Lake County board approves placing delinquent water, sewer and lighting fees on tax roll after staff briefing

At a public hearing the Lake County Board of Supervisors approved a series of resolutions to place delinquent water, sewer and lighting fees for multiple special districts on the county tax roll, with each item passing on a 5-0 roll call.

The actions affect Clear Lake Keys county service areas (CSA) numbers 1, 2, 6, 13, 20 and 21; the Kelseyville County Water Works District No. 3; and the Lake County Sanitation District. County Counsel walked the board through the required recital language and the board recorded zero protests at the hearing before approving each resolution.

Why it matters: placing unpaid utility charges on the tax roll is the county’s standard method for attempting to collect long‑overdue accounts; it shifts collection to the property‑tax process and can affect property owners’ obligations during subsequent tax collection cycles. The board’s approvals clear the procedural step that lets the county include qualifying delinquencies on the official tax roll for collection.

Discussion and staff responses Supervisor Sabatia told the board the number of delinquencies appears to have risen ‘‘about 40%’’ compared with last year, saying, ‘‘It was about 750,000 last year and it’s about 1,000,000 this year,’’ and urged continued attention to collection trends and to tracking how much of the amounts placed on the tax roll are ultimately paid. Sabatia also asked whether any protests had been filed; staff answered there were none prior to the hearing.

Robin Borre, identified in the record as the director handling the item, said the list presented to the board contains parcels that have been over nine months delinquent and that staff provided APNs without owner names as requested. Borre added some accounts on the draft list have begun to pay and may drop off the final roll. She told the board staff performs district‑level analyses before placing accounts on the tax roll and noted it costs a minimum of $175 plus $0.25 per parcel to add accounts, which can make including very small delinquencies not cost‑effective.

Formal actions and votes The board took four formal actions during the item: • County of Lake (as Board of Supervisors): resolution confirming collection of delinquent water fees for CSA 2, 6, 13, 20 and 21 — offered and adopted 5-0 (0 protests). • County of Lake (as Board of Supervisors): resolution confirming collection of annual lighting fees for CSA 1 — offered and adopted 5-0 (0 protests). • Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors: resolution confirming collection of delinquent sewer fees for the Sanitation District — offered and adopted 5-0 (0 protests). • Kelseyville County Water Works District No. 3 Board of Directors: resolution confirming collection of delinquent charges for services rendered — offered and adopted 5-0 (0 protests).

Each motion was offered following counsel’s explanation; roll‑call votes recorded affirmative votes for the board or directors listed on the record. The board concluded the item with the unanimous approvals and no further public comment.

What’s next Staff will finalize the official tax roll at the date of record and only those accounts still delinquent at that time will remain on the roll. Staff noted a parcel‑by‑parcel analysis is used to avoid incurring costs that exceed the amounts due.