City of Chula Vista - File #: 18-0028

Date	Action By	Action	Result	Action Details	Meeting Details	Video
3/20/2018	City Council	approve	Pass	Action details	Meeting details	Not available

Title

RESOLUTION NO. 2018-051 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA AWARDING THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA AND SCG - SPICER CONSULTING GROUP, LLC FOR SPECIAL TAX CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR ASSESSMENT DISTRICTS, COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICTS, OPEN SPACE DISTRICTS AND ANNUAL SEWER ASSESSMENT ADMINISTRATION SERVICES, AND AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE SAID AGREEMENT

Body

RECOMMENDED ACTION

Recommended Action

Council adopt the resolution.

Body

SUMMARY

The City of Chula Vista ("the City") solicited proposals from qualified firms to provide Special District Consulting Services for one (1) Assessment District, thirty-one (31) Community Facilities Districts, thirty-five (35) Open Space Districts, and one Sewer Assessment District within the City of Chula. Spicer Consulting Group was selected as the most qualified to perform the administrative services required for all Special Tax Districts. (See tables 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 for current districts).

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

Environmental Notice

The activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act State Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to State Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) no environmental review is required.

Body

Environmental Determination

The Director of Development Services has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines because the proposed agreement consists of administrative services involving the City’s obligation to provide sufficient funding for the City’s Special Tax Districts. Therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA review. Thus, no environmental review is required.

BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION

Not applicable

DISCUSSION

The Assessment District was formed under the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 and bonds issued pursuant to the Improvement Bond Act of 1915 (Division 10 of the Streets and Highways Code), refunded initially under the Refunding Act of 1984 for 1915 Improvement Act Bonds (Division 11.5 of the Streets and Highways Code), and later refunded under the Marks-Roos Local Bond Pooling Act of 1985 (Title 1, Division 7, Chapter 5, Article 4 of the California Government Code.)

Current 1985 Act Assessment District within the City of Chula Vista

Assessment District No.	Refinancing District No.	Name	Original Principal (Mil$)	Type
97-2	2005-2/2015-1	Otay Ranch Village I	$4.4	Construction

The City has established 31 Community Facilities Districts (CFDs) in accordance with the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 for the construction and associated improvements of public facilities and the maintenance of open space or preserve areas. These Districts are as follows:

Current Bonded (Infrastructure) Community Facilities Districts within the City of Chula Vista

Community Facilities District No.	Name	Original Principal (Mil$)
97-3	Otay Ranch McMillin Acquisition	11.8
99-1	Otay Ranch Spa I(Series A bonds)	23.0
2000-1	Sunbow II Villages 5-10	7.4
2001-1	San Miguel Ranch (Area A & Area B)	19.4
2001-2	McMillin Otay Ranch Village 6	9.2
06-I	Eastlake Woods, Vistas & Land Swap (Area A & Area B)	39.0
07-I	Otay Ranch Village 11 (2004)	28.0
07-I	Otay Ranch Village 11 (2006)	17.0
08-I	Otay Ranch Village 6	18.5
12-I	McMillin Otay Ranch Village 7	22.6
13-I	Otay Ranch Village 7 and Village 2	16.6

Current Non-Bonded (Maintenance) Community Facilities Districts within the City of Chula Vista

Community Facilities District No.	Name
97-1	Open Space Maintenance District (Otay Ranch - SPA One, Villages 1 & 5) (Area A and Area B)
97-2	Preserve Maintenance District
98-3	Open Space Maintenance District No. 35 (Sunbow II)
99-2	Otay Ranch Spa One - Village 1 West
07M	Eastlake Woods, Vistas (Area A) & Land Swap (Area B)
08M	McMillin Otay Ranch Village 6 (Area A and Area B)
09M	Village 11 - Otay Ranch Brookfield Shea
11M	Rolling Hills Ranch Neighborhoods 9-12
12M	Otay Ranch Village 7 (Area 1 and Area 2)
13M	Otay Ranch Village 2
14M	Otay Ranch A & B - Eastern Urban Center Millenia & Eastern Urban Center Millenia Parks
18M	Otay Ranch Village 3
19M	Freeway Commercial 2 (Planning Area 12)

The Open Space Districts were formed under the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 (Division 15, Part 2 of the California Streets and Highways Code.) OSDs were created in conjunction with each particular development to ensure financing for the perpetual maintenance of common open space areas. The Districts provide a financing mechanism for the City to levy an annual collectible to cover the costs and maintenance associated with each OSD. City Council approves the annual collectible and then, similar to Assessment Districts and Community Facilities Districts, Open Space Districts levy collection also appears on the owner’s property tax bill.

