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ASSESSMENT DISTRICT BALLOTING GUIDELINE
FOR PROPOSED NEW OR INCREASED SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS
Introduction
The following guidelines (these "Assessment Balloting Guidelines') shall govern the
preparation, distribution, return, handling and tabulation of assessment ballots in any
proceeding of the City of Newport Beach (the "City") in which the City Council is
considering a proposed new or increased special assessment. These Assessment
Balloting Guidelines are intended to assure compliance with the provisions of California
Constitution Article XIIID Section 4 ("Section 4") and California Government Code
Section 53753 ("Section 53753") and to improve understanding of the Assessment
Balloting Guidelines by affected property owners and other interested persons.
While these Assessment Balloting Guidelines seek to provide general guidance to the
City Clerk and to anticipate situations which may arise, the City Clerk is granted
discretion to exercise judgment and to seek further guidance from the City Attorney and
bond counsel for the Assessment District in question before determining how to proceed
in the event circumstances arise which are not expressly provided for in these Assessment
Balloting Guidelines.
Designation Of City Clerk To Oversee Assessment Ballot Custody And Tabulation
A. Pursuant to Section 53753 subsection (e)(1), the City Clerk is hereby designated as
the impartial person to oversee and coordinate all matters pertaining to the receipt
and custody of returned assessment ballots and, following the close of the public
hearing, the opening and tabulation of assessment ballots. The City Clerk may be
assisted by members of the City Clerk's staff and by an outside consultant
providing services under the supervision of the City Clerk, and the City Clerk may
designate a member of the City Clerk's staff to discharge the responsibilities of the
City Clerk as established by these Assessment Balloting Guidelines.
B. In the event that, for any reason, the City Clerk has a vested interest in the outcome
of the proposed assessment proceedings, whether by virtue of ownership of
property within the subject assessment district which is proposed to be assessed
or otherwise, the City Clerk shall so advise the City Council, and
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the City Council of the City (the "City Council") shall designate another person to
serve those functions which would otherwise be served by the City Clerk for that
assessment district.
C. As used in these Assessment Balloting Guidelines, the term "City Clerk" shall be
deemed to include the City Clerk's designee, if any, or the City Council's designee,
if any, as established pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section.
Preparation of Assessment Ballots
A. The preparation of assessment ballots, together with the related notice of hearing,
shall be under the supervision of the City Clerk, with such assistance as the City
Clerk may request from the City Attorney, as well as the City's bond counsel and
the City's assessment engineer for the subject assessment district.
B. Both the assessment ballots and the notices of hearing shall contain those matters
specified by Section 4 and by Section 53753.
C. The term "proposed assessment," as used in Section 4 and Section 53753, shall
mean the amount proposed to be assessed against each parcel as set forth in the
written engineer's report (the "Engineer's Report") which is prepared, submitted
and preliminarily approved by resolution of the City Council, whether as
submitted by the assessment engineer (the "Assessment Engineer") or as modified
by the City Council prior to such preliminary approval. The amount of the
proposed assessment, as derived from the Engineer's Report (including any
modification to the amount of any given proposed assessment, if any, by action of
the City Council prior to preliminary approval of the Engineer's Report), shall
remain the amount of the proposed assessment for purposes of weighting of
assessment ballots following the close of the public hearing.
Distribution of Assessment Ballots
A. The City Clerk shall distribute or cause the distribution of assessment ballots,
together with the related notice of hearing, to the record owner of each parcel (the
"Record Owner") for which an assessment is proposed to be levied in the subject
assessment. Such distribution shall be made by mail, postage prepaid, with the
return address of the City Clerk set forth on the mailing envelopes to facilitate the
return of any envelope which is deemed not deliverable as addressed.
B. The term "Record Owner," as used in this Section, shall have the meaning
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set forth in Section 53750 of the Government Code.
C. Each envelope mailed to a Record Owner shall include, in addition to the notice of
hearing and the assessment ballot or ballots respecting the parcel or parcels of that
Record Owner, a self-addressed, return envelope by which the Record Owner may
mail completed assessment ballots to the City Clerk. The return envelope shall be
marked in such manner as shall be determined by the City Clerk so as to inform
staff in the City Clerk's office that it contains an assessment ballot and should
therefore remain unopened prior to the close of the public hearing for the subject
assessment district.
