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City explains proposed citywide parks assessment and how it would affect the school district
Summary
Benicia city manager outlined a proposed citywide Parks, Landscape and Lighting Assessment District that would expand a 1989 assessment, create zone-based rates (Zone A $208/year), use Proposition 218 weighted ballots, and would assess the school district about $17,000 annually if approved.
Mario Giuliani, Benicia’s city manager, presented the city’s proposal to replace a 1989 parks assessment with a citywide Parks, Landscape and Lighting Assessment District and asked the Benicia Unified School District board to consider the item when the City Council returns it for a vote.
Giuliani said the current district covers roughly 20% of homes and has no escalator, which has left parks funding effectively frozen since 1989. The proposed citywide model would spread costs across zones defined by proximity to parks and by parcel type. Giuliani cited proposed yearly residential charges of $208 for Zone A, $124 for Zone B and $41 for Zone C, and said the district’s annual assessment would be about $17,000 because of the properties it owns.
‘‘In 1989 the annual assessment for that district was $136.56. In 2025, that annual assessment is $136.56,’’ Giuliani said, emphasizing that the new district includes an automatic CPI-based escalator capped by the local CPI and subject to annual city-council approval.
Giuliani explained the Proposition 218 ballot process that governs assessments: ballots are weighted by the amount a property would pay. He warned trustees the district’s ballot would carry roughly 17,000 weighted votes compared with the city’s 14,000, and said the ballot period closes Oct. 14 with ballots counted publicly on Oct. 15.
Giuliani described how revenue would be restricted to parks-related uses only—playgrounds, trails, medians and park maintenance—and estimated passage would increase annual parks funding so the parks budget would approach $5 million, up from roughly $2.7 million contributed by the city and about $422,430 currently derived from the 1989 district.
Trustees asked for details about project lists and engineering reports; Giuliani directed trustees to the city’s parks master plan and the engineer’s report posted on the city website and said the city will include project lists when the district begins collecting funds in August 2026 (the first revenues would be collected in August 2027 for fiscal purposes). He also discussed a limited, one-year window in which proceeds could support certain school-site maintenance (Benicia Middle School) during the site transition.
What happens next: The City Council will hold a special meeting and public hearing; ballots are due Oct. 14 and the city expects results Oct. 15. The trustees were asked to consider whether to place the district on the school-district agenda for Oct. 2 for further review.
