November 5, 2024 - Measure J

IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS BY TOWN ATTORNEY OF MEASURE J

TOWN OF FAIRFAX

MEASURE J
GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND MEASURE TO FUND ROAD IMPROVEMENTS AND PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE

This measure (“Measure”) was placed on the ballot by the Town Council (“Council”) of the Town of Fairfax (“Town”), to seek voter approval to issue general obligation bonds in a maximum principal amount not to exceed $18,000,000. The purpose of the bond Measure is to improve public safety through public infrastructure improvements.

Proceeds from the sale of the bonds authorized by the Measure would be used only for the purposes specified in the Measure, including, but not limited to, acquisition, construction, and improvement of roads, bridges, retaining walls, street work, and other infrastructure. Under the Measure, bond proceeds may not be used for staff or administrator salaries or operating expenses of the Town. The Council would deposit bond proceeds in a separate account. The Town’s chief financial officer would be required to file a report with the Council annually, showing the amount of funds collected and expended, and the status of any projects funded with proceeds of the bonds.

Under the Measure, bonds would be issued pursuant to State law. The Town expects to sell the bonds in one or more series beginning in 2025 and the maximum interest rate would not exceed 8% per annum. According to the Town’s Tax Rate Statement, the best estimate of the average annual tax rate required to fund the bonds is $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value. The final fiscal year in which a tax is anticipated to be collected is 2057-58. Estimated tax rates are based on the assessed value of taxable property on official rolls, not on a property’s market value.

This Measure requires two-thirds (2/3) voter approval for passage, unless Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 1 passes, which would requires a 55% vote. A “YES” vote on this Measure is a vote in favor of authorization for the Town to issue bonds. A “NO” vote on this Measure is a vote against the authorization for the Town to issue bonds.

The above statement is an impartial analysis of Measure “J”. If you desire a copy of the Measure, it can be found on the Town’s website at www.townoffairfax.org (opens a new window) or by calling Christine Foster, the Town’s elections official at (415) 428-2343 and a copy will be mailed to you at no cost.

s/JANET COLESON
Town Attorney

TAX RATE STATEMENT OF MEASURE J

An election will be held in the Town of Fairfax, California (the “Town”) on November 5, 2024, to authorize the sale of up to $18 million in general obligation bonds to finance the acquisition, construction, and repair of municipal infrastructure as described in the bond measure. If such bonds are authorized, the Town expects to sell the bonds in one or more series. The following information is submitted in compliance with Sections 9400-9404 of the Elections Code of the State of California. Such information is based upon the best estimates and projections presently available from official sources, upon experience within the Town, and other demonstrable factors.

Based upon the foregoing and projections of the Town’s assessed valuation available at the time of this statement, the following information is provided:

1. The best estimate of the average annual tax rate that would be required to be levied to fund this bond issue over the entire duration of the bond debt service, based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is approximately 3¢ per $100 ($30 per $100,000) of assessed valuation. It is currently expected that the final fiscal year in which the tax will be collected is fiscal year 2057-58.
2. The best estimate of the highest tax rate that would be required to be levied to fund this bond issue, based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing this statement, is approximately 3¢ per $100 ($30 per $100,000) of assessed valuation. This tax rate is projected to apply in each fiscal year that the bonds are outstanding.
3. The best estimate of total debt service, including principal and interest, that would be required to be repaid if all the bonds are issued and sold will be approximately $40 million.

These estimates are based on projections derived from information obtained from official sources, and are based on the assessed value (not market value) of taxable property on the County’s official tax rolls. In addition, taxpayers eligible for a property tax exemption, such as the homeowner’s exemption, will be taxed at a lower effective tax rate than described above. Property owners should consult their own property tax bills and tax advisors to determine their property’s assessed value and any applicable tax exemptions. The attention of all voters is directed to the fact that the foregoing information is based upon projections and estimates only, which amounts are not maximum amounts and durations and are not binding upon the Town. The actual debt service, tax rates and the years in which they will apply may vary depending on the timing of bond sales, the par amount of bonds sold at each sale, and actual increases in assessed valuations. The timing of the bond sales and the amount of bonds sold at any given time will be determined by the Town based on the need for project funds and other considerations. Actual assessed valuations will depend upon the amount and value of taxable property within the Town as determined by the County Assessor in the annual assessment and the equalization process.