The City administers and maintains 35 Open Space Districts. These Districts are shown below:

Current Open Space Districts within the City of Chula Vista

Open Space District	Name
1	El Ranch Del Rey 1-4
2	Lark Haven
3	Rancho Robinhood Units 1 & 2
4	Bonita Ridge
5	South Bay Villas
Open Space District	Name

6	Hilltop Vista
7	Zenith Units 2, 3, 4
8	Rancho Robinhood Unit 3
9	El Rancho Del Rey
10	El Rancho Del Rey 6, Casa Del Rey
11	Hidden Vista Village
14	Bonita Long Canyon
15	Bonita Haciendas
17	Bel Air Ridge
18	Rancho Del Sur
20 Zone 1	Desilting Basin at East H Street
20 Zone 2	Rice Canyon Trail Area
20 Zone 3	East H Street
20 Zone 4	SPA I Phase 1 (Business Center)
20 Zone 5	SPA Phases 2-6
20 Zone 6	SPA 2
20 Zone 7	SPA 3
20 Zone 8	Desilting Basin at Glen Abbey
20 Zone 9	Telegraph Canyon Channel (SPA 3 Area)
23	Otay Rio Business Park
24	Canyon View Homes
26	Park Bonita
31	Telegraph Canyon Estates
ELMD Zone A	Eastlake 1
ELMD Zone B	Eastlake Greens
ELMD Zone C	Olympic Training Center
ELMD Zone D	Salt Creek 1
ELMD Zone E	Telegraph Canyon Channel
Bay Blvd	Bay Boulevard Maintenance District
Town Centre	Property Based Improvement District (PBID)

Scope of Work

Assessment District Administration and Apportionment Services

The City currently has 1 Assessment District (AD).

• Apportion of tax lien for each parcel within the assessment district according to the method of spread in the Engineer’s Report;

• Provide assessment installment information for each parcel for submittal in a timely manner to the County of San Diego for placement on the property tax roll. The information shall be submitted on the media, format, and configuration specified by the County;

• Research and resubmit entries rejected by the County on behalf of the City;

• Provide staffing and contact information to field inquiries concerning Assessment District administration, assessments, payoff calculation, and other information regarding district proceedings and annual installments for property owners, title companies and other interested parties;

• Prepare an annual levy report summarizing the information used to calculate the annual installment amount for the district, including a list of all Assessor Parcel Numbers;

• Prepare and record the amended assessment diagrams that result from lot splits or subdivision;

• Provide support to City staff in researching current and historical tax roll information, ownership, payoff calculation, delinquency notices and delinquent status from the County tax system;

• Prepare continuing disclosure reports and event notices for City staff review, as required by district disclosure agreements and SEC Rule 15c2-12, and disseminate approved documents to the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA);

• Provide support to City staff to maintain compliance with the requirements of State of California Revenue and Taxation Code 163;

• Perform required bond call spreads in accordance with applicable state laws and coordinate the early redemption of outstanding bonds as needed;

• Provide certification related to specific escrow release tests on as needed basis;

• Assist City staff in delinquency management by closely monitoring outstanding district delinquencies, and provide periodic reports to the City presenting aging and current statuses of all delinquent installments;

• Provide Arbitrage Calculations at least every five years for each bond issue as well as a final computation on the date on which the last maturity of a bond issue is retired;

• Provide Asset Management Services including the ability to estimate future capital asset replacement, as required by staff;

• Assist City with new Assessment District formations; and

• All other special projects as deemed necessary, including but not limited to refunding analysis.

Community Facilities District - Bonded

The City currently has 13 Bonded Community Facilities Districts (CFDs).

• Review the special tax schedules prepared by the City and ensure that all debt service and administrative expenses are recovered through the annual special tax levies;

• Calculate the annual special tax levy for each parcel within the CFD following the guidelines established in the Rate and Method of Apportionment of Special Tax;

• Prepare comprehensive special tax installment information for each parcel for submittal in a timely manner to the County of San Diego for placement on the property tax roll. This information shall be submitted on the media, format, and configuration specified by the County;

• Research and resubmit entries rejected by the County on behalf of the City;

• Provide staffing and contact information to field inquiries concerning CFD administration, annual special taxes, payoff calculation, and other information regarding district proceedings and annual installments for property owners, title companies and other interested parties;

• Prepare an annual levy report summarizing the information used to calculate the annual installment amount for the districts, including a list of all Assessor Parcel Numbers;

• Assist City staff with proper disclosure of special tax information for prospective property purchases as required by Sections 53340.2(b) and 53341.5 of the State of California Government Code;

• Prepare continuing disclosure reports and event notices for City staff review, as required by district disclosure agreements and SEC Rule 15c2-12, and disseminate approved documents to the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA);

• Perform tasks associated with CFD administration, including but not limited to bond call coordination, release of lien, delinquency reporting, foreclosure coordination, and annexation;

• Assist City staff in providing information to bond rating agencies when needed;

• Assist in maintaining current and future CFD law and regulation compliance and notify

City staff of any pertinent changes in CFD law and regulations;

• Provide certification related to specific escrow release tests on as needed basis;

• Assist City staff in delinquency management by closely monitoring outstanding district delinquencies, and provide periodic reports to the City presenting aging and current statuses of all delinquent installments;

• Provide Arbitrage Calculations at least every five years for each bond issue as well as a final computation on the date on which the last maturity of a bond issue is retired;

• Provide Asset Management Services including the ability to estimate future capital asset replacement, as requested by staff;

• All other special projects as deemed necessary, including but not limited to new district formation, tax rate projection, and refunding analysis.

