Kelseyville Fire CFD Formation Steps

The Kelseyville Fire Protection District ("Fire District") is considering the formation of the Kelseyville Fire CFD, a Community Facilities District, to provide additional funding for the Fire District.  The formation of the Kelseyville Fire CFD results in a special tax being added to the annual secured property tax bill of parcels within the boundaries of the Fire District.

Important: The formation of the CFD must be approved by the affected voters. Kelseyville Fire can't form the CFD without voter approval.

CivicMic is assisting the Fire District with community outreach and engagement for the proposed formation of the Kelseyville Fire CFD.  In this post, we provide an overview of the use of Community Facilities Districts by public agencies in California.

Community Facilities Districts

Overview

Community Facilities Districts (CFD), sometimes known as “Mello-Roos Districts” (Senator Henry Mello and Assemblyman Mike Roos were the original authors of the legislation), can fund certain public services on an annual basis as well as large infrastructure capital needs.

The services that may be funded include:

• Police protection services.
• Fire protection and suppression services, ambulance and paramedic services.
• Recreation program services, library services, and maintenance services for elementary and secondary school sites and structures, and the operation and maintenance of museums and cultural facilities.
• Maintenance and lighting of parks, parkways, streets, roads, and open space.
• Flood and storm protection services.
• Services with respect to removal or remedial action for the cleanup of any hazardous substance.
• Maintenance and operation of any real property or other tangible property with an estimated useful life of five or more years that is owned by the local agency or by another local agency.

Capital projects with a useful life of at least five years that may be funded include:

• Park, recreation, and open space facilities.
• School facilities.
• Libraries.
• Child care facilities.
• Infrastructure needs.

Who Can Use Them

Any public agency with the authority to provide the types of services and facilities may form a CFD. Cities, counties, school districts, and special districts (like the Fire District) are common users of this tool.

Requirements

A formation process is required, including appropriate financial analysis and planning. A Special Tax Consultant will develop a Special Tax Formula and Report. There will be public hearings and either a mailed ballot process to property owners or a regular election if there are 12 or more voters in the district.

Underlying Legislation

California Government Code, Section 53311 et seq., entitled the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982.

Kelseyville Fire CFD Formation Steps

The infographics below are for informational purposes only and were not created for this specific project. The infographics reflect the general steps for the formation of the proposed Kelseyville Fire CFD, including the participation of a steering committee to assist the public agency in determining if there is sufficient support to move forward. The steering committee referenced in the infographic is not a requirement of the formation process. Currently, there is no citizen steering committee for this project. The outreach being conducted is intended to determine if there is support for a CFD to assist the Fire District with funding for improvements, operations, and maintenance.

Additional information on the formation steps below will be provided at the upcoming community meetings and additional posts here by CivicMic.