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Property owners in Danville are set to receive ballots next week for a vote on proposed adjustments to the town’s Lighting and Landscaping Assessment District for the first time in decades.
Those adjustments would cause the average LLAD fee to increase by $87 annually, although not in all cases – some could see as much as a $150 increase or as much as a $50 reduction. The current fee and proposed new fee are set to be included in each property owner’s ballot.
“The LLAD funds maintenance of parks, street lighting, and other amenities that contribute to the quality of life in Danville,” Town Manager Joe Calabrigo said in a March 19 announcement. “This vote allows property owners to decide whether the funding should be adjusted to reflect rising costs and avoid potential cuts to other services from the general fund.”
The news follows a Town Council meeting March 18 in which the council voted in favor of pursuing the adjustments, which were finalized and proposed following a study session last year that aimed to contend with the $1.4 million shortfall in revenues compared with costs under the existing rates.
The last time property owners voted on changes to the LLAD was in 2003. As it stands, the district and fee schedule do not include any mechanism to cover additional costs and new facilities over the years.
Under the proposed changes, assessment fees would be calculated via an Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) metric, with single family homes – which account for approximately 80% of assessable properties in the town – being assigned an EDU of one, and non-residential properties being assigned a number based on the amount of benefits they receive from LLAD services and their land use type.
Another proposed adjustment would change the assessment for apartment complexes from a parcel-based formula to a per-unit assessment, which would be aligned with the assessments for condos and townhomes.
In addition to sending ballots next week, the town is taking additional outreach measures including offering educational resources on the purpose of the proposed adjustments and a virtual town hall that is still being planned.
Voting will close in early May, with the results set to be tabulated by the town and announced at a June council meeting.