Community Facilities District - Maintenance (Non-Bonded)

The City currently has 18 Maintenance Community Facilities Districts (CFDs).

• Calculate the annual special tax levy for each parcel within the CFD following the guidelines established in the Rate and Method of Apportionment of Special Tax;

• Prepare comprehensive special tax installment information for each parcel for submittal in a timely manner to the County of San Diego for placement on the property tax roll. The information shall be submitted on the media, format, and configuration specified by the County;

• Research and resubmit entries rejected by the County on behalf of the City;

• Provide staffing and contact information to field inquiries concerning CFD administration, annual special taxes, and other information regarding district proceedings and annual installments for property owners, title companies and other interested parties;

• Prepare an annual levy report summarizing the information used to calculate the annual installment amount for the districts, including a list of all Assessor Parcel Numbers;

• Assist City staff with proper disclosure of assessment information for prospective property purchases as required by Sections 53340.2(b) and 53341.5 of the State of California Government Code;

• Provide annexation services to all subject developments, boundary map recordation, annexation proceedings, such as public hearing and owner election, and Preparation of rates and Method of Apportionment for annexations, data collection, etc.;

• Administration and assistance with compliance requirements;

• Provide Asset Management Services including the ability to estimate future capital asset replacement, as requested by staff;

• Assist City with new District formations; and

• All other special projects as deemed necessary, including but not limited to revenue projection and cash flow forecast.

Open Space Maintenance Districts

The City currently has 35 Open Space Maintenance Districts (OSD) and/or zones.

• Obtain thorough understanding of the City’s OSD establishment, their boundaries,

Parcels and particularities;

• Review all documentation, databases, and budgets prior to preparing levy analysis, in order to ensure total and complete equity of assessments within each district;

• Prepare complete documentation for annual assessment, including Engineer’s Reports and maps;

• Attend City Council meetings with OSD-related items, as requested by City staff;

• Provide comprehensive assessment installment information for each parcel and submit in a timely manner to the County of San Diego for placement on the property tax roll. The information shall be submitted on the media, format and configuration specified by the County;

• Research and resubmit entries rejected by the County on behalf of the City;

• Provide staffing and contact information to field inquiries concerning OSD administration, annual assessments, and other information regarding district proceedings and annual installments for property owners, title companies and other interested parties;

• Prepare an annual levy report summarizing the information used to calculate the annual installment amount for the districts, including a list of all Assessor Parcel Numbers;

• Provide Asset Management Services including the ability to estimate future capital asset replacement, as requested by staff, and

• Complete all reports on OSD required by the state and federal agencies.

Montgomery Sewer District

The City levies annual sewer assessments within a portion of its incorporated area.

• Obtain thorough understanding of the Montgomery Sewer District, its boundaries, Parcels, and particularities of the district;

• Review all documentation, databases, and budgets prior to preparing levy analysis, in order to ensure total and complete equity of assessments the district;

• Work with water agencies and download data from them to determine usage;

• Update sewer and meter rate tables with rate updates from the prior year;

• Match new accounts to APNs (usually around 2 dozen new accounts/per year);

• Run initial assessment, and research zero ($0) assessment parcels;

• Provide database/workbook to City Finance Staff to perform second levy check;

• Provide comprehensive assessment installment information for each parcel and submit in a timely manner to the County of San Diego for placement on the property tax roll. The information shall be submitted on the media, format and configuration specified by the County;

• Research and resubmit entries rejected by the County on behalf of the City;

• Provide staffing and contact information to field inquiries concerning the district administration, annual assessments, and other information regarding district proceedings and annual installments for property owners, title companies and other interested parties;

• Prepare an annual levy report summarizing the information used to calculate the annual installment amount for the districts, including a list of all Assessor Parcel Numbers; and

• Complete all reports on the district required by the state and federal agencies.

Consultant Selection Process

Finance staff followed Chula Vista Municipal Code Section 2.56.080 in the consultant selection process. As required, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was prepared, advertised and posted on PlanetBids the City’s third party bid platform. A total of 46 vendors were notified through the posting of this RFP.

