Special Taxes in Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo Won't Grow by 2% This Year

Mission Viejo and Aliso Viejo residents: Your special tax bill will be ever-so slightly smaller this coming year than it was supposed to be.

The Capistrano Unified school board decided last week that it will forego the customary 2 percent increase for people who pay Mello Roos taxes in Mission Viejo and Aliso Viejo, the oldest so-called “community facilities district” in the school district’s boundaries.

“Taxpayers from MV have been on the hook for a long, long time,” said Trustee Jim Reardon, one of two trustees who led the charge for the tax-bill adjustment. Bypassing a 2 percent increase is “symbolic” because the money collected from Mission Viejo and Aliso Viejo landowners was ultimately spent in places it shouldn’t have been, he said.

Despite receiving $211,000 less this year, the district will receive enough revenues to cover the bond payments, said Clark Hampton, deputy superintendent of business services. However, throughout the rest of the tax’s life – the district is scheduled to retire in 2020 – the district will receive less overall by making this one-year move, he said.

“It’s a one-year item we don’t need to make our [payments],” said Trustee Ellen Addonizo, who also spearheaded the effort. “It’s a sign of good faith.”

The motion was not without controversy. President John Alpay did not support it, calling the issue a “sideshow.”

“My suggestion is would be a mistake to remove the [2 percent] escalator this year,” he said. “We should focus on keeping the status quo and focus on eliminating the [community facilities district] entirely. The bigger goal is retire it sooner.”

He made a substitute motion to allow for the regular 2 percent increase, but it did not pass, despite having the support of Trustees Gary Pritchard and Amy Hanacek. Trustee Lynn Hatton was absent and would have had to recuse herself because lives in the taxing area.

Then Addonizio’s motion came to a vote, and Hanacek switched sides. Motion passed 4-2, with Alpay and Pritchard opposed.