2026 PROP 218 ENGINEER’S REPORT PDF

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PDF 

 

RIVERDALE IRRIGATION DISTRICT NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING THE ADOPTION OF AN INCREASE IN THE SPECIAL BENEFIT ASSESSMENT

The purpose of this Notice is to provide you with information about the “assessment ballot proceeding” being conducted by the Riverdale Irrigation District (RID or District) and its effect on real property that you own.  This notice is being sent to you in accordance with Section 53753 of the California Government Code, and Article XIIID, Section 4, of the California Constitution.

 

Please be advised that a public hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. on Monday, September 14, 2026, at the Riverdale Irrigation District Office, 21027 S Brawley Ave Riverdale, CA 93656. If you wish to comment on this matter you are invited to do so at the public hearing.

 

The District plans to hold a public outreach meeting during the balloting period to answer any questions or concerns. This meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 4th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. at the Riverdale Memorial Hall, East Lounge, 3085 W. Mt. Whitney Ave., Riverdale, CA  93656.

 

Proposal The District is seeking approval from landowners to increase its land-based assessments. The District adopted new rates in 2020 with the option to increase rates by 3.5% annually as needed through 2025.  Due to increases in operational costs, regulatory fees and assessments, the purchase of additional surface water supplies, and SGMA compliance including the need for additional recharge and capital projects, the District is not generating enough revenue to fund its operations. The District’s operational budget in 2024 was approximately $657,000 with assessment revenues generating approximately $625,000 resulting in a deficit of over $30,000. The 2025 audited financial report is not yet available, but it is estimated that the operating deficit increased in 2025.  This deficit will continue to increase as payments are made to purchase Tranquility ID’s (TID) Kings River allocation through 2033, of which the District has a right to 25% of TID’s storage and annual allocation.  The District must also install water meters on turnouts, continue to construct recharge projects to promote long-term groundwater sustainability to maintain SGMA compliance, as well as replace critical infrastructure that is aged and deteriorating.  The District is seeking approval to increase assessments to generate a minimum of approximately $900,000 per year, and up to a maximum of approximately $1,100,000 by 2031 if the annual 4% increase is implemented each year, as described in the Engineer’s Report (Report).  This potential 4% annual increases are maximum authorizations; the Board may elect to impose assessments at rates less than the proposed maximums.  The reason for this inflator is to account for inflationary increases in expenses as they occur without the District needing to incur the costs of another Proposition 218 effort to increase assessment rates.  Tables 1 and 2 below, which are also included in the Engineer’s Report as Tables 7 and 8, identify the current land-based assessments and the requested maximum increase, and an estimated forecast of operating revenues versus expenses through 2031.

Background & Summary

Historically, the District has levied land-based assessments to pay the District’s expenses. Landowners pay their assessments in proportion to their land classification in relation to the value of the benefits the District provides to their properties. The historical assessments provided revenue that RID used to replace facilities and pay for the operations of the District.

Based on the 2024 audited financial records, the District saw an annual deficit of approximately $31,000 between operational costs and assessment revenue, with an even greater deficit in 2025 (audited financial reports for Fiscal Year 2025 have not yet been finalized).  The District’s intent is to fund the annual operating costs for the District through land-based assessments.  Therefore, the District is seeking to increase assessments to cover increased operational expenses, the purchase of TID’s Kings River water allocation, install flow meters on turnouts, additional recharge projects, capital projects to replace critical aging and deteriorating infrastructure, increased Pine Flat Dam operations and maintenance costs, increased Kings River Water Association assessments, and other projects and SGMA compliance costs described in the Engineer’s Report.  It is also the intent of the District to have landowners fund actual cost increases in operations experienced by the District in future years without having to go through another costly Proposition 218 election.

Based on the District’s needs, Riverdale ID’s Board of Directors is requesting landowners to approve an increase to their land-based assessments. The proposed assessments were calculated so that your property will be charged no more than the benefit it receives from the District’s operations as shown in the Engineer’s Report, which is on file with the District for your review. The calculations in the Engineer’s Report were based upon a review of the District’s budgetary needs to maintain the current levels of service and the benefit to your property.  The benefits to all landowners within the District were identified as the benefit of the District’s existence, the benefit of the District’s having a surface water supply and conveyance facilities, the benefit of storing water in Pine Flat Reservoir, and the benefit from the District’s groundwater recharge efforts. The Engineer’s Report concluded that your property will receive a financial benefit from the District’s operations commensurate with the proposed assessment rates. As required by law, under this proposed change, your property will be charged no more than the actual amount of the benefit it receives from the District’s operations as shown in the Engineer’s Report, which is on file with the District for your review.

