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Rancho Mirage council approves seven-year phase-in to restore property-tax "7% minimum" if AB 1112 passes
Summary
Council voted 4-0 to authorize a county agreement that phases in restoration of a 7% property-tax minimum for Rancho Mirage over seven years if Assembly Bill 1112 becomes law; the move responds to an unintended post-RDA reduction in the city's Tax Equity Allocation (TEA) formula.
The Rancho Mirage City Council on April 16 approved a seven-year phase-in agreement with Riverside County designed to restore the city's share of property-tax revenues to the 7% minimum applied to other "low/no property-tax" cities if Assembly Bill 1112 becomes law.
City Manager Isaiah Haggererman explained the background: when Rancho Mirage left the countywide library system decades ago and later operated a redevelopment agency (RDA), the city was specifically named in an historic tax-equity calculation that now reduces its Tax Equity Allocation (TEA). After RDA dissolution the city ended up with a reduced TEA calculation and is the only low/no city that does not receive the 7% minimum.
Haggererman said AB 1112, introduced with support from Assembly Member Greg Wallace, would delete the statute provision that singled out Rancho Mirage and would allow the city to be treated the same as other qualifying cities. The county agreement approved by the council would phase in the restoration over seven years if the bill becomes law, "buffering both sides" rather than making an immediate change.
"The purpose of this agreement and the seven-year phase-in period is just to buffer both sides," Haggererman said, noting there is no fiscal impact in the current year and that the agreement includes calculations using historical data to illustrate the mechanics.
Council members praised the city manager's work and thanked Assembly Member Greg Wallace for advocacy in Sacramento. A motion to approve the tax-measure reduction phase-out agreement and authorize the city manager to execute it, subject to county- and city-manager-approved revisions in consultation with the city attorney, carried 4-0.
The council action is procedural: it authorizes the local agreement and a phased implementation if AB 1112 becomes law. The county is expected to review the agreement at an upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting; the phase-in schedule would start only if the state law change occurs.
