Fire Department Report
The October Salida MAC meeting opened
with a report by Modesto Regional Fire Authority Deputy Chief Dale
Skiles who reported that the fire department's call volume is average
right now, but with the coming rainy season, it should lessen. He
encouraged fire safety for the coming holidays and asked residents to
call 552-3600 with any questions.
No Sheriff or CHP report this month.
Salida Sanitary Report
Salida Sanitary Boardmember, Brad
Johnson, reported that the sanitary district had a presentation about
solar power by a solar contractor. Salida Sanitary is exploring solar
to save on energy costs. Mr. Johnson extended an invitation to
attend Salida Sanitary's board meetings which are held on the second
Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. The meeting location is held at
Salida Sanitary's headquarters. Visit http://www.salidasanitary.net/
for more information.
SAPFFA – Salida Area Public Facilities
Finance Agency (Mello Roos) Report
Director of Planning Facilities Support
for Modesto City Schools, Becky Meredith shared that she administers
several Mello Roos districts including the one for Salida known as
Salida Area Public Facilities Finance Agency (SAPFFA). Ms. Meredith
brought a map of the SAPFFA area which was formed in 1988 and said
that anything built before 1988 was not in the Mello Roos district.
SAPFFA was formed by the Salida Union School District, Salida
Sanitary District, the Salida Fire District, and the Modesto High
School District and although Stanislaus County is not a voting member
of SAPFFA, the county was an integral part in the formation of SAPFFA
and many county projects have been paid for from SAPFFA. The SAPFFA
Board of Trustees is made up of two members from the Salida Sanitary
District, one member each from the Salida Fire District, Salida Union
School District and the Modesto High School District. The board meets
in June and December to adopt the budget and authorize the paying of
bills. Meeting notices are posted at the Salida Library, the school
districts and in the Modesto Bee.
The Mello Roos district is a state law
that goes back to 1982, Senator Mello and Assemblyman Roos crafted
this law to allow taxes to be levied on new development to pay for
certain designated public improvements like capital facilities such
as schools, streets, and sewer lines. Land is annexed to a Mello Roos
district by residential developers prior to the homes being built as
a way to finance required infrastructure because by doing so, it can
be financed at tax exempt rates.
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| Director of Planning Facilities Support for Modesto City Schools, Becky Meredith explains Mello Roos taxes. |
Ms. Meredith then went over handouts
including a SAPFFA press release. Mello Roos laws state that public
facilities to be financed have to have a use of five years or longer.
SAPFFA has paid for over thirty separate projects that have been built
since 1988 for a total cost of approximately $50 million dollars.
SAPFFA does not own nor operate any of these improvements. Only
projects listed and approved for in 1988 can be paid for by SAPFFA.
The bonds will be paid off on September 1, 2030.
The last project paid for by SAPFFA was
in 2005 in which the Modesto High School District received funds for the
land purchase for Gregori High School. Stanislaus County also received
$7.6 million for a variety of improvements such as park sites, storm
drains, and roads. The most recent improvement which occurred around
2005 was the Broadway Avenue and Salida Boulevard intersection
improvements.
There are 2,817 properties that pay the
Salida Mello Roos district tax. In November 2011, the SAPFFA finance
committee refinanced the existing SAPFFA Mello Roos debt. The
estimated annual savings per property is $120. The actual savings
range was $168-$187 annually per property ($140 savings on average). It
is possible that the debt can go down again.
The difference between the Mello Roos
tax and your regular property tax is that the property tax is based
on the value of your home whereas the Mello Roos tax is not based on
the value of your home. It is a tax established when the districts
formed and they figure out exactly what they want the Mello Roos
district to build and pay for, they figure out how much it will cost
and the cost to finance it, then they spread the cost over all the
properties that are in those boundaries.
During the Q&A, a question was
asked how they know how much projects will cost? Ms. Meredith replied
that engineers project the cost and inflation is factored in for the
proposed cost of the project. She gave an example that the entire
project for Gregori High School was not paid for by SAPFFA, only the
land was purchased by SAPFFA. It was purchased from the Van
Koynenburg Trust and a few other land owners for $8.94 million. The
land purchase not only includes the school site but also some
right-of-way purchases and school buses.