D. In the event that, for any reason, a return envelope containing an assessment ballot
is opened prior to the close of the public hearing, the envelope shall be re -sealed
immediately and in such manner as will assure that the contents of the assessment
ballot shall remain concealed until the close of the public hearing.
E. Mailing of the notices of hearing and assessment ballots shall be completed not
less than forty-five (45) days prior to the date of the public hearing, and the City
Clerk (or other person designated to serve the functions of the City Clerk) shall
complete a certificate of mailing, evidencing compliance with the requirements of
Section 4 and Section 53753 with respect to such mailing.
Completion of Assessment Ballots
A. Who may complete an assessment ballot?
An Assessment Ballot may be completed by the Record Owner of the parcel to be
assessed or by an authorized representative of the Record Owner. For purposes
of this subsection A, the term "Record Owner' shall be deemed to include the
following:
1. A person meeting the definition of "Record Owner" as set forth in Section
53750;
2. Any person who is shown as a transferee of title to the subject parcel on a
copy of a recorded grant deed or similar instrument of conveyance of title,
as established by a copy of such instrument submitted with the Assessment
Ballot which is completed by such person; and
3. An authorized representative of a person qualifying as a Record Owner
pursuant to the aformentioned subparagraphs (1) or (2), as established by
documentation submitted with the Assessment Ballot which is completed
by the authorized representative.
If the Record Owner of the parcel is a partnership, joint tenancy, or tenancy in
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common, an Assessment Ballot may be completed by any of the general partners,
joint tenants, or tenants in common. If there are multiple Record Owners of a
parcel, an Assessment Ballot may be completed by any one of the multiple Record
Owners.
Except as provided in the following subsection B for the circumstance of multiple
Record Owners of a parcel, only one Assessment Ballot may be completed for each
parcel.
B. Multiple -owner assessment ballots
If a parcel has multiple Record Owners, any one of them may request the City
Clerk to provide Multiple -Owner Assessment Ballots to all of the owners of the
parcel.
Such request must be in writing, must specify the names and mailing addresses of
all of the multiple Record Owners, must include evidence, satisfactory to the City
Clerk, of each owner's proportional rights in the parcel (including percentages),
and must be delivered to the City Clerk at 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach,
California 92660. Upon the receipt of such a request, complete with the
information prescribed in the foregoing sentence, the City Clerk shall prepare and
mail a Multiple -Owner Assessment Ballot to each Record Owner, along with a
copy of the notice of hearing and the self-addressed, return envelope.
To ensure that the City Clerk has sufficient time to notify each Record Owner prior
to the public hearing, all requests for Multiple -Owner Assessment Ballots must be
received by the City Clerk no later than fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the
public hearing date, and the City Clerk shall not be obligated to provide Multiple -
Owner Assessment Ballots in response to requests received after that deadline.
Replacement Assessment Ballots
A. If an Assessment Ballot is lost, destroyed or never received, or if a Record Owner
wishes to change his or her ballot, the City Clerk shall provide a Replacement
Assessment Ballot upon request of the Record Owner, whether prior to or at the
public hearing. As soon as reasonably possible following receipt of such a written
request, the City Clerk shall provide a Replacement Assessment Ballot to the
Record Owner.
B. If mailed delivery of the Replacement Assessment Ballot is requested, the request
must be received no later than 14 calendar days prior to the public hearing date,
and the mailed Replacement Assessment Ballot shall be accompanied by a copy of
the notice of hearing and the self-addressed, return envelope. If the request is
received after that deadline but before the public hearing, the Record Owner shall
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be obligated to pick up the Replacement Assessment Ballot at the City Clerk's
office.
C. If the request is made at the public hearing, the City Clerk shall provide the Record
Owner with the Replacement Assessment Ballot by personal delivery for
completion and submission prior to the close of the public hearing.
D. If both a Replacement Assessment Ballot and an original Assessment Ballot are
received for a given parcel, the Original Ballot shall be considered to be withdrawn
and the Replacement Ballot shall be counted.
