TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Libby Bretthauer, Finance Director
Julie Bondarchuk, Financial Controller
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Approving the Assessment Engineer’s Report for the Annual Levy of Street Lighting Assessments for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 and a Resolution Declaring the City Council’s Intention to Provide for the Annual Levy and Collection of Assessments, and Setting the Public Hearing to Consider the Assessments for June 16, 2026 (Budgeted) (Finance Director Bretthauer).
A) ADOPT RESOLUTION NOS. 26-0039 AND 26-0040
B) SET PUBLIC HEARING DATE FOR JUNE 16, 2026
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 26-0039 approving the Assessment Engineer’s report for the annual levy of Street Lighting Assessments for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-2027.
If Resolution No. 26-0039 is adopted, then staff recommends the City Council adopt Resolution No. 26-0040:
1) Declaring the City Council’s intention to provide for the annual levy and collection of assessments for the Street Lighting and Landscaping Fund, and
2) Setting the public hearing to consider assessments for June 16, 2026.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The assessment rates remain unchanged from FY 2024-2025. The Assessment Engineer’s Report includes calculated assessments totaling $377,026 for FY 2026-2027. The FY 2026-2027 Budget, scheduled for adoption at the June 2, 2026, City Council meeting, will include the updated Engineer’s Report estimates.
Assessments have been fixed since 1996 with most single-family residences paying $17.03 per year. Costs, however, have continued to rise (notably electricity, gas, and capital improvements) and therefore exceed the revenue generated by the assessments. As a result, the General Fund has subsidized the Street Lighting and Landscape Fund since 2007, resulting in a total of nearly $3.9 million transferred from the General Fund balance. The estimated subsidy in the upcoming fiscal year 2026-2027 is $270,687.
BACKGROUND:
At the April 21, 2026, City Council meeting, Resolution No. 26-0019 was adopted, ordering the preparation of the Assessment Engineer’s Report. This report, submitted by Harris & Associates, has been prepared in accordance with the Street Lighting and Landscaping Act of 1972. The method for the allocation of assessments, which remains unchanged from fiscal year 2025-2026, is discussed in Part IV of the attached Engineer’s Report.
The attached Resolution No. 26-0039 requests City Council approval of the Assessment Engineer’s report, which is a required step in the process. If the City Council adopts Resolution No. 26-0039, then the City Council may consider adopting Resolution No. 26-0040 to declare the City’s intention to levy and collect assessments and to set a public hearing for the City Council to provide final direction on the matter. Both resolutions must be adopted to proceed with the process.
DISCUSSION:
Assessments are levied on the basis of benefit. The basic unit for allocation of benefit is the single-family home, which is equal to one Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU). All other land uses are converted into this measure based on dwelling units or lot size of the parcel.
The Engineer has established six zones of benefit to allocate assessments, five of which employ the EDU method of benefit measure. For zone 10, which includes certain downtown business properties, the Assessment Engineer has determined that frontal footage is the best measure of benefit and uses the Adjusted Front Footage (AFF) basis.
The Assessment Engineer was supplied with revenue and cost estimates, as well as the estimated opening fund balance. The preliminary assessment totaled $377,026. Upon receipt of the final roll for FY 2026-2027, which will reflect final parcel changes for the new fiscal year, Harris & Associates will recalculate the total assessment using the rates as shown in the report. Based on history, the difference between the total assessment for the prior year and current year is typically less than $1,000.
The report includes assessments and corresponding operation and maintenance for each zone. Given that approximately 10% of the Zone 10 Streetscape area is bounded by City Hall, the City assesses itself 10% ($15,278) of the Streetscape expenditure. Each zone is in a deficit position and is subsidized by a General Fund transfer, which can be referenced in the Cost Estimate Table in Part III of the Engineer’s Report.
In the report to City Council on April 21, 2026, staff indicated that there is no opening balance for the Street Lighting and Landscaping Fund and that subsidies for all zones (zones 1-9 for street lighting and zone 10 for downtown streetscape) will be required. For FY 2026-2027, net assessment revenues (including the City’s portion) are estimated at $361,748, and total expenditures are $762,992, leaving a deficit of $370,688. This amount is offset by damage recoveries of $100,000 and subsidized by the General Fund as follows: $248,781 for zones 1-9 and $21,906 for zone 10 (Downtown Streetscape). This subsidy is ongoing and will increase in future years if assessments remain fixed while costs continue to rise. Assessments, which were last adjusted in 1996, can only be increased through a Proposition 218 vote.
By adopting Resolution No. 26-0039, the Assessment Engineer’s report for the annual levy of Street Lighting Assessments for the FY 2026-2027 will be approved. After adopting Resolution No. 26-0039, the City Council can then adopt Resolution No. 26-0040 to declare its intention to provide for the annual levy and collection of assessments for the Street Lighting and Landscape Fund and set the public hearing date to June 16, 2026.
At the June 16, 2026, Public Hearing, the City Council will be asked to adopt a resolution providing for the levy and collection of street lighting assessments. The assessments are then collected with the consolidated property tax bills issued in October.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 26-0039
2. Resolution No. 26-0040
3. Fiscal Year 2026-2027 - Engineer’s Report Landscaping and Street Lighting Maintenance Assessment District