City Attorney Provides Ballot Title and Initiative Description

Imperial City Attorney Katherine Turner

On November 18, 2025, the City Attorney for the City of Imperial, Katherine Turner provided a ballot title and initiative description for our citizens' initiative to repeal CFD or Mello-Roos taxes in the Mayfield neighborhood. This is an important procedural step in qualifying the initiative for the ballot. Property owners in Improvement Area No. 1 of CFD 2004-2 have attempted to reach a settlement with the City to repeal excessive Mello-Roos special taxes and assessments and still have not been able to do so.

Frustrated at the inability or unwillingness of the City Council to schedule a public hearing on the matter, local property owners have decided to take the matter to the voters. Under California Elections Code section 9203, the City Attorney is required to provide a ballot title and an impartial summary of the initiative's provisions.

In providing the ballot title, the City Attorney was required to give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the proposed measure in such language that the ballot title shall neither be an argument, nor be likely to create prejudice, for or against the proposed measure. Therefore, this step should not imply Ms. Turner's endorsement of the measure, as she is required to perform this duty for any citizens' proposed ballot measure.

It is, however, an indication that the official petitions can now be prepared to place the matter on the ballot. Designated as "Ballot Initiative 1," the measure is now entitled: "Cessation of Community Facilities District 2004-2 Improvement Area 1 Special Taxes Upon Full Payment of Outstanding Bond Indebtedness." From the summary, the "... initiative would seek to require the legislative body of the City of Imperial Community Facilities District No. 2004-2 to pay the outstanding bonded indebtedness and, upon full payment of the outstanding bonded indebtedness, to adopt a resolution repealing the special tax levy in its entirety."

We believe that all assessments collected in this fiscal year could fully pay off the bonds. With the adoption of this initiative, the CFD taxes currently scheduled to continue for another 12 years would be eliminated. That would amount to nearly $28,000 in tax savings for each homeowner in the District.