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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Resolution 97-21· RESOLUTION NO. 97-21 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA ESTABLISHING MAJORITY PROTEST PROCEDURES FOR CITY OF SARATOGA LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING ASSESSMENT DISTRICT - LLA- 1 WHEREAS, the Saratoga Landscaping and Lighting Assessment District, LLA- 1 ("District") was created pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 (the "1972 Act"); and WHEREAS, Proposition 218, enacted by the voters on November 5, 1996, requires the City to conduct a mail out ballot protest procedure in order to ratify an assessment which is not exempt or an increase in an assessment which is exempt; and WHEREAS, neither Article XIIID, Section 4 of the California Constitution nor the '1972 Act sets forth all of the procedures necessary to conduct this protest procedure; and WHEREAS, in order to conduct a fair and accurate protest procedure regarding any proposed increase in the assessment, the City Council finds it necessary to adopt local procedures to govern the protest vote on such proposed increase and any future protests. NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS: The majority protest procedures for the Landscaping and Lighting Assessment District, LLA-1 are hereby approved as set forth in Exhibit 1, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein. Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Saratoga held on theE1.st day of May , 1997 by the following vote: 1 AYES: Councilmembers Jacobs, Shaw, Wolfe, and Mayor Moran None NOES Counci 1 member Bogosi an ABSENT: Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk 7" ....... MSR:dsp F:\WPDMVlNRSW%273XRES97XPROTEST.PRO MAJORITY PROTEST PROCEDURES FOR SARATOGA LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING ASSESSMENT DISTRICT The following procedures have been adopted by the Saratoga City Council for the purpose of conducting this maiority protest procedure. These procedures are intended to comply with Article XIIID of the California Constitution. Where no specific procedures are imposed by Article XIIID, these procedures comply with the requirements of the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972, other relevant statutory requirements, or basic principles of due process in order to ensure the integrity of the process. 1. The notice and ballot required by Article XIIID, Section 4(c) and (d) shall be mailed to all property owners of record subject to the assessment at least 45 days prior to the date of public heating on the proposed assessment or increase in the assessment. The list of property owners of record shall be prepared by using the Santa Clara County equalized assessment roll as of the preceding March 15. 2. Ballots must be returned to the City Clerk. The ballots may be returned by persons other than the property owner. 3. Only original ballots, not copies, will be accepted. 4. The City Clerk may issue duplicate or replacement ballots to property owners (for instance where the original is lost or not delivered to the current owner) if the owner is able to provide sufficient evidence of ownership, such as a deed or property tax bill. In order to avoid multiple ballots being returned for a single property, the City Clerk shall maintain a log of all duplicate ballots issued. 5. Ballots may be returned until the close of the public hearing. Any person who has previously returned a ballot may withdraw his or her ballot or change his or her vote prior to the dose of the public heating, upon providing sufficient proof that he or she is the property owner of record or the authorized agent who cast the ballot. 6. The City Clerk may begin a preliminary tabulation of ballots prior to the public heating as necessary to allow for a complete and timely final result at the public hearing. The tabulation shall be conducted by the City Clerk and any staff or contractors, as authorized by the City Clerk, necessary to complete the task. At the contusion of the tabulation, the City Clerk shall certify the accuracy of the count. 7. All ballots received by the City Clerk prior to the public hearing shall remain 7. All ballots received by the City Clerk prior to the public hearing shall remain in the City Clerk's safe and shall only be accessible by the City Clerk and any staff and contractors authorized by the City Clerk. Individual ballots that are opened for counting prior to the dose of the public hearing shall remain confidential until after the conclusion of the heating and the certification of the results. Upon completion of the heating, the ballots shall be public records and will be available for inspection by any member of the public. 8. The City Clerk shall determine the validity of all ballots submitted and shall exclude any invalid ballots from the final tabulation. The City Clerk shall accept as valid all ballots except those in the following categories: a. the ballot returned is a copy and not an original; b. the ballot does not have an identifiable yes or no vote; c. multiple ballots returned for a single property where no previous request for a duplicate or replacement ballot has been made; d. any other circumstances that reasonably demonstrate that the ballot has been tampered with or is otherwise invalid. The City Clerk's decisions shall be valid and binding. All invalid ballots shall be retained by the City Clerk. 9. The City Clerk shall have notice of the public hearing published in a newspaper of general circulation at least once, ten days before the date of the public heating. 10. At the public hearing, the City Council shall hear any public testimony regarding the proposed assessment and accept ballots until the close of the public hearing. At the conclusion of the heating, the City Clerk shall complete the tabulation of the ballots including those received during the hearing. If the number of ballots received at the hearing is such that it is not feasible to accurately tabulate the ballots that evening, the Council may continue the meeting until a subsequent date for the sole purpose of receiving the final tabulation. I 1. Ballots shall be weighted as provided in Article XIII D, Section 4(e). 2 12. If the final tabulation of the ballots shows that a majority protest exists, the Council shall not impose the increased assessments. If no maiority protest exists, the Council may adopt a resolution confirming the assessment for the following fiscal year. The resolution shall be forwarded to the County for inclusion on the county assessment roll. MSR:dsp F :\WPDMMNR SWN2 7 3~E S 9 7XPROTE ST. PRC