The proposed permanent assessment that the District is pursuing is a maximum amount which cannot be exceeded unless approved by landowners through another election in the future.  Although the requested approval allows the District to increase rates up to the specified maximum, the District intends that even if the maximum increases are approved, those increases are planned to be implemented incrementally over six years, and only if needed.  If approved, the proposed assessment rate structure will become effective in November 2026 when the next District Assessment is mailed.

If the proposed new maximum assessment rates are approved, your parcel(s)’s assessments will begin to increase in 2026 and not exceed the maximum stated.  After the year 2031, assessment rates will remain constant unless another Proposition 218 election occurs.  The number of votes you can cast with respect to your property will correspond to the potential financial obligation imposed on your property under the proposed.

 

Option to Submit Written Objection to Proposed Increased Assessment

RID will be implementing Government Code § 53759.1 related to the proposed increased assessments.  Landowners may submit a written objection to the proposed increased assessments that specifies the grounds for alleging noncompliance with Proposition 218. Written Objections must be clearly labeled on the outside of an envelope and contain the landowner’s full name and identification of the parcel(s) by county and assessor’s parcel number(s). If the outside of the envelope is not clearly labeled as an objection to the proposed assessment, it is not properly submitted and does not constitute a timely-submitted written objection.

To be considered timely, all written objections must be mailed or delivered during business hours to the District at PO Box 683, Riverdale, CA 93656, and received by 5:00 p.m. on August 24, 2026.

The option to submit a written objection does not impact your ability to also submit a ballot and is a separate process. Ballots will not be opened until the tabulation portion of the public hearing on September 14, 2026; therefore, a written objection cannot be combined with a ballot and must be submitted separately, if desired.  Failure to timely object in writing bars any right to challenge the proposed increased assessments through a legal proceeding.

Staff will review timely-submitted written objections, prepare written responses, and present any timely-received written objections and written responses to the RID Board before the close of the public hearing described herein on September 14, 2026. The Engineer’s Report serves as the written basis for the District’s proposed increased assessments, a copy of which is located at the District’s office during its regular business hours and posted online at https://www.riverdaleirrigationdistrict.org/.

 

Enclosed with the mailed notice, you will find an assessment ballot.

Please follow the directions listed on the assessment ballot to express your view on the Proposed Maximum Assessment Rate Schedule. You may mail your own ballot in the enclosed envelope to the District’s office c/o Yareli Zarate (PO Box 683, Riverdale, CA 93656) or to the Provost and Pritchard Clovis office, c/o Trevor Sa, (455 W Fir Ave, Clovis, CA 93611). You may hand deliver your own ballot to the District Secretary at the District’s office, 21027 S Brawley Ave, Riverdale, CA 93656. Hand-delivered ballots will also be accepted at the hearing. Regardless of whether you choose to mail or hand-deliver your ballot, it MUST be received no later than the conclusion of the public hearing, which starts at 8:30 a.m. on September 14, 2026 or it will not be counted in the final tabulation of ballots.

You may change your vote at any time prior to the conclusion of the public hearing on this matter.  However, because the ballots must remain sealed until the tabulation begins regardless of your method of delivery, you will be provided a replacement ballot to provide your new vote.

A ballot will not be accepted nor counted if:

  1. It is delivered in a manner that fails to conceal its vote;
  2. It is a photocopy without an original signature;
  3. It is unsigned;
  4. It lacks an identifiable “yes” or “no” vote; or
  5. It appears to have been tampered with or otherwise invalid based upon its appearance or method of delivery.

 

After the hearing, Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group will tabulate the ballots weighted according to the proposed increase to you and will post the results in the District’s office as soon as practical.  The Board of Directors will not impose the proposed increases in assessment rates if the number of votes submitted in opposition to the increases exceeds the number of votes submitted in favor.

Note, if your parcel has more than one owner, the various owners may submit their own ballots.  In the event all of the separate owners fail to submit their own ballots, the District’s Secretary will tabulate the submitted ballots as he/she deems it correct, proper, and appropriate to apportion the vote to reflect a one hundred percent (100%) vote.

Notice is further given that a copy of the preliminary roll prepared pursuant to a resolution of the board fixing the amount of the District’s assessment for each parcel subject to said charges, is available for public inspection at the District’s office during regular business hours, or online at https://www.riverdaleirrigationdistrict.org/. Objections to the roll or assessments established for the respective parcels of land in accordance with said preliminary roll will also be heard at said hearing on September 14, 2026.

Should you have any questions, please call Yareli Zarate, District Secretary (559) 867-3123, or write to her at the Riverdale Irrigation District office, 21027 S Brawley Ave, Riverdale, CA 93656, or P.O. Box 683, Riverdale, CA 93656.