Friday, December 15, 2006

Flood Assessment Districts

Flooding being a regional problem, we are probably better served by regional assessments.

Public hearing set today on flood-control district
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 15, 2006


A public hearing is scheduled today about plans to form a new property tax assessment district for area flood-control projects.

The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency proposes to replace two assessment districts with a single larger district. The new district would raise $290 million over 30 years for a variety of projects, including upgrades to Folsom Dam and Natomas levees.

The total cost of these projects is estimated at $2.4 billion, most of it to be covered by the federal government and Proposition 1E, the bond measure approved by state voters in November.

Individual assessments have not yet been determined, but they are likely to increase for the 86,000 property owners who already pay a SAFCA assessment. About 20,000 additional property owners would be asked to pay an assessment for the first time.

Today's hearing by the SAFCA board of directors will be at 3 p.m. in the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors chambers, 700 H St., Sacramento.

The report can be found in local libraries and at www.safca.org/ADF/newadf.html.