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Council reviews landscape-and-lighting assessments; some zones face increases, general fund help for underfunded zone
Summary
Council received the preliminary engineer's report for the Landscaping and Lighting Assessment Districts for FY 2025–26; staff and the engineer reported zone-by-zone assessment adjustments, a proposed budget increase of 14.3% to $332,000, and use of general-fund contributions for underfunded zones.
Cloverdale — City staff and the engineer for the Landscaping and Lighting Assessment Districts presented the preliminary engineer’s report for fiscal year 2025–26 and asked the council to set a public hearing on the proposed assessments.
Jenny Melman of Coastland Engineering reviewed the district’s seven zones, annual procedures and the reasons assessments vary year-to-year. She said the district budget is proposed to increase by 14.3% over last year to about $332,000, primarily because of rising labor and utility costs; assessments vary by zone, with three zones showing proposed increases and four showing decreases.
Nut graf: The district uses reserves from prior years to smooth assessments; where reserves are low or capped by existing maximum assessments, the city may use a general-fund contribution. Staff noted Zone 1 is underfunded this year and the general fund will cover part of that shortfall.
Melman said assessment changes reflect use of reserves and the cap on increases that requires property-owner validation to change. "Assessments tend to fluctuate... if there's excess money left over from the previous year, we use that to reduce the assessments for the next year," she said. The largest per-parcel increase would be in Zone 2 but Melman said that brings assessments closer to past (2019) levels.
Council managed recursive procedural votes because some council members must recuse for zones in which they live. The council approved the resolution for Zone 3 (attachment 1) and then the resolution covering Zones 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (attachment 2) and set the public hearing for June 11. The vote results: Zone 3 resolution passed 4-0 with one abstention earlier in the process; the second resolution passed by recorded voice as noted in the minutes.
Ending: Staff will publish the engineer’s report and proceed to the scheduled public hearing on June 11, 2025, then return with final levies for council adoption.
