City seeks delay in approval of Valley-Wide Master Plan

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The City of Menifee has submitted a letter of protest of Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District’s proposed Master Plan, asking the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to delay a public hearing on the issue.

In a Jan. 6 letter, Menifee city manager Armando Villa asked the Board of Supervisors to continue the public hearing -- scheduled for Tuesday -- to a later date, saying Valley-Wide’s Master Plan update document “had very limited public engagement and input from Menifee residents.”

The letter goes on to say that the alleged limited public engagement is “contrary to the statements on page 1 of the plan indicating ‘significant engagement with members of the Valley-Wide Community was conducted throughout the master plan process.’”

In essence, Villa is claiming that although Menifee makes up a large portion of Valley-Wide’s coverage area, its residents had little input regarding the operations of the district – including tax assessments Villa says are far higher than what the City of Menifee imposes in parts of the City where it has the taxing authority.

This is the latest development in the City’s years-long attempt to gain control over not only parks within Valley-Wide’s current jurisdiction, but the taxes collected from Menifee residents to fund parks and recreational programs east of the 215 Freeway. The City has had such control of the west side of Menifee since taking it over from Riverside County in 2014 and creating its own Community Services Department.

In 2016, the City made a formal request to the Riverside Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO), seeking detachment from Valley-Wide. LAFCO ruled that the detachment could be made, but in part only if the City agrees to a public vote of the residents on whether the City could take over tax assessments from Valley-Wide.

Arguing that such an election wasn’t necessary, the City in 2017 filed a lawsuit in opposition of LAFCO’s conditions of approval. Since then, the City has lost twice in court regarding the matter. For the time being, Valley-Wide continues to control parks on the east side of Menifee, additionally managing tax assessments in that area.

“The (Valley-Wide Master) plan identifies four goals, all of which would result in increased services, and expanded staff and facilities,” Villa’s letter states. “While the City generally supports those goals, it is concerned about how those services, staff, and facilities will be achieved financially. The City has raised questions about increased levies and assessments, i.e., taxes, on Menifee residents to pay for Valley-Wide Recreation and Park Districts’ provision of park and landscape services within the City’s municipal boundaries.

According to Villa:

-- “Over the last three years, assessments have increased as much as 33 percent. These increases represent significant additional financial burdens on Menifee residents. For example, [in] Menifee North Zone 1 the assessment rate increased another $87 per home, the third consecutive assessment rate increase since fiscal year 2018-19, yielding a total increase of $244 per home – from $199 to $443 per home per year.”

-- “During that same period, assessments for City of Menifee landscape and maintenance areas have increased only 7-8 percent. These figures are disconcerting. The City utilizes the same utility providers, hires many of the same landscape contractors, and provides excellent park programming and services to Menifee residents. Yet the year-over-year assessment increases imposed by the City are less than half – and in some instances, less than a quarter – of the assessment increases charged by Valley-Wide.”

Villa’s letter did not list a dollar amount for the City’s total tax assessment for similar services on the west side, making it difficult to draw a comparison against his allegation of $443 per home assessed by Valley-Wide.

Valley-Wide’s Master Plan update document states that “focus groups, stakeholder interviews, and a public forum were conducted on August 27-29, 2019. These meetings were held throughout the District. The goal of these sessions was to gather the information that would guide the development of the community recreation needs assessment survey.”

Only 12 percent of those responding to a community survey as part of the Master Plan said they live in Menifee (55 percent live in San Jacinto). However, of 4,200 surveys mailed, only 291 were completed.

In a “Chat with the City Manager” public forum last July, Villa was critical of Valley-Wide’s level of service.

“We have received complaints from residents that parks on the east side are not so good,” he said. “A lot of the parks are not in good shape. There’s no reason residents on the east side should settle for lesser parks.”

Asked by Menifee 24/7 later in the week which parks he was referring to, Villa did not respond.

For the moment, the public hearing is still on the agenda for Tuesday’s 9:30 a.m. Board of Supervisors meeting. Menifee 24/7 will report on the outcome of that meeting.