The next question asked was how much
Mello Roos taxes were collected every year? Ms. Meredith replied that
it changes every year, but that the current tax roll to be collected
for 2012-2013 is $2.5 million. That was followed by a question of how
much debt was left and her reply was about $30 million dollars. The
attendee also asked if there was a pre-payment penalty if the Mello
Roos bonds were paid off early and Ms. Meredith replied in the
affirmative. She said that typically, bonds cannot be called prior to
ten years once they've been issued. The earliest the SAPFFA bonds
could be refinanced or pre-paid is in ten years from now since they
were just refinanced in 2011. The new interest rate range is between
3-5%; the people who hold the bonds longer receive the higher
interest rate.
Another Salida resident asked a
question about a Mello Roos meeting they had attended approximately
eight years ago where they were told that their Mello Roos tax
obligation could be shortened by six years. Ms. Meredith replied that
she was likely the person who told them that at the meeting, but that
she would have said they had great hopes to eliminate the tax earlier
than 2030 and retire the bonds early via refinancing. Last year, the
SAPFFA board was faced with the decision as to whether to retire the
bonds early or lower the tax and give relief to the taxpayers through
a reduced rate. The SAPFFA board decided to go with “giving relief
today”. Another attendee asked why this wasn't put to a vote of the
people? Ms. Meredith replied that the officials elected to the
various boards were the ones who made the decision, and the decision
is made by those elected officials and not put to a vote of the
people.
Ms. Meredith also shared that Village I
in pays more taxes than Salida does because there are three Mello
Roos districts in Village I and Salida only has one. The City of
Modesto has two of the Mello Roos districts in Village I and the
schools have one. The third Mello Roos district in Village I is for
operations and is going on in perpetuity and collects money every
year via property taxes.
The next question was whether Mello
Roos taxes become delinquent when a home is foreclosed on? Ms.
Meredith replied that delinquency rates have actually gone down
because the banks who own the home then pay the taxes. The
delinquency rate on uncollected Mello Roos taxes was just a little
over 1%.
The next question posed was whether
Salidan's taxes would change by the annexation of Salida by the City
of Modesto or the incorporation of Salida as a city? Ms. Meredith
replied that in either scenario, this debt does not go away, it stays
the same. The attendee followed that with a question as to if Salida
were annexed, would Salidans have to pay taxes to the City of Modesto
on top of Mello Roos. Ms. Meredith replied that she could not answer that, that's a question for the Mayor of Modesto. At this point,
Supervisor Terry Withrow answered this question saying that the,
“Mello Roos taxes are not an additional tax. If the Mello Roos
taxes hadn't existed, all of your houses in the Mello Roos district
would have cost more, which means your loans would have been more.”
The next question posed by a Salidan
was whether there would be additional projects added to Salida's
Mello Roos district and Ms. Meredith responded that, “No, all
projects authorized in 1988 have been completed. There can be no
additional projects.”
The next to last question was, “Why
does the Mello Roos increase by 2% per year?” Ms. Meredith said
that in the formation documents, the Mello Roos was allowed to
increase by 2% per year to make up for those things like inflation.
If a project isn't built yet, then the cost is estimated. But since
Salida's projects are all done, and with the bonds being refinanced,
there will be no further 2% increases for Salidans' Mello Roos. The
taxes will stay at a level tax until 2030 unless the bonds are
refinanced again. The last question was, “How much does it cost to
administer our Mello Roos tax?” and the answer was $15,000 for
staff time of the three officers and an additional cost for a special
tax consultant, Goodwin Consulting. This cost has gone down because
the projects are all done.
Link for more information and financial data on SAPFFA
Salida Annexation Issue Update and
Supervisor District 3 Report
Councilmember Brad Johnson opened with
a "straw poll" asking attendees to raise their hands if they were in
favor of Salida being annexed by the City of Modesto and two people
raised their hands. He then asked how many were opposed and the
majority of attendees raised their hands (between 40-50 people). An
attendee asked that next time, Councilmember Johnson should also ask for
a show of hands for those who are undecided. Councilmember Katherine
Borges shared that Modesto Mayor Garrad Marsh would be hosting a Town
Hall Meeting on Saturday, November 3 from 10 am to noon at the Senior
Citizens Center at 211 Bodem, Modesto.
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| Supervisor Terry Withrow shares a map and the history of the Salida Community Plan. |
Supervisor Terry Withrow reported that
the Goodwin Consulting cost-sharing feasibility study contracted by
the City of Modesto and Stanislaus County would not be returned until
mid-December. The sixty days for the return of the study didn't start
until Goodwin received all the information from the city and county.
