A new Ventura County Grand Jury report says people served by a coastal community services district are being overcharged.
The Grand Jury examined the funding for the Seabridge Community Facilities District #4, which serves some 500 property owners in Oxnard’s Mandalay Beach area. The district is intended to help pay for essential but unfunded services for the 150 acre area.
The report concludes the City of Oxnard underbudgeted for Ventura County operated Channel Islands Harbor Patrol services, as well as some maintenance costs, and used some of the district’s reserves to deal with the shortfalls.
It also says tax increases levied over the years on the property owners often exceeded the two percent permitted under the district’s bylaws. The Grand Jury is calling on the city to stop tapping into the district’s reserves, and for the special district to stick to the two percent cap on annual increases.