Barbara Coler
Mayor, Town of Fairfax

Heather Abrams
Town Manager

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE J

Vote YES on Measure J to fix Fairfax’s crumbling roads and infrastructure!

Fairfax has the worst roads in Marin County. Decades of deferred maintenance have rendered the Town’s “pay-as-you-go” strategy ineffective. This problem grows more expensive each year we delay. Measure J provides a fiscally responsible solution to address this critical need.

Why vote YES on Measure J?

• Repair 40.9% of Fairfax’s roads over 5 years. This measure, combined with existing funds, will dramatically improve nearly half of our town’s streets.
• Unlock $10 million in federal grants. Measure J helps Fairfax qualify for additional funding to repair major roads like Bolinas Road and Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
• Enhance emergency preparedness. Improved roads are crucial for swift evacuations during wildfires or other disasters.
• Fix dangerous potholes and improve safety. Our deteriorating roads damage vehicles and endanger drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Measure J makes our streets safer for everyone.
• Provide safe routes to schools. This measure will improve crosswalks and bike lanes near schools so our children can safely travel to class.
• Act now to save money later. Further delays will only increase repair costs. Measure J allows us to fix more roads sooner, saving taxpayers money in the long run.
• Ensure fiscal responsibility and effective management. Measure J includes strict accountability measures, including citizen oversight. With our reinvigorated Public Works department, the Town can efficiently address these long-overdue repairs.

For just $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value annually for 30 years, we can make REAL PROGRESS fixing Fairfax’s roads. For the average Fairfax home (assessed at $650,000), this means about $195 per year, decreasing over the bond’s life. All funds must be used locally in Fairfax.

Join community leaders, safety officials, and your neighbors in voting YES on Measure J.

Let’s invest in Fairfax’s future. Vote YES on Measure J!

FAIRFAX TOWN COUNCIL
Represented by Councilmember Chance Cutrano and Councilmember Lisel Blash

REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE J

Fairfax has had ample money for years – just different spending priorities. Rather than focusing on essential services residents rightfully expect, with taxpayer money, Fairfax’s Council oversees divisively long meetings, big consultant & legal fees, and they fail to achieve consensus.

Well-governed cities - Mill Valley, Corte Madera and Larkspur - increased sales taxes to fund roads and infrastructure improvements. Fairfax can’t. Having raised its sales tax in 2011 and 2016 – with promises to repair roads and sidewalks – it’s now near the statutory limit.

Measure J’s ballot argument admits: “Fairfax has the worst roads in the county” .... due to “... decades of deferred maintenance.” Having failed to adequately fund that essential priority, they now ask you to trust them again with a 30-year pool of money for “infrastructure.” It adds $300 per $1,000,000 assessed value to already huge property tax bills. Tamalpais Union’s bond measure on this same ballot would add another $180/$1,000,000.

Fairfax has received decades of road funding from multiple sources including Transportation Authority of Marin and Vehicle Registration Fees. Fairfax receives over $1 million annually in road impact fees, gas tax revenues, franchise fees, etc., that should fund road repair but are repeatedly misallocated to other uses.

At currently expected interest rates, Measure J will tax Fairfaxians $40,000,000 to fund only $18,000,000 in actual work.

With more fiscal discipline and outside funding for highway maintenance, Fairfax could avoid a huge new tax that makes being housed more expensive for everyone.

Reject Measure J

LEWIS TREMAINE
Former Fairfax Mayor

RYAN O’NEIL
Ross Valley School Board Trustee, Former Fairfax Councilmember

ART WASSERMAN
Former Auditor of Fairfax and CPA

A SEAN AGUILAR
CCIM, Real Estate Manager, 20 Year Community Volunteer

JANE RICHARDSON-MACK
Resident and Former Tree Committee Member Many Years

ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE J

California is facing a tax tsunami. The Town of Fairfax is trying to ride that wave despite clear signs that its residents are drowning.

