City of Oxnard staff recommends policy to manage underfunded landscape maintenance districts

Anthony Miller, special districts manager in the City of Oxnard Public Works Division, presented a staff recommendation that the City Council adopt a resolution establishing a maintenance and funding policy for the city’s landscape maintenance districts (LMDs).

Miller said the policy is intended to clarify funding practices and set procedures for districts that were formed before Proposition 218 (1996) and therefore have maximum, fixed assessment rates that do not automatically inflate with rising costs. “LMDs exist to provide a direct and special benefit to those who choose to purchase property within its boundaries,” Miller said. He told the council the proposal draws on feedback from the Public Works and Transportation Committee and from public comment during committee hearings.

The proposed policy would: define when fund balances may be used; describe reserve types the city may hold for LMDs; set operating reserve guidance (a floor of 16.6% and a ceiling of 47.4% of budgeted expenses for…