Marking and Signing the Assessment Ballot
To complete an Assessment Ballot, the Record Owner must (1) mark the appropriate box
to express either support or opposition to the proposed Assessment District and (2) sign
the statement on the Assessment Ballot, under penalty of perjury, that the person
completing the Assessment Ballot is a Record Owner (as defined in the Section Completion
of Assessment Ballots above to include an authorized representative of the Record Owner).
Only one box may be marked on each Assessment Ballot.
A. Return of Assessment Ballots
1. An Assessment Ballot may be returned by a Record Owner of the parcel to
which the Assessment Ballot pertains, as the term "Record Owner' is
defined in the Section Completion of Assessment Ballots above.
2. Assessment Ballots may be mailed or delivered in person to the City Clerk's
office at 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, California 92660.
Assessment Ballots may also be delivered to the City Clerk via facsimile
transmission so long as there is no evidence on the face of the Assessment
Ballot that raises questions as to its validity. Finally, Assessment Ballots
may be delivered in person at the public hearing, provided that Assessment
Ballots must be received by the City Clerk prior to the close of the public
hearing.
3. The City Clerk must receive all Assessment Ballots which are returned by
mail and by facsimile transmission by the end of the business day on the
public hearing date. Postmarks shall not be counted.
Assessment Ballots may be hand delivered to the City Clerk at any time
prior to the close of the public hearing. The City makes no representation
whether the public portion of the public hearing shall be concluded on the
public hearing date or continued to a later date. If for any reason the public
hearing is continued, the entitlement to submit Assessment Ballots shall
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likewise be continued until such time as the public hearing is closed.
4. After returning an Assessment Ballot to the City, the Record Owner who
returned the Assessment Ballot may request that it be withdrawn. If the
Record Owner is not known personally to the City Clerk, the City Clerk
may require that the request be in writing, which shall include information
to enable the City Clerk to identify the parcel to which the Assessment
Ballot pertains. Such request must be received by the City Clerk prior to
the close of the public hearing.
If an Assessment Ballot has been withdrawn, the Record Owner requesting
the withdrawal may request a Replacement Assessment Ballot, in which
case the provisions respecting timeliness of the request set forth in the
Section Preperation of Assessment Ballots above shall apply.
The City Clerk shall retain all withdrawn Assessment Ballots, together with
any applicable written requests pertaining thereto, and shall indicate on
each such Assessment Ballot that it has been withdrawn.
B. Handling and Tabulation of Returned Assessment Ballots
1. Upon receipt of returned Assessment Ballots, the City Clerk shall place all
such returned Assessment Ballots together in a secure location, where they
shall be accumulated and shall remain unopened until the close of the
public hearing. In the event that the envelope containing a returned
Assessment Ballot is inadvertently opened, the envelope shall be
immediately re -sealed in a manner to assure that the contents of the
Assessment Ballot remain concealed until the close of the public hearing.
2. Only Assessment Ballots which are completed and returned in compliance
with these guidelines prior to the close of the public hearing shall be
counted. Assessment Ballots shall not be counted if any of the following is
true:
a. The City Clerk receives the Assessment Ballot after the close of the
public hearing on the Assessment District.
b. The Assessment Ballot has not been signed.
C. The Assessment Ballot either (1) has not been marked to indicate
either support for or opposition to the Assessment District or (2) has
been marked for both.
d. The Assessment Ballot has been withdrawn in accordance with these
procedures.
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3. The City Clerk shall keep a record of each Multiple -Owner Assessment
Ballot or Replacement Assessment Ballot provided to a Record Owner and
shall verify that only one Assessment Ballot has been returned (or, in the
case of Multiple -Owner Assessment Ballots, no more than the applicable
number of Multiple -Owner Assessment Ballots have been returned, as
applicable) for the parcel. If the City Clerk has received both the original
Assessment Ballot and a Replacement Assessment Ballot for a given parcel,
the City Clerk shall count the Replacement Assessment Ballot and
disregard the original Assessment Ballot. If the City Clerk has received both
an original Assessment Ballot and a Multiple -Owner Assessment Ballot for
a given parcel, the City shall count the Multiple -Owner Assessment Ballot
and disregard the original Assessment Ballot.
