Pacific Legal Foundation seeks to block the City of San Ramon, California from imposing a property tax to fund pensions
By Jack Dean | Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation has filed a complaint and petition for writ of mandate in California Building Industry — Bay Area v. City of San Ramon.
According to PLF’s weekly president’s report, in this case the City of San Ramon is imposing a new special property tax district, which will levy a tax on landowners of undeveloped lots without providing any additional services. The Mello-Roos Act specifically forbids such a “pay something – get nothing†special property tax. And because the proceeds will be used for general government services, the tax also violates California’s Proposition 218, which requires voter approval for “general†taxes.
Says PLFs president Rob Rivett, “While we have sympathy for the fact that San Ramon is feeling a bit tight these days because it’s having trouble coming up with the money to pay for its generous pension promises to its employees, forcing landowners to cough up illegal taxes is not the way to pay off this debt.”