No agreement to pay extra police, fire and street taxes will mean no annexation for the proposed 738-home Hat Ranch project in south Manteca.
That is Mayor Gary Singh’s position.
Without it, Richland Communities can’t count on Singh to vote to annex the 183-acre project to the city.
Singh on Friday re-emphasized that going forward when any new development — or an already approved development asks for a change requiring a council vote — that the overlay community facilities district for police and fire as well as street maintenance upkeep for the specific neighborhood must be put in place.
“That goes for all developers, whether they are local or out-of-town,” Singh said.
The project, that has garnered opposition from those that live in close proximity, is before the Manteca Planning Commission on Thursday at 6 p.m.
At that time, the commission will decide whether to recommend the council approve the annexation, the environmental impact report, and tentative subdivision map.
A fiscal analysis estimates at build-out, the Hat Ranch project will create a demand for general fund expenditures of $993,000 versus general fund receipts of $1,035,000.
That reflects an estimated surplus of $18 per housing unit or not enough to cover a 2 percent margin of error.
If San Joaquin County agrees to a new 60/40 property tax split as opposed to 80/20 when the land is annexed, the surplus would jump to $206,300.
That, however, is far from being guaranteed.
Keep in mind also the county gets 22 cents of every dollar in property tax collected.
The 80/20 split now in place means the county keeps 80 percent of that split based on 22 cents of every dollar paid in property taxes while the city gets 20 percent
The city’s sharing of the split helps cover the costs such as fire and police services that comes out of municipal pockets and not the county’s that is caused by the annexation that creates development.
At least four other new developments have agreed to join the police/fire/streets keep community facilities district.
It is part of the city’s overall solution to pump up fire and police manpower and to assure adequate funding going forward.
That is the goal is for a three-pronged council strategy to ultimately have a permanent solution for more robust public safety coverage. Those three components are:
*Traditional property and sales tax — along with the Measure M public safety tax — will provide foundational funding for police and fire
*An intermediate fix could be an added special sales tax the council may put before voters in 2024.
*The police-fire-street tax add-on is the long-term solution.
A final CFD base tax has yet to be determined for police, fire and street upkeep but a figure of $1,000 has been looked at.
If that ends up being the case, homes in the Hat Ranch would generate an additional $738,000 yearly via the CFD. Assume $138,000 of that was set aside for streets upkeep a such within the development, that leaves $600,000 a year.
Based on the $181,000 in the municipal budget to cover the cost of an entry level frontline public safety position including wages, benefits, and outfitting then but no overtime, that will mean the Hat Ranch would add three police/fire potions behind what property and sales tax would cover.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dqyatt@mantecabulletin.com
