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PAGE 4 ASSESSMENT PROCESS Prior to 2001, the Park District had been experiencing a revenue shortfall that was primarily due to escalating costs and declining revenues. In fact, the Park District lost over $20 million between fiscal year 1991-92 and 2000-01, due to the State shifting funds away from the Park District to help pay for education costs. 1 As a result of this significant cut in funding and limited revenues from other sources, the Park District was forced to postpone many projects, discontinue services, and reduce park maintenance and staffing. During this same period, the cost of maintaining the District's parks had risen to over $7.9 million per year, further straining the District's ability to provide the desired level of park maintenance and improvement. Therefore, in absence of a new local revenue source, the baseline level of park and recreation facilities in the Park District (the "Baseline Service"), as of 2001, would be a deteriorating level of maintenance and upkeep of the park and recreation facilities and properties listed above. Due to this combination of decreased revenues and increased costs, in 2001 the Park District proposed to establish an Improvement District to provide revenues for improved park maintenance services as well as for expanding and improving park facilities to meet the growing demand placed on the parks. The proposed Assessments would fund the Improvements listed below that would be provided throughout the Park District, extending above and beyond the baseline level of service and the likely elimination of services projected for future years in the Park District. In March and April 2001 the Board conducted an assessment ballot proceeding pursuant to the requirements of Article XIiID of the California Constitution ("The Taxpayer's Right to Vote on Taxes Act") and the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972. During this ballot proceeding, property owners in the Park District were provided with a notice and ballot for the proposed parks assessment ("the Parks Maintenance and Recreation Improvement District" or the "Improvement District"). A 45 -day period was provided for balloting and a public hearing was conducted on April 19th, 2001. At the public hearing, all ballots returned within the 45 -day balloting period were tabulated. It was determined at the public hearing that the assessment ballots submitted in opposition to the proposed assessments did not exceed the assessment ballots submitted in favor of the assessments (with each ballot weighted by the proportional financial obligation of the property for which ballot was submitted). In fact, the final balloting result was 64% support in favor of the Park Maintenance and Recreation Improvement District assessments. As a result, the Board gained the authority to approve the levy of the assessments for the fiscal year 2001-02 and to continue to levy them in future years. The authority granted by the ballot proceeding includes an annual adjustment in the assessment levies equal to the annual change in the Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles Area, not to exceed 3%. 1. Since 1991, the Park District has lost in excess of $31 million in funding due to the State's revenue shift to schools through ERAF (the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund) CONEJO RECREATION & PARK DISTRICT PARK MAINTENANCE & RECREATION IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SCIC nsuitillgGaroup ENGINEER'S REPORT, FY 2021-22