The intention of the guidelines in the foregoing paragraph is to give
cognizance to the latest expression of either support for or opposition to the
Assessment District by a Record Owner for a given parcel.
4. The tabulation of Assessment Ballots shall be performed in a public place
following the close of the public hearing, whether on the same day as the
public hearing is closed or thereafter during normal business hours. In the
event that the tabulation is not going to be performed on the same day as
the public hearing is closed, the City Clerk shall announce forthwith
following the close of the public hearing the date, time and place for
commencement of the tabulation. The public shall have access to the place
where the Assessment Ballots are tabulated and may observe the process of
the tabulation. The City Clerk may impose reasonable restrictions upon the
public's access in order to facilitate the orderly and accurate tabulation of
the Assessment Ballots.
5. The Assessment Ballots shall be opened at such time as the tabulation is
being commenced following the close of the public hearing, and the
tabulation shall be conducted under the supervision of the City Clerk and
in a public place which provides the opportunity for any interested person
to observe. Assessment Ballots may be counted by hand, by computer or by
any other tabulating device.
Assessment Ballots shall be weighted according to the amount of the
proposed assessment, as the term "proposed assessment" is defined in
paragraph C above.
With respect to Multiple -Owner Assessment Ballots, if only one Multiple -
Owner Assessment Ballot is returned, then it shall be weighted with the full
amount of the proposed assessment pertaining to the applicable parcel. If
more than one Multiple -Owner Assessment Ballot is returned and not all
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of the returned Multiple -Owner Assessment Ballots are marked the same
(whether in support of or in opposition to the Assessment District), then the
assessment amount shall be allocated among the Multiple -Owner
Assessment Ballots returned, as follows:
a. In accordance with Section 53753(e)(1), and any successor statute, if
the ownership interests are shown on the County Assessor's records
or, if the ownership interests are not shown on the record, as
established to the satisfaction of the City Clerk by documentation
provided by one of those multiple owners, then the assessment
amount shall be allocated among the Multiple -Owner Assessment
Ballots returned in proportion to those ownership interests.
b. Otherwise and in the event that the ownership interests cannot be
established in accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (a), then
the assessment amount shall be evenly split among the Multiple -
Owner Assessment Ballots returned.
6. Assessment Ballots may be tabulated by the City Clerk or by any
representative authorized by the City Clerk.
7. Upon completion of the tabulation, the City Clerk shall announce the
results of the tabulation to the City Council, whether at the meeting on the
day the public hearing is closed or at the first regular meeting of the City
Council following the completion of the tabulation, and such results shall
be entered in the minutes of the meeting.
If a weighted majority of the Assessment Ballots returned are opposed to
the new or increased assessments (which means that a "majority protest"
exists), then the new or increased assessments shall not be imposed.
If a majority protest does not exist, then the City Council shall have the
discretion whether or not to proceed to impose the new or increased
assessments.
8. In cases in which the results of the Assessment Ballot tabulation is so close
that a retabulation of the Assessment Ballots could assist in giving
credibility to the tabulation, the City Council, in its sole discretion, may
order a retabulation of the Assessment Ballots in a manner consistent with
these guidelines and the presentation of the results at the next regular
meeting of the City Council or at a special meeting of the City Council called
for that purpose.
C. Resolution of Disputes
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1. Property ownership
a. In the event of a dispute regarding whether the signer of an
Assessment Ballot is a Record Owner of the parcel to which the
Assessment Ballot pertains, as the term "Record Owner' is defined
in Section V(A) above, the City Clerk shall resolve the dispute to the
best of the City Clerk's ability on the basis of the information and
documents available to the City Clerk as of the close of the public
hearing, and the City Clerk's determination shall be final and
conclusive as to all persons.
b. In the event of a dispute regarding whether the signer of an
Assessment Ballot is an authorized representative of a Record
Owner of the parcel, the City Clerk may rely on the statement on the
Assessment Ballot, signed under penalty of perjury, that the person
completing the Assessment Ballot is an authorized representative of
a Record Owner, together with the documentation submitted with
the Assessment Ballot in accordance with the Section Completion of
Assessment Ballots above. The City Clerk shall be under no duty to
obtain or consider any other evidence as to whether the signer of the
Assessment Ballot is an authorized representative of a Record
Owner, and the City Clerk's determination shall be final and
conclusive.
