Adopt Resolution 2026-125
Community Facilities Districts (CFDs), commonly referred to as Mello-Roos districts, provide local agencies with a mechanism to levy special taxes within a defined geographic area to finance eligible public facilities and services. Services CFDs may be used to fund enhanced municipal services, including police and fire protection, as well as other services needed to support new development. Additionally, CFDs can be created to fund the maintenance of public facilities (e.g., streetlights, street sweeping, landscape maintenance, etc.) installed as part of new development.
A well-administered CFD program can help ensure that new development contributes toward the increased cost of providing municipal services to growing areas of the City. This reduces the potential impact of new development on the City’s General Fund and helps maintain appropriate service levels for both existing and future residents and businesses.
The creation of a robust CFD program was identified as part of the City’s Strategic Plan under Strategic Initiative 4a, Banning’s Workout Plan to Fiscal Sustainability. Retaining a qualified CFD and tax consultant will provide the City with specialized technical support to establish, administer, and maintain CFDs in a consistent, legally compliant, and financially sustainable manner.
In addition to CFD formation and administration services, the scope of work under this agreement will also include the ongoing administration of the City's existing special districts such as Landscape Maintenance District No. 1, ensuring consistent assessment management, levy coordination, reporting, and compliance with applicable requirements.
The City issued Request for Proposals No. 26-137 for Community Facilities District and Tax Consulting Services through the City’s ProcureNow / OpenGov procurement system. The solicitation was posted on June 15, 2026, and proposals were due on July 8, 2026. The City received four responsive bidders to the solicitation, which were ranked as follows:
- Spicer Consulting Group, LLC
- NBS
- C. Financial Investment, Inc.
- Willdan Financial Services
An evaluation committee reviewed and scored the proposals based on the firms’ qualifications, relevant experience, proposed approach and methodology, ability to provide the required services, professional references, value-added services, and pricing.
Based on the results of the evaluation process, staff recommends awarding a Professional Services Agreement with a 5-year term to Spicer Consulting Group, LLC, in an amount not to exceed $526,000 throughout the term. Spicer Consulting Services received the highest overall ranking and demonstrated the qualifications, experience, and technical capabilities necessary to support the City’s CFD program, administer the City’s Landscape Maintenance District No. 1, and provide the services identified in the RFP.
As outlined in the fiscal impact section of this report, most of the costs of the proposed agreement will be borne by developers or established districts. The amount identified below as being paid by the General Fund, $23,000, may be subject to reimbursement by a developer.
Awarding the agreement to Spicer Consulting Services will provide the City with specialized expertise to support the formation, implementation, and ongoing administration of its CFD program, as well as the administration of existing special districts. These services will assist the City with establishing appropriate special tax structures, completing required calculations and reporting, maintaining accurate district records, and ensuring compliance with applicable legal and procedural requirements.
Spicer Consulting Group, LLC was the highest-ranked proposer following the City’s competitive evaluation process. The firm’s qualifications, relevant experience, proposed approach, and ability to provide the requested services were determined to offer the best overall value to the City.
The proposed agreement will also advance Strategic Initiative 4a by helping the City develop a reliable and sustainable mechanism for recovering the costs of providing services to new development.
The Professional Services Agreement with Spicer Consulting Group, LLC is for an amount not to exceed $526,000. Funding for the in the amount of $45,000 (see tasks and amounts with asterisks), will be included in the Fiscal Year 2026/27 Proposed Operating Budget. The remaining amounts are as needed and will be requested in future budget updates. The breakdown is as follows:
| Task | Frequency | Paid By | Annual Cost | Proposed Quantity | Extended Amount |
| Public Safety Fiscal Impact Analysis* | One-Time | General Fund | $13,500* | 1 | $13,500 |
| Public Safety Formation* | One-Time | General Fund | $9,500* | 1 | $9,500 |
| Total Costs Paid by General Fund* | $23,000* | $23,000 | |||
| Facilities Formation | As Needed | Paid by Developer | $25,000 | 3 | $75,000 |
| additional improvement areas | As Needed | Paid by Developer | $5,000 | 2 | $10,000 |
| Maintenance Formation landowner | As Needed | Paid by Developer | $15,000 | 1 | $15,000 |
| Maintenance Annexation | As Needed | Paid by Developer | $12,500 | 10 | $125,000 |
| Public Safety Annexation | As Needed | Paid by Developer | $10,000 | 5 | $50,000 |
| Total Costs Paid by Developer (no impact on General Fund) | $67,500 | $275,000 | |||
| Facilities CFD Monitoring (per improvement area) | Annual | Paid by District | $7,500 | (3*$7,500)*4 | $90,000 |
| Maintenance CFD Commercial per zone | Annual | Paid by District | $500 | (11*$500)*4 | $22,000 |
| Public Safety per Annexation | Annual | Paid by District | $500 | (6*$500)*4 | $12,000 |
| All 11 Zones in LMD 1* | Annual | Paid by District | $11,000* | $5,000+(4*$11,000) | $49,000 |
| Improvement District 2004-1* | Annual | Paid by District | $4,500* | 5 | $22,500 |
| CSA 152* | Annual | Paid by District | $6,500* | 5 | $32,500 |
| Total Costs Paid by Districts (no impact on General Fund) | $30,500 | $228,000 | |||
| Total Not-to-Exceed | $526,000 | ||||