The RFP included a description of the scope of work and the time frames for completion. Each firm was asked to indicate in its proposal: 1) proof of general familiarity with various types of Special Tax Districts; 2) proof of capacity, resources and specialized equipment or expertise to perform the work; 3) names and qualifications of all key personnel to be used in the project, including any subconsultants; 4) past record of performance and references; 5) the location of the office where the work is to be performed; and 6) a cost estimate.

The following five (5) firms submitted responses to this RFP:

Firm Name	Location	Final Score*
Albert Webb	Riverside, CA	Non-responsive
BLX Group	Los Angeles, CA	Non-responsive
NBS	Temecula, CA	368.43
Spicer	Murrieta, CA	430.20
Willdan Financial Services	Temecula, CA	405.05

*Maximum points possible: 500

The Selection Committee consisted of the following members:

Alicia Granados, Fiscal Debt Management Analyst

Victor De La Cruz, Procurement Services Analyst

Patricia Garcia, Accounting Technician

The Selection Committee members were provided with individual copies of the proposals from the 5 firms. Two firms were invited to participate in the interview process. On March 05, 2018 the committee members interviewed, evaluated and discussed the firms based on the qualification of personnel, adherence of firm’s proposal to RFP guidelines, resources available to perform tasks on time and within budget, firm experience directly related to contract, quality of presentation, response to interview questions, and total cost and justification. SCG - Spicer Consulting Group, LLC was selected as the most qualified to perform the services required for all Special Tax Districts. This decision was based on evaluating many criteria, including project team and area knowledge, experience handling similar matters for other agencies and municipalities, and quality of work based on results achieved through similar contracts. The Selection Committee members scored each of the factors mentioned and the scores were then aggregated with the results above. SCG - Spicer Consulting Group, LLC was the strongest among the competing firms.

The Agreement

The proposed agreement with SCG - Spicer Consulting Group, LLC uses the City’s standard two-party agreement. Under this contract, the Consultant agrees to perform the scope of work from April 01, 2018 through March 31, 2021 with two one-year options as outlined in Exhibit A of the agreement. This section is extremely precise in order to ensure that all of the City requirements are included in the fee. The compensation schedule can be reviewed in Exhibit A of the agreement.

DECISION-MAKER CONFLICT

Staff has reviewed the property holdings of the City Council and has found that Mayor Casillas Salas and Councilmembers Padilla, Aguilar and McCann have real property holdings within 500 feet of the boundaries of the property which is the subject of this action. However, it has been determined that, no conflicts of interest exist pursuant to California Code of Regulations (CCR) section 18700(b)(6), as it is neither reasonably foreseeable that the decision will have a material financial effect on the real property, nor will the decision impose, repeal, or modify any assessments or taxes on the real property holdings as specified in CCR section 18705.2(a)(3), but is simply administrative in nature. Staff is not independently aware, and has not been informed by any City Council member, of any other fact that may constitute a basis for a decision maker conflict of interest in this matter.

LINK TO STRATEGIC GOALS

This item supports the City’s Strategic Plan as it seeks to enhance the City’s Strategic Goal of Healthy Community and strives to maintain landscaped open space areas throughout the city. This item also supports the Strong and Secure Neighborhoods goal as it provides infrastructure built by bonded districts (Assessment Districts and Improvement CFDs), vital to the quality of life for the residents.

CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT

The administrative costs for each non-bonded Special Tax District (Open Space Districts and Maintenance CFDs) will be financed out of the revenue generated by the individual districts via the annual levy. Administrative costs incurred by the bonded districts (Assessment District and Improvement CFDs) will be recovered through the ‘administrative fee’ component of the annual levy, with invoices sent directly to the district’s trustee for payment. These costs include the placement of the annual levy on the tax roll and other administrative tasks as required. With the current number of parcels and districts, the annual contract amount for these administration services is estimated at $120,000. The exact contract amount will not be known until shortly prior to the submittal of the annual levy to the County, as that number will depend on the parcels split by the County as of the August 10^th deadline.

All costs associated with the preparation of the Annual Continuing Disclosure Report will also be recovered directly from the annual revenues of the Districts. Costs associated with delinquency management services will be recovered from the delinquent property owners. Lastly, all costs associated with apportionment services will be offset by apportionment deposits received from property owners/developers via the previously described apportionment application process. All of these contract amounts will vary each year based on the number of disclosure reports generated, delinquencies, and apportionments processed by the consultant.

ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT

In future years, the contract amount will vary as additional districts and parcels are created.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Agreement with SCG - Spicer Consulting Group, LLC for Special Tax Consultant Services for Assessment Districts (ADs), Community Facilities Districts (CFDs), Open Space Districts (OSDs) AND Annual Sewer Assessment Administration Services.

2. Resolution

Staff Contact: Alicia Granados, Fiscal Debt Management Analyst