City Council Has News You Can Use, Unveils Online Mello Roos Tax Tool

Mayor Tony Beall said that almost everywhere he goes, he is confronted with the same question from residents of Rancho Santa Margarita: "How long am I going to have to keep paying my Mello Roos taxes?"

After taking care of the Beall and the city rolled out an online tool at the city council meeting to help RSM navigate their Mello Roos information.

City Council members urged locals to take advantage of the new searchable database at the city website.

Paul Boyer, city director of administrative services, demonstrated how to use the tool during the council meeting:

When residents enter their location at the Mello Roos/CFD search engine, they can find facts—like maps and the expiration year—of the Community Facilities District they reside in.

Mello Roos taxes are taxes levied on property owners in Community Facilities Districts--districts formed by a two-thirds vote of local residents to allow government agencies to sell tax-exempt bonds for public improvement projects.

The taxes can appear on the property tax bill for as many as 25 to 30 years, according to a staff report. The City does not levy Mello Roos taxes.

Providing comprehensive information on Mello Roos taxes has been a longtime goal of the council, according to the mayor.

“We have been pleased (and) proud to act as an advocate of our residents,” Beall said. “For any individual to get the full information on their own it would be almost impossible.

 “(Now) all you need to do is put your address in this, and anything you’ve ever wanted to know about Mello Roos taxes is available with a click of your mouse.”

In Rancho Santa Margarita, there are 19 Community Facilities Districts, which are part of four main agencies: Orange County, The Trabuco Canyon Water District, Saddleback Valley Unified School District and Capistrano Unified School District.

Council member Carol Gamble said that in summer of 2002, the city council made a “wish list” of what it wanted in the next ten years.

“One of the things we wanted to do way back then was try to figure out how to capture that (Mello Roos) information,” Gamble said. “I commend the council and the staff for making a dream an accomplishment.”

The database collects the results of an audit of the City’s Community Facilities Districts by Mayer Hoffman McCann, an accounting firm.

You can read the full report here

Other business

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--Officials authorized a $236,991.92 agreement with RJ Noble Company to overlay some residential streets in the city. 

Streets to be overlaid: Raposa, Danta, Mapache, Tejon, Meadowpark Lane, Tepolito and Rana and Borrego from Tepolito to Avenida de Las Flores. 

You can see a map of the streets to be overlaid, by clicking the following link, and then scrolling to the last page.

The project is funded by the county’s Prop 42 City Aid Program and Measure M, according to the staff report.

The contractor expects to complete construction by June, 2011.

--The City Council honored two Orange County Sheriff’s deputies—RSM deputy David Lee and investigator David Purser (then an RSM deputy) for saving a baby’s life in 2010.

For information on the incident, click here.

--Officials recognized a Tesoro High School student who netted a .

--Officials also honored Brendan Peralez and Kaitlyn Merritt, two eighth grade students at St. John’s Episcopal School. School staff chose the pair to be part of the city’s Student Recognition Program for their scholastic and personal achievements.