Many Fairfaxians are increasingly challenged to stay in their homes. Most of us have already lost friends and children to exodus or homelessness.

To approve an ADDITIONAL tax, you should be confident of what it will be used for and who will spend it.

Measure J fails that test.

Marketed as a tax for roads, Measure J creates a 30-year pot of money that Fairfax CAN spend on a laundry list of deferred maintenance and other projects.

Fairfax’s poll (costing taxpayers $32,690) shows less than half of respondents view Fairfax’s Council favorably.

Fairfax’s bond tax proposal also – or consequently -- polled poorly. Respondents’ top concern was the money wouldn’t be spent wisely.

The polling consultant’s report declared this bond measure not “viable”. Council persisted.

Why spend more taxpayer money pursuing Measure J?

Proposition 5 (on November’s ballot) would lower to 55% (from 2/3) the Yes votes needed to pass Infrastructure and Housing bonds – including measures on that same ballot. Prop 5 triggered a gold rush.

Hence Measure J, a new $40,000,000 tax to fund an $18,000,000 bond. It adds $300 per $1,000,000 assessed value to property tax bills, which are already huge.

Fairfaxians will also pay an additional property tax of $179/$1,000,000 assessed value if voters approve Measure B: a $579,200,000 Tamalpais Union High School District tax funding a $289,000,000 30-year bond.

Collectively, these new bond proposals will increase taxes annually for decades as assessed values grow. There’s no senior or low-income exemption. Landlords WILL pass this along to tenants.

Demand a smaller, shorter, more affordable tax with greater public accountability and focus.

Join Us in Rejecting Measure J

COALITION OF SENSIBLE TAXPAYERS
President, Mimi Willard

SUSAN BRANDBORG
Former Mayor

NORMA CANDACE V. NEAL-RICKER
Life-Long Resident

MICHAEL GHIRINGHELLI
Former Fairfax Mayor, Business Owner

DEBORAH BENSON
Tree Committee Member

REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE J

Fairfaxians want their roads fixed NOW, and Measure J delivers!

• 64% of Fairfaxians surveyed favor a $18 million road bond. We heard you!
• Fairfax has the WORST roads in Marin County. We can’t afford to wait!
• Measure J replaces Fairfax’s expiring 25-year-old infrastructure bond, at nearly half the rate of our prior parcel tax, costing the average homeowner approximately $16.25/month.

Measure J is not a blank check. It includes strict accountability:

• Citizen oversight committee
• Independent annual audits
• Specific five-year plan for road repairs

The Town has proven its fiscal responsibility:

• Healthy +25% reserves
• Clean audit reports
• Excellent credit rating
• Recent successful road repairs of lower Scenic and Porteous and substantial town-wide sidewalk repairs in 2023.

Don’t let misinformation derail our chance to:

• Repair 40.9% of Fairfax roads in 5 years
• Ensure safe evacuation routes
• Improve bicycle and pedestrian safety
• Create safer routes to schools
• Unlocks $10 million in federal grants we’ll otherwise lose

Opponents offer no solutions, just excuses. This “wait and see” approach has left us with deteriorating infrastructure that damages our cars, endangers our safety, and costs us MORE in the long run. Don’t let Fairfax fall further behind.

Measure J is a fiscally responsible investment in Fairfax’s future. Every dollar stays in Fairfax, overseen by our residents.

It’s time to pull together for a smoother, safer Fairfax. Join community leaders, safety officials, and your neighbors in voting YES on Measure J.

Let’s fix Fairfax’s roads now!

