Hanford council approves annexation, two CFDs and sends hotel-tax increase to November ballot; selection of city-manager search firm also approved

Hanford's City Council on July 1 approved a series of land-use and fiscal measures intended to fund services tied to new development, maintain existing neighborhood landscaping, and raise potential general revenue via a hotel-tax ballot measure.

The council recorded unanimous and near-unanimous votes on multiple items, including two community facilities districts (CFDs) that will impose special taxes on new subdivisions to pay for public safety and maintenance services; formal adoption of the city's 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual action plan; and an action to move forward with the city's annual landscape-assessment engineers report and the associated levy process. The council also selected Bob Murray & Associates to lead a nationwide city-manager recruitment and approved sending a proposed transient-occupancy tax increase to the November 4, 2025 special election.

Votes at a glance:

- Community Facilities District (CFD) 2025-1 (Public Safety services): Council adopted resolutions to form the CFD, call a special election and accept the landowner election results. Landowners within the proposed CFD returned consent forms and the ballots showed the landowner vote in favor; council adopted the…