Supervisor Withrow said that if the city and county are able to come
to a tax-sharing agreement, then they'll come to Salida and ask what
Salida wants to do. He asked for patience until they obtain the
information from the study. Supervisor Withrow then shared a map and
the history of 'Salida Now' which the Stanislaus County Board of
Supervisors passed in 2007. He said that Measure E, also passed that
year which prevents additional houses being built without a vote of
the people. He then shared more of the background of the Salida
Community Plan which called for 5,000 new homes to be built, which in
turn, could provide the funds for Salida to become incorporated. But
the economy collapsed and “...the model on which the plan was based
on said it would collapse if the price of houses dropped 15%.” He
said, “That as it stands right now, this is Salida's plan, this is
Salida's future. This development will someday happen. The people who
own this land have 20 years to make this thing happen.”
Supervisor Withrow reiterated, “You
guys elected me, hired me basically, you're my bosses. And what I
think you've hired me to do is get information for you. You guys
don't have time to do that. That's why I'm there. I go down to the
county and I work on all this stuff and I come back with all the
facts and present it to you. And then I'll give you suggestions as to
what I think is the best way to go because its all about getting the
lifestyle here in Salida better, and improve services. You tell me
what you want to do and I work to make that happen.”
An attendee mentioned that the land
Costco and Kaiser are were annexed by Modesto, what's to stop Modesto
from continuing to annex more land from Salida? Supervisor Withrow
replied that it was his fear that Modesto will pick Salida apart
until Salida ends up being the biggest county pocket in the county.
Supervisor Withrow suggested that if
the annexation goes through, that Salida have its own planning
commission to control its growth. This has been done across the
state in cities which have planning commissions specifically for an
area. That way, an area can be represented, but it still ultimately
goes to a city council still. He said if it goes that far, he wants,
“Salida to have its own planning commission to control its own
destiny, as far as growth, development and zoning.”
A Salida resident asked Supervisor
Withrow if while we are waiting for the Goodwin study results were we
at risk of LAFCO annexing away more land from Salida? The Supervisor
replied that no, because there are two other county supervisors who
serve on the board of LAFCO and since Salida is Supervisor Withrow's
district, they will go with what he wants which is what the people
want.
The next resident proposed the
formation of a steering committee to investigate the potential for
Salida to incorporate and asked the Supervisor if he would support
that? He replied in the affirmative. He said that incorporation has
been studied, will be looked at, and will be presented. Another
attendee asked who would present this information, and Supervisor
Withrow responded that he would and possibly elected members of
Salida Fire and Salida MAC. This was followed by a question for the
Supervisor as to whether the planning commission for Salida could
still be formed even if Salida stays county and Supervisor Withrow
responded that it was possible.
Link to view the Salida Community
Plan
Salida MAC Council Discussion
Councilmember Brad Johnson brought up
that annexation to Modesto would mean that Salidans would have a
utility tax in addition to their Mello Roos and other existing property taxes.
Salida MAC Council Chairman Thomas
Reeves brought up that since the December meeting falls on Christmas
Day would any councilmembers be opposed to canceling it. All agreed
to cancel it and Chairman Reeves said that he could always call an
emergency meeting if need be.
Councilmember Ana Rocha San-Nicholas
requested a presentation by LAFCO. The board agreed to invite LAFCO
to the next meeting.
Councilmember Katherine Borges reported
on the City-County Liaison Meeting she attended on October 8 because
the Salida Annexation was on the agenda. She shared that the first
part of the meeting was about the incorporation of county islands
within Modesto and how any unincorporated county islands (including
Salida) that are annexed into the city have to be voted upon by
Modesto residents via a Measure M vote which extends sewer service to
those areas. During the part regarding the Salida Annexation, she
relayed that Modesto Mayor Garrad Marsh wants to do an Advisory Vote
on the annexation and is asking for 60% of Salida's registered voters
would have to vote no before he would agree to stop the annexation
process whereas with a binding petition, only 51% would have
to sign the petition to stop the annexation. An advisory vote is non-binding so
technically, Modesto could choose to proceed with the annexation
irregardless.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 7
p.m. At the Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library Community Room, 4835
Sisk Road, Salida.
FEATURED
SPEAKER: LAFCO Director, Marjorie Blom will present “LAFCO 101”