FAIRFAX TOWN COUNCIL
Councilmember Chance Cutrano
Vice Mayor Lisel Blash
Mayor Barbara Coler
Councilmember Stephanie Hellman
Councilmember Bruce Ackerman

FULL TEXT OF MEASURE J

ORDINANCE NO. 890

AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF FAIRFAX ORDERING THE SUBMISSION OF A PROPOSITION INCURRING BONDED INDEBTEDNESS TO THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE TOWN OF FAIRFAX AT THE GENERAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 5, 2024, FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING THE COST OF THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF CERTAIN MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

The Town Council (the “Town Council”) of the Town of Fairfax (the “Town”) hereby ordains as follows:

Section 1. Purpose And Intent

Pursuant to the authority provided by California Government Code Sections 43600 et seq. and 53410 et seq., California Elections Code Sections 10000 et seq., 9200 et seq., and 9400 et seq., and certain other provisions of the California Government Code and California Elections Code, the Town Council proposes to order the submission of a proposition authorizing the Town to issue general obligation bonds (the “Bonds”) to the qualified voters of the Town at the general municipal election to be held on November 5, 2024.

Section 2. Findings

The Town Council hereby makes the following findings with respect to the proposed measure for the Bonds:

1. The Town’s roads and other existing municipal infrastructure are in need of repair and/or replacement.
2. On July 17, 2024, the Town Council adopted, by a two-thirds vote of all its members, a resolution entitled “A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax Determining that the Public Interest and Necessity Demand the Acquisition, Construction and Improvement of Certain Municipal Improvement Projects, and Their Financing Through the Issuance of General Obligation Bonds,” pursuant to which the Town Council has found and determined that the public interest and necessity demand the issuance of general obligation bonds to finance the cost of municipal improvement projects (the “Resolution of Necessity”).
3. In order to provide for the issuance by the Town of general obligation bonds to provide financing for the municipal improvement projects, it is necessary for the Town Council to adopt an ordinance ordering the submission of the proposition of incurring bonded indebtedness for such purpose to the qualified voters of the Town at a municipal election.
4. The Town Council desires to submit said ballot measure to the qualified voters of the Town at the regular election to be held in the Town on November 5, 2024, and to consolidate the bond election with other elections held within the Town on that date.
5. The Town Council hereby certifies that the Town has evaluated alternative funding sources.

Section 3. Call For Election

The Town Council hereby orders that there be submitted to the qualified voters of the Town a proposition on incurring bonded indebtedness for the purposes set forth in this Ordinance and as set forth in the Resolution of Necessity, at the regular election to be held on November 5, 2024. This Ordinance constitutes the order of the Town to call such election.

Section 4. Ballot Proposition

The Town Council hereby submits to the qualified voters of the Town, at the regular election to be held on November 5, 2024, a proposition on issuing the Bonds. The abbreviated statement of the measure to appear on the ballot shall be in substantially the form set forth below:

“To repair roads/infrastructure; fix potholes; repave streets; repair retaining walls/bridges; address flooding of roads/buildings; improve bike/pedestrian circulation, safe routes to schools, disabled access; and qualify for federal matching funds/grants, shall the Town of Fairfax’s measure authorizing $18,000,000 of bonds for up to 30 years for each series, at legal interest rates, levying approximately $30/$100,000 of assessed value, raising on average approximately $1,200,000 annually, requiring audits/citizen oversight, be adopted?”

BONDS—YES                             BONDS—NO

Section 5. Object And Purpose Of Bonds

The object and purpose of the Bonds is to finance the costs of municipal improvement projects of the Town to improve public safety (the “Improvements”), which Improvements are anticipated to consist generally of the acquisition, construction and/or improvement of roads, bridges, retaining walls, street work, and Town infrastructure.

The authorized Improvements also include all work, facilities, and expenditures necessary and incidental to the project described above. Examples of such work, facilities, and expenditures include, but are not limited to the costs of design, engineering, architect and other professional services, inspections, site preparation, utilities (including improvements to plumbing, sewer and electrical systems to preserve energy and water), landscaping, construction management and other planning and permitting, road lighting, legal, accounting and similar costs, a customary construction contingency, demolition and disposal of existing structures, rental or construction of storage facilities and other space on an interim basis for materials and other equipment and furnishings displaced during construction, interim facilities for municipal functions, including modular facilities, addressing unforeseen conditions revealed by construction or renovation, and other necessary improvements required to comply with existing building codes, environmental improvements to preserve energy and water, access requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, costs of the election, bond issuance costs, financing and interest costs on the Bonds, and project administration during the duration of such projects, as permitted by law.

