Homeowners May Pay Up to $108 a Year to Fund Maintenance of Parks

A park maintenance tax on the November ballot could cost the average homeowner in Moorpark as much as $108 a year, city officials said.

The City Council will meet tonight to consider four possible measures. Council members are trying to replace $637,277 now collected through the Parks Maintenance Assessment District.

That district could be lost under Proposition 218--which requires voter approval for most taxes and assessments--and city officials decided last month to go for an election as a way to pay for the service beginning in the 1998-99 fiscal year.

Each of the four possible ballot measures recommended by Assistant City Manager Richard Hare would last 10 years.

The first would increase the tax a single-family homeowner pays for parks maintenance from $40.16 to $58.44. The extra money would cover increased costs.

That option would mean that the city would still have to pay about $1.6 million from its General Fund in the next 10 years. It also does not include upkeep of the community center, senior center and Arroyo Vista Community Park--which will cost an estimated $1.5 million in the next 10 years.

Option 2 would cost homeowners $69.72, and includes maintenance of all parks, plus the senior and community centers, and Arroyo Vista Community Park. An increase of 5% is included to cover any unforeseen costs and increases, and the plan would envision spending about $1.96 million through 2007.

The third option requires the City Council to assess a tax based on what is needed for the year. However, the council would have the option to tax as high as $90.66. Maintenance at Arroyo Vista Community Park, and the senior and community centers would be paid out of the General Fund, at a cost of $1.5 million over 10 years.

The final option puts no burden on the General Fund while at the same time pays for parks maintenance throughout the city, including the senior and community centers, and Arroyo Vista Community Park.

The tax would be only as high as necessary to cover annual costs. However, it would be limited to a maximum of $108.16, according to Hare.

“It doesn’t mean the tax will be over $100. If we have a really wet year, we won’t have to use as much water and the tax will be lower. If we have a really dry year, we will have to use more water and we will have the authority to tax up to the maximum amount,” he said.

“If the General Fund money got to the point where we didn’t need the tax, it goes away.”

Owners of single-family homes should be paying about $60 to the Parks Maintenance Assessment District this year, according to Hare. However, a transfer of $100,000 from the General Fund to the district kept the tax down.