2. Assessment Calculation Appeals
a. If a Record Owner disagrees with the calculation of the amount of
the assessment on the basis that such calculation has not been made
in accordance with the method of assessment described in the
Engineer's Report, as finally approved by the City Council following
the close of the public hearing, then the property owner may appeal
the calculation to the Director of Public Works of the City (the
"Director") by providing written documentation explaining the
reason why the assessment should be changed. The Director may
designate a member of the Public Works staff or the Assessment
Engineer as the "Director's Designee" to conduct a review of the
calculation in question. The Director or the Director's Designee shall
review the information pertaining to the calculation and make a
determination as to whether the amount of the assessment in
question has been correctly calculated, and if not what the correct
amount should be. The appeal provided for in subsection (C)(2)
shall be strictly limited to objections based upon the calculation of
the amount of the subject assessment. Any objections to the method
of assessment itself must be raised prior to the close of the public
hearing and shall not be considered or reviewed pursuant to this
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subsection (c)(2).
b. In the event that the Director or the Director's Designee determines
that the amount of the assessment in question has been incorrectly
calculated, appropriate steps shall be taken to modify the amount to
the correct amount, including but not limited to the preparation and
recordation of an appropriate addendum to the recorded notice of
assessment.
D. General Provisions
1. In the event that the envelope containing the notice of hearing, Assessment
Ballot and self-addressed return envelope is returned to the City Clerk by the
U.S. Postal Service with the notation "undeliverable" or like notation, the City
Clerk shall make use of such information resources as are reasonably available
in a reasonable effort to establish either (a) a new address for the Record Owner
or (b) a new name and address for the Record Owner; provided that the City
Clerk shall not be required to purchase title reports or like information
documents in the effort to establish possible new information.
In the event that the City Clerk is able to identify either a new address for the
Record Owner or a new name and address for the Record Owner, the City
Clerk shall send copies of the returned materials to the Record Owner as soon
as practicable, using the new information; provided that the City Clerk shall
have no obligation to assure that the new mailing is received in time to enable
the recipient to complete, sign and return the Assessment Ballot in a timely
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The City Clerk shall retain any such returned envelope and the materials
enclosed in it.
2. Prior to commencement of the tabulation, all Assessment Ballots received
shall be kept together in a secure location by the City Clerk. Pursuant to
Section 53753(e)(1) of, during and after the tabulation, all returned
Assessment Ballots are public records and shall be available for review by the
public. A complete listing of Assessor's Parcel Numbers for which "Yes" or
"No" Assessment Ballots are received shall be available for public
information.
E. Voting of City Land
The City Council recognizes and is sensitive to the fact that assessments are a cost
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to the taxpayer, either directly as an assessment against the taxpayer's property or
through the payment of assessments for benefits to City -owned land. As a result,
the voting of City land in favor of an assessment can have signficant impact on
property owners. On the other hand, the City Council is also sensitive to benefits
that can be provided to taxpayers, property owners and the City as a whole
through the proper use of the assessment process. As a result, the decision of how
to vote City land, either for an assessment or against an assessment, is a policy
decision that must be made by the City Council on a case by case basis.
The City Council reserves to itself the authority to vote City land. The City Council
shall determine how to vote City land in an assessment district proceeding at the
time of its preliminary approval of the assessment engineer's report and the setting
of the protest hearing. The City Council shall instruct the City Manager to act
consistently with the City Council's determination. The decision by the City
Council on how to vote City land shall not bind the City Council on the issue of
whether to approve the assessment district once all of the protest ballots are
tabulated at the public hearing on the matter. The City Council shall make that
final determination based upon the balloting and the testimony it receives in that
public hearing.
History
(2009,11/24) - L-28 - Adopted
(2018, 08/14) - L-28 - Amended
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