The final costs, locations, designs, layouts and other details of the Improvements will be determined as plans are finalized, construction bids are awarded, and projects are completed. Therefore, the Town Council cannot guarantee that the Bonds will provide sufficient funds to allow completion of all needed Improvements.

The full text of the ballot measure shall be in substantially the form as in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein.

Section 6. Estimated Cost of Improvements

The estimated cost of the Improvements is $20,531,616. The estimated cost includes legal or other fees, the costs of printing the Bonds, and other costs and expenses incidental to or connected with the authorization, issuance and sale of the Bonds.

Section 7. Principal Amount of Bonds

The aggregate principal amount of the Bonds shall not exceed $18,000,000.

Section 8. Maximum Interest Rate

The maximum rate of interest to be paid on the Bonds shall be the statutory maximum of 8% per annum. Said interest shall be payable semiannually, except that interest for the first year after the date of the Bonds may be made payable at the end of said year.

Section 9. Issuance And Sale of Bonds

The Town proposes to issue and sell the Bonds pursuant to Article 1, commencing with Section 43600, of Chapter 4 of Division 4 of Title 4 of the California Government Code, or Article 4.5, commencing with Section 53506, of Chapter 3 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the California Government Code, in one or more series, in the maximum amount and for the objects and purposes set forth above if two-thirds (or 55% should Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 1 or “ACA-1” be approved by the voters at the November 5, 2024 election) of all qualified voters voting on the proposition set forth above vote in favor thereof. The Bonds will be general obligations of the Town payable from and secured by ad valorem taxes levied and collected in the manner prescribed by laws of the State of California. The revenue generated from the ad valorem tax levied and collected will be used for the payment of debt service on the Bonds. All of the Bonds shall be equally and ratably secured, without priority, by the taxing power of the Town.

Section 10. Manner Of Conducting Election

The election on the Bonds held on November 5, 2024 shall be held and conducted, election officers appointed, voting precincts designated, ballots printed, polls opened and closed, ballots counted, and returned, returns canvassed, results declared, and all other proceedings incidental to and connected with the election shall be regulated and done in accordance with the provisions of law regulating the election with which it is consolidated.

Section 11. Procedure For Voting On Proposition

Ballots for the election shall be provided in the form and in the number provided by law. Voters shall be provided an opportunity to vote for or against the proposition on the ballot in accordance with procedures to be adopted by the authorized officers of the County of Marin (the “County”) charged with conducting the election.

Section 12. Accountability Requirements

In accordance with Sections 53410 and 53411 of the California Government Code and the California Constitution, the Town Council hereby adopts the following accountability requirements relating to the Bonds:

1. A separate account shall be created and held by the Town, into which the proceeds of the Bonds are deposited and applied solely for the purpose of financing the Improvements.
2. The Finance Director of the Town shall file a report with the Town Council at least annually showing the amount of Bond proceeds collected and expended, and the status of the Improvements, as required by Government Code Section 53410.
3. Use the bond proceeds only for the purposes authorized under Article XIIIA of the California Constitution and only on projects that serve the jurisdiction of the Town, including the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of public infrastructure, and not for any other purpose including salaries and other operating expenses.
4. Conduct an annual, independent performance audit to ensure that the bond proceeds have been expended only on the projects and uses listed in this Measure.
5. Conduct an annual, independent financial audit of the proceeds from the sale of the bonds until all of those proceeds have been expended for projects and uses listed in this Measure.
6. The Town shall post the audits listed in (d) and (e), above, in a manner that is easily accessible to the public, and which shall be submitted to the California State Auditor for review.
7. Establish and appoint members to an independent citizens’ oversight committee to ensure the bonds are used only for the projects and uses listed in this Measure.
8. An entity owned or controlled by a local official that votes on whether to put the Measure on the ballot is prohibited from bidding on any work funded by this Measure.

Section 13. Identification Of Tax

The tax imposed by this measure is an ad valorem tax levied upon taxable real property in the Town, and will be used to pay the principal and interest on the Bonds.

