all assessment ballots must be received by the Clerk of the Council not later than the date and time specified in the Notice (the "Assessment Ballot Receipt Deadline"). The Assessment Ballot Receipt Deadline shall be the date and time of the conclusion of the public testimony at the public hearing pertaining to such assessment ballot proceedings. The Notice shall provide that if the public hearing is continued to a date and subsequent to the date and time set forth in the Notice that the Assessment Ballot Receipt Deadline shall also be continued to such subsequent date and time without further notice to the record owners. Resolution No. 2016-004 Page 3 of 7 Assessment ballots received by the Clerk of the Council after the Assessment Ballot Receipt Deadline shall not be tabulated. This rule applies to assessment ballots returned by mail in an envelope that is postmarked prior to the Public Hearing Closure but are actually received by the Clerk of the Council after such date and time. All assessment ballots shall remain sealed and in the custody of the Clerk of the Council until such assessment ballots are tabulated. The contents of an assessment ballot are not subject to inspection or disclosure until the tabulation of the assessment ballots. At any time prior to the Assessment Ballot Receipt Deadline, however, an assessment ballot may be withdrawn or changed and resubmitted by the person who signed the assessment ballot. 5. The Clerk of the Council may issue a replacement assessment ballot to any record owner whose original assessment ballot is lost or destroyed. Any such replacement assessment ballot shall be clearly marked as a replacement ballot and shall be accompanied by sufficient information to enable the Tabulation Official (defined below) to verify the location and ownership of the property in question and the identity of the person completing and signing the replacement assessment ballot in order to verify its authenticity. 6. If a person other than the record owner of a parcel claims to be the legal owner of such parcel, such person may submit a current preliminary title report, current policy of title insurance or court order evidencing such person's ownership interest in such parcel to the Tabulation Official prior to the time and place of the public hearing pertaining to the applicable assessment district proceeding. The Tabulation Official shall be under no duty to obtain or consider any other evidence of ownership of such parcel. The Tabulation Official shall make a determination of the ownership of such parcel and the decision of the Tabulation Official shall be final and conclusive. If the Tabulation Official determines that such person is the legal owner of such parcel, the Tabulation Official shall mail a replacement assessment ballot to such person or, if the Tabulation Official is not the Clerk of the Council, the Tabulation Official shall direct that the Clerk of the Council mail a replacement ballot to such person. 7. The failure of a record owner or legal owner, if other than the record owner, of an identified parcel to receive an assessment ballot mailed pursuant to the provisions of Section B. above shall not invalidate the assessment ballot proceedings. 8. An assessment ballot procedure does not constitute an election or voting for purposes of Article II of the California Constitution or of the Elections Code. Resolution No. 2016-004 Page 4 of 7 C. Tabulation of Assessment Ballots. The following procedures shall apply to the tabulation of assessment ballots in any assessment ballot proceeding pursuant to Article MID and the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act: 1. The City Council shall designate an impartial person to tabulate the assessment ballots ("Tabulation Official'). An impartial person is a person who does not have a vested interest in the outcome of the proposed assessment and may include, but is not limited to, the Clerk of the Council. 2. The tabulation of the assessment ballots shall take place in an open and public area. 3. The Tabulation Official shall determine the validity of all assessment ballots. The Tabulation Official shall accept as valid all assessment ballots except: a. A photocopy of an assessment ballot which does not contain an original signature; b. An unsigned assessment ballot; c. An assessment ballot received by the Clerk of the Council after the Assessment Ballot Receipt Deadline; d. An assessment ballot which is not marked with an identifiable "yes" or "no"; or e. An assessment ballot which appears tampered with or otherwise invalid based upon its appearance, method of delivery or other circumstances known to the Tabulation Official. The decision of the Tabulation Official, made following consultation with the City Attorney and bond counsel, if any, shall be final and shall not be subject to appeal to the City Council. 4. In the event that the Tabulation Official receives an assessment ballot from more than one of the record owners of an identified parcel the amount of the assessment proposed to be levied upon such parcel shall be allocated by the Tabulation Official to each assessment ballot received in proportion to the respective record ownership interests or, if the ownership interests are not shown on the record, as established to the satisfaction of the Tabulation Official by documentation provided by those record owners. 5. During and after the tabulation of the assessment ballots, the assessment ballots shall be treated as disposable public records, as defined in Government Code Section 6252. Resolution No. 2016-004 Page 5 of 7 6. The City Council may, in its sole discretion, designate an impartial observer or observers to observe the tabulation and may request that such impartial observers report to the Tabulation Official any irregularities observed in the tabulation of the assessment ballots. The Tabulation Official shall consider any reports of such irregularities and may consult with the City Attorney and bond counsel, if any, regarding such reports. The decision of the Tabulation Official regarding any reports of such irregularities shall be final and conclusive. 7. Following the completion of the tabulation of the assessment ballots, the Tabulation Official shall report the results of the tabulation to the City Council. If there is a majority protest to the levy of a new assessment or the increase or extension of an existing assessment, the City Council shall not levy, increase or extend such assessment. Unless otherwise defined by applicable law, a "majority protest" exists if the assessment ballots received by the Clerk of the Council prior to the Assessment Ballot Receipt Deadline, and not withdrawn, in opposition to a proposed assessment exceed the assessment ballots received by the Clerk of the Council prior to the Assessment Ballot Receipt Deadline, and not withdrawn, in favor of such assessment, weighting those assessment ballots by the amount of the proposed assessment to be imposed upon the identified parcel for which each assessment ballot was received. D. Public Hearing. The following procedures shall apply to the public hearing required to be conducted in any assessment ballot proceeding pursuant to Article MID and the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act: 1. The City Council shall conduct a public hearing at the time, date and place specified in the applicable Notice. At such public hearing, the City Council shall consider all objections or protests, if any, to the proposed assessment. 2. At such public hearing, any interested person shall be permitted to present written and/or oral testimony. The City Council may impose reasonable time limits on both the length of the entire public hearing and the length of each interested person's oral testimony. 3. The City Council may continue the public hearing from time to time. Section 4. Effective Date. This resolution and the procedures contained herein shall become effective immediately upon the passage of this resolution and shall apply to any assessment ballot proceeding initiated on or after the date of the adoption of this resolution, including but not limited to the assessment ballot proceedings pertaining to proposed Assessment District No. 2015-01 (Warner Industrial Community). Resolution No. 2016-004 Page 6 of 7 ADOPTED this 191h day of January, 201E APPROVED AS TO FORM: Sonia Rj ParvaAho, City Attorney 0 Citi Attorney AYES: Councilmembers: Benavides, Martinez, Pulido, ReVna, Sarmiento, Tinaiero (6) NOES: Councilmembers: None (0) ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers: Amezcua (1) CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY I, MARIA D. HUIZAR, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify the attached Resolution No. 2016-004 to be the original resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on January 19, 2016. Date: ` .D-' Clerk of the Council City of Santa Ana Resolution No. 2016-004 Page 7 of 7