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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-02-13 Item 1JFrom:Dianne Nezgoda To:City Clerk Subject:02/13/2025 City Council agenda item J ANNUAL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT FOR CFD NO. 2005-1.... Date:Wednesday, February 12, 2025 3:22:43 PM NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Councilmembers, After over 10 months of attempting to get answers to my questions surrounding Special Tax (Mello-Roos) relevancy/necessity/equity, I discovered that a Special Tax Accountability Report is on the 2/13 Council agenda w/Scott C. Stiles, City Manager BY: Department of Finance and Treasury recommendation to "receive and file." My main question is re vetting of the relevancy and/or necessity of the tax, especially in light of the fact that it has not undergone a Fiscal Impact Analysis (FIA) since its inception in 2005, which cannot be located at City Hall. Term language offers Council the opportunity to reexamine the necessity of the tax. "H. TERM OF SPECIAL TAX Every Five years after the establishment of theDistrict, the City Council may reexamine, if deemed necessary by City Council, the necessity ofthe continuance of the Special Tax through the preparation of a Fiscal Impact Analysis, otherwisethe Special Tax shall be levied in perpetuity." It is not unfeasible for a tax of this kind to sunset after approximately 20 years under the appropriate circumstances. I was also informed by Mr. Mooney that he has "received one quote for performing the requested fiscal impact study, another quote is on the way, and will be obtaining a third quote hopefully in the next couple of weeks. After the third quote is received, a determination will be made on the need to move forward with a study." I am confused as to the process order of obtaining quotes for an FIA and then determining if one will be made "on the need to move forward with a study." In the Accountability Report I see a total dollar amount collected (6/30/24 balance of $2,202,310.48 and expended amount of $692,177.17), but there is no accounting of what it was expended on other than two checked boxes labeled "fire" and "police." The Report does not provide specified information concerning the use ofthe proceeds as required in Senate Bill 165: Filed with the Secretary ofState on September 19, 2000, it enacted the Local Agency Special Tax andBond Accountability Act (the “Act”). The Act requires that any localspecial tax or local bond measure subject to voter approval contain astatement indicating the specific purposes of the special tax, require that theproceeds of the special tax be applied to those purposes, require thecreation of an account into which the proceeds shall be deposited, andrequire an annual report containing SPECIFIED INFORMATIONconcerning the use of the proceeds. This would be true for the last 20 years. If this information is contained in an FIA, based on the sheer length of time that one has 02/13/2025 Public Comment Item 1J not been performed, wouldn't it be prudent to perform one? My request for one stems solely from a desire for transparency of how my $500 yearly contribution is being spent. I am asking you to decide in the best interest of your constituents who pay this tax to vet the relevancy of performing an FIA. “The chief fiscal officer of the issuing local agency shall file a report with itsgoverning body and at least once a year thereafter. The annual report shallcontain all of the following: (a) The amount of funds collected andexpended. (b) The status of any project required or authorized to befunded as identified in subdivision (a) of Section 50075.1.” Therequirements of the Act apply to the Funds of: City of Palm SpringsCommunity Facilities District No. 2005‐1 Thank you for your consideration of my inquiry, Dianne Nezgoda 284 Cheryl Dr. Palm Springs, CA 92262 02/13/2025 Public Comment Item 1J