By: Libi Uremovic | Original Article at patch.com
Property Taxes in California are capped at 1%. If local agencies have assessed Special Taxes to cover Bond Debt the additional property taxes must be calculated and submitted to the Riverside County Tax Assessor by August 15th of each year.
In the past the additional Mello Roos Property Taxes charged by Beaumont netted the City an additional $6 Million/year, but the taxes were improperly and illegally calculated.
The Mello Roos Bonds have a provision to allow the Bond to include the cost of Services, but the money is included in the amount of the Bond. The property owners should only be charged the amount of Special Taxes necessary to pay the Bond’s Interest and Premium payments.
In the past the City of Beaumont has made a $6 Million/year profit by overcharging Mello Roos Special Taxes to property owners in the Development Areas. Instead of charging the property owners special taxes to cover the bonds; Beaumont City Manager/Special Tax Consultant Alan Kapanicas overcharged, charged an additional Special Tax for Services, and charged Mello Roos Taxes to Developments that had no Bond Debt.
To calculate the amount of Special Taxes each property owner in the development should be charged simply add the amount of each bond’s Interest and Premium payment and divide by the number of homes in the development. Each Bond states the number of homes and the amount of Premium and Interest that is due each year.
For Example: Stetson Area 18’s Bond Premium and Interest payments for 2016 should be $1,760, but last year Property Owners were charged $2,865.
If there was no bond issued to the development, no additional taxes can be charged. Beaumont Improvement Areas 15, 17C, and 23 have no Bond Debt attached to their properties, yet the City is charging the Property Owners additional Mello Roos Taxes.
Some property owners have prepaid their Special Taxes, but not all documentation states how much the property owner paid. The City has posted prepayments from Areas 7A, 7B, 7C, and 19A: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/index.aspx?NID=220
Since Kapanicas is now ‘missing in action’, Webb & Associates has been contracted to prepare and submit the Mello Roos Tax Roll to the County. According to information provided at the July 7, 2015 Council Meeting; Webb plans to follow the City’s past practices – which is charging more than needed to cover payments, adding an additional Tax for Services, and charging Mello Roos Taxes to Property Owners when the Property has no Mello Roos Bond Debt: http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/25833
Webb Contract Page 15/20 lists each Development and states whether the Development will be charged for ‘Facilities’, ‘Service’, or ‘Both’. The List also states that Areas 15, 17C, and 23 will be charged Mello Roos Special Taxes, but there are no Bonds issued to these developments and there should be no Liens on the properties.