Section 14. Establishment Of Oversight Committee

In the event the ballot proposition is passed by two-thirds (or 55% should ACA-1 be approved by the voters at the November 5, 2024 election) of all qualified voters voting on the proposition, the Town Council shall establish and appoint members to a five-member independent oversight committee, which shall have responsibility for reviewing and reporting on the expenditure of the proceeds of the Bonds, subject to those terms and conditions as set forth by the Town Council.

Section 15. Official Actions

The Mayor, the Town Manager, the Finance Director, the Town Clerk, and any of their designees, are hereby authorized to execute any documents and to perform all acts necessary to place the bond measure on the ballot.

Section 16. Interpretation

The provisions of this Ordinance, being necessary for the health, welfare, and safety of the Town and its residents, is to be liberally interpreted to carry out its purposes. No error, irregularity or informality, and no neglect or omission of any officer, in any proceeding taken related to the submission of the proposition incurring bonded indebtedness to the qualified voters of the Town shall void or invalidate any such proceeding, any Bonds issued by the Town, or any levy of ad valorem taxes to pay principal of and interest on the Bonds.

Section 17. Severability

If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions this Ordinance are declared to be severable.

Section 18. Publication Of Ordinance

This Ordinance shall be published once a day for at least seven days in a newspaper published at least six days a week in the Town, or once a week for two weeks in a newspaper published less than six days a week in the Town. The first of said publications shall, in either event, be within 15 days after the adoption of this Ordinance. If there are no such newspapers, it shall be posted in three public places in the Town for two succeeding weeks. No other notice need be given.

Section 19. Delivery of Documents

The Town Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to send or hand deliver a copy of this Ordinance and all other necessary documents to the County Board of Supervisors and the County Registrar of Voters by no later than August 9, 2024.

Section 20. Effective Date

In accordance with Section 36937(a) of the California Government Code, this Ordinance shall become effective immediately, as an ordinance relating to an election, upon its adoption by two-thirds vote of all the members of this Town Council.

THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE was introduced at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax on July 17, 2024, and was adopted at a regular meeting of Town Council of the Town of Fairfax on August 7, 2024, by the following vote:

AYES: Ackerman, Hellman, Cutrano, Blash, Coler
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None

s/BARBARA COLER
Mayor

ATTEST:

s/CHRISTINE FOSTER
Deputy Town Clerk

CERTIFICATION

I, Christine Foster, Deputy Town Clerk of the Town of Fairfax, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true and correct copy of Ordinance No. 890 which was regularly introduced and placed upon its first reading at a regular meeting of the Town Council on the 17th day of July 2024. That thereafter, said Ordinance was duly adopted and passed at a regular meeting of the Town Council on the 7th day of August 2024, by the following vote:

AYES: Ackerman, Hellman, Cutrano, Blash, Coler
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None

s/CHRISTINE FOSTER
Deputy Town Clerk

EXHIBIT A

FULL TEXT OF BOND MEASURE J

Introduction

The Town of Fairfax (the “Town”) has aging roads and infrastructure which are in need of repair and/or replacement. Addressing these issues requires that the Town ask its voters to approve a general obligation bond measure. The Town has certified that it has evaluated alternative funding sources.

The federal government requires a local match, funded at times through local general obligation bonds, for the Town to qualify for certain federal grants. The millions of dollars potentially available through federal grants allows local taxpayers to benefit from the tax dollars already paid to the federal government.

It is imperative that the Town makes repairs to roads and other public infrastructure to increase public safety for residents of the Town.

Summary

“To repair roads/infrastructure; fix potholes; repave streets; repair retaining walls/bridges; address flooding of roads/buildings; improve bike/pedestrian circulation, safe routes to schools, disabled access; and qualify for federal matching funds/grants, shall the Town of Fairfax’s measure authorizing $18,000,000 of bonds for up to 30 years for each series, at legal interest rates, levying approximately $30/$100,000 of assessed value, raising on average approximately $1,200,000 annually, requiring audits/citizen oversight, be adopted?”

Measure

As required by the California Constitution, the proceeds from the sale of the bonds will be used only for the purposes authorized under Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, including the acquisition or improvement of real property and public infrastructure specifically set forth in this Measure and costs incident thereto, and not for any other purposes, including salaries and other operating expenses.

