Ontario Default Cover Page

RECOMMENDATION:

That the City Council adopt a Resolution for recovery of fees and costs incurred in abating property and dangerous building violations, as well as administrative citations and civil penalties associated with property maintenance violations, and placing assessments on the San Bernardino County Tax Rolls.

THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL GOALS ARE BEING ACHIEVED:
Operate in a Businesslike Manner

FISCAL IMPACT:

The levy of special assessments will result in the recovery of $328,949.97 in costs that the City has expended for inspection or abatement of property violations, as well as the collection of $558,371.00 associated with civil penalties and/or fines for continued violations, for a total of $887,320.97 related to 604 parcels. When received, these reimbursements will be deposited into the General Fund. The Fiscal Year 2026-27 Adopted Budget includes special assessment revenue in the General Fund for these types of levies.

BACKGROUND & ANALYSIS:

The City has established administrative citations and fines for property maintenance violations and fees and penalties associated with the Systematic Health and Safety Inspection Program, Abandoned and Distressed Property Program, and the Weed and Refuse Abatement Program. These costs, fines, fees, and penalties are recovered through placement of special tax assessments upon the properties. The placement of special assessments and collection of revenue is done under Ordinance 3046, Property Appearance (Title 5, Chapter 22 of the Ontario Municipal Code); Chapter 9 of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings; and Ordinance 2920 for civil penalties for continued violations of the Ontario Municipal Code and fines associated with administrative citations (Title 1, Chapters 2 and 5 of the Ontario Municipal Code). The City and the County of San Bernardino currently have a contractual agreement regarding the implementation of special assessments; however, a Resolution authorizing the placement of the specific assessments is required.

Due to recent contractual changes to the agreement between the City and the County of San Bernardino, City Council resolutions must now explicitly authorize San Bernardino County to include any County administrative or processing fees on the annual tax roll. City Council previously adopted Resolution 2025-149 on October 21, 2025, Resolution 2026-001 on January 20, 2026, Resolution 2026-025 on April 21, 2026, and Resolution 2026-065 on July 7, 2026, authorizing recovery of all costs, fines, fees, and penalties through placement of special tax assessments upon properties for the 2026–2027 tax year. However, the adopted resolutions did not include the language required to authorize San Bernardino County to include any County administrative or processing fees on the 2026–2027 tax roll.

The Resolution contains the required language and includes the itemized accounts from the aforementioned adopted Resolutions which include: 1) costs associated with inspection or abatement as shown in Exhibit A of the Resolution; 2) civil penalties and/or fines for continued violations as shown in Exhibit B of the Resolution; and 3) total amounts per parcel as shown in Exhibit C of the Resolution. The expenditure list, including all corrections, adjustments, and payments received prior to August 6, 2026, was submitted to the County by its August 10th, 2026, deadline for its 2026-2027 tax rolls. All affected property owners were given notice of the imposition of special assessments via certified mail at the time of the adoption of the original resolutions, as provided in Ontario Municipal Code Section 1-4.05(a), and had either not requested an appeal or exhausted the appellate procedure in Ontario Municipal Code Section 1-4.05(b).