Imperial City Clerk confirms sufficient signatures gathered to put Initiative on Ballot

The registered voters in the Mayfield neighborhood CFD in Imperial, California have submitted the signatures needed to put measure on ballot to repeal CFD (Mello-Roos) taxes on their homes.

On March 30, 2026, the City Clerk's office issued the following statement:

"This email is to notify you that the petition you submitted on February 18, 2026, for the proposed initiative measure regarding CFD 2004-2 meets the requirements of the Elections Code, and a sufficient number of voter signatures were obtained. These results will be certified at the next regular City Council meeting on April 15, 2026."

The initiative, officially titled "Imperial CFD 2004-2 Mello-Roos Tax Repeal and Redemption Act of 2026" would elimination CFD assessments in the Mayfield Improvement Area 1 district in Imperial. These homes are located east of P street and west of Brighton, south of 4th Street and north of Huston Road.

Currently, the average home in the neighborhood is being taxed about $2,100 per year for special CFD assessments. The City had planned to continue taxing the homeowners for over 12 additional years. However, the CFD spent all the money in its improvement budget without building the promised connections to or improving Huston Road, without building out 4th Street, or making other promised improvements.

Further collections were only planned to pay off interest obligations on borrowed funds.

The initiative would require a new developer to pay off the bonded indebtedness and relieve taxpayers of further burdensome taxes as a prerequisite to building new homes in the area. The developer would then use its own funds to complete 4th street and other streets in the neighborhood without seeking any further taxation from the area residents.

Thus, the initiative would free the taxpayers from any more CFD assessments for improvements in the District's Improvement Area 1, an average savings of over $26,000 for each family. The City Council refused to consider the proposal, preferring to continue to impose excessive taxes on its citizens.

Though petitions were submitted to the Council to hold a public hearing on the proposal, those petitions were rejected. No City Council member agreed to hear or debate the issue. For that reason, a citizen's initiative was generated compelling a vote at the next election.

The City Council must certify the results of the City Clerk's findings at their hearing scheduled for April 15, 2026. The City Council may continue to frustrate the will of the citizens and improperly refuse to place the measure on the ballot. So, all taxpayers are encouraged to go to the April 15, 2026 Imperial City Council meeting to show support on tax day that they don't want any more excessive taxes.