The following describes the specific projects the Town proposes to finance with proceeds of the bonds. The scope of specific projects, the order of construction, and their completion is contingent on final project costs and the availability of needed funds. This Measure authorizes bond projects to be undertaken at all Town-owned property.

The following list includes both projects that can be completed using the bond proceeds, along with federal matching funds and other building funds, and projects that are planned and needed but those whose construction is contingent on the amount of bond proceeds available. Bond proceeds will be expended on the costs of municipal improvement projects of the Town to improve public safety (the “Improvements”), which Improvements consist of the acquisition, construction and/or improvement of roads, bridges, retaining walls, street work, and related Town infrastructure.

The authorized Improvements also include all work, facilities, and expenditures necessary and incidental to the projects described above. Examples of such work, facilities, and expenditures include, but are not limited to, the costs of design, engineering, architect and other professional services, inspections, site preparation, utilities (including improvements to plumbing, sewer and electrical systems to preserve energy and water), trees and landscaping, construction management and other planning and permitting, road lighting, legal, accounting and similar costs, a customary construction contingency, demolition and disposal of existing structures, rental or construction of storage facilities and other space on an interim basis for materials and other equipment and furnishings displaced during construction, interim facilities for municipal functions, including modular facilities, addressing unforeseen conditions revealed by construction or renovation, and other necessary improvements required to comply with existing building codes, site acquisition and any necessary easements, licenses or rights of way, environmental improvements to preserve energy and water, access requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, costs of the election, bond issuance costs, financing and interest costs on the Bonds, and project administration during the duration of such projects, as permitted by law.

The final costs, locations, designs, layouts and other details of the Improvements will be determined as plans are finalized, construction bids are awarded, and projects are completed. Therefore, the Town Council cannot guarantee that the Bonds will provide sufficient funds to allow completion of all needed Improvements. The scope and nature of any of the projects described above may be altered by the Town as required by unforeseen conditions. In the event that a modernization or renovation project is more economical for the Town to be undertaken as new construction, this Measure authorizes land acquisition, relocation, and construction and/or reconstruction for such purpose, and all costs relating thereto.

Approval of the bond measure does not guarantee that all of the projects above will be funded beyond what can be completed with local funds generated by this Measure. The order in which projects are listed in the foregoing does not suggest an order of priority. Project priorities will be determined by the Town Council.

Accountability Measures

If the bonds are approved, the Town will implement the following accountability measures:

1. A separate account shall be created and held by the Town, into which the proceeds of the Bonds are deposited and applied solely for the purpose of financing the Improvements.
2. The Finance Director of the Town shall file a report with the Town Council at least annually showing the amount of Bond proceeds collected and expended, and the status of the Improvements, as required by Government Code Section 53410.
3. Use the bond proceeds only for the purposes authorized under Article XIIIA of the California Constitution and only on projects that serve the jurisdiction of the Town, including the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of public infrastructure, and not for any other purpose including salaries and other operating expenses.
4. Conduct an annual, independent performance audit to ensure that the bond proceeds have been expended only on the projects and uses listed in this Measure.
5. Conduct an annual, independent financial audit of the proceeds from the sale of the bonds until all of those proceeds have been expended for projects and uses listed in this Measure.
6. The Town shall post the audits listed in (d) and (e), above, in a manner that is easily accessible to the public, and which shall be submitted to the California State Auditor for review.
7. Establish and appoint members to an independent citizens’ oversight committee to ensure the bonds are used only for the projects and uses listed in this Measure.
8. An entity owned or controlled by a local official that votes on whether to put the Measure on the ballot is prohibited from bidding on any work funded by this Measure.

Tax Amount, Rate, and Duration

The bonds shall bear interest at an annual rate not exceeding the statutory maximum. The maturity of the bonds shall not exceed the maximum term allowed by law at the time of issuance. As further set forth in the Tax Rate Statement, the ad valorem tax will be levied at such rates and for so long as may be required to meet the debt service needs of the bonds proposed to be issued, including such bonds that may be issued to refund any approved bonds.