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Council approves landscape district assessments after debate over scope, costs and recusals
Summary
The council adopted resolutions initiating FY25–26 levies for Oxnard landscape maintenance districts after debate over eligibility and rising contractor costs; votes split on procedural questions and recorded recusals were entered for two districts.
The Oxnard City Council on June 3 approved resolutions to proceed with fiscal‑year 2025–26 assessments for the city’s landscape maintenance districts (LMDs) and took related budget actions after extended public comment and staff responses on legal scope and cost increases.
What the council did: Acting as the legislative body for the LMD program, the council adopted resolutions initiating proceedings to levy assessments, approved a consolidated engineer’s report and declared the city’s intention to levy those FY25–26 assessments. The council approved the first package (resolutions initiating proceedings and the engineer’s report) by a 6–1 vote; Councilmember Aaron Starr voted no on the first package and recused himself on LMD 30. Councilmember Perallo recused himself on LMD 13. Later separate budget actions (returning reserve balances and a one‑time contribution for specified LMDs) passed unanimously 7–0.
Discussion points and costs: Residents and public commenters questioned whether some legacy districts meet state law’s special‑benefit requirement and asked for an audit and better disclosure of administrative costs. Staff noted the difficulty of small, piecemeal contracts and said that moving work to citywide production lowers unit costs. Public‑works Director Michael Wolf told council the approach being recommended "is the most cost‑effective way for the property owners," and warned that breaking projects into smaller standalone contracts reduces economies of scale and can increase contractor costs.
Staff also noted recent cost increases between the Finance & Governance committee packet and the council packet: contractor line items rose by roughly $334,000 and total proposed levies increased about 12 percent from an earlier draft (the consolidated report shows $1,766,000 proposed levy vs. $1,579,000 previously). Staff attributed the change to updated contractor estimates and the addition of partial tree‑trimming work now included in district operating budgets.
Public comment and follow-up: Two residents urged dissolution or review of specific LMDs and asked for previously prepared audit materials to be released; staff said it would follow up and that GIS can provide parcel‑level maps for impacted residents. Councilmembers requested clearer itemization and suggested staff return with further documentation where legal eligibility or historical procedures remain unclear.
Ending and implementation: With the council’s vote to proceed, staff will publish assessment notices and hold the scheduled public hearing and protests as required by state law. The council approved the related reserve distributions and one‑time contribution to LMD accounts in separate roll calls.
