Monday, April 22, 2019

[Riverside County] Highgrove residents sue Riverside County over fee for long-gone sheriff’s deputy

They voted to pay for an extra deputy, but haven't had one since the end of 2009.


Blog note: this article references Riverside County’s response to a 2017-18 grand jury report.
A group of Highgrove residents led by community newspaper publisher Richard “Barney” Barnett is suing Riverside County, demanding to know how money from their county services fee is being spent.
When they voted to approve the fee in 1992, residents agreed to pay $120 a year to fund an additional Riverside County sheriff’s deputy to patrol their unincorporated community between northeast Riverside and Grand Terrace.
In a second vote in 1997, residents reaffirmed paying for the deputy and also agreed some of the money could be used for maintenance at Highgrove’s only park, maintaining street lights and landscaping on road medians.
The county took the extra deputy away at the end of 2009, but residents are still paying the fee. The suit filed by Barnett, John Shivery, Haroldine Swing, and Janet Aboytes demands a full accounting of the money and restoration of the extra deputy.
If that doesn’t happen, the county must “reduce the tax and refund any misappropriations,” the suit demands.
Riverside County insists the fee money is being spent properly and that residents can get information about the fee through several avenues, including from County Service Area staff members who attend public meetings.
“The goal of the lawsuit is just to get our money back,” said Barnett, publisher of Highgrove Happenings.  “To be treated fairly to get our money back for a service were were paying for that we did not have.”
“If we lost our deputy nine years ago, why do we still have to pay for it?” he asked.
Barnett also said he doesn’t believe that maintaining the 5-acre park could take all the money, noting that the park has no lights, no ballgames at night and is very low maintenance.
Riverside County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said the county already addressed residents’ concerns in its response to a 2017-18 grand jury investigation.
In its report, the grand jury said that the county did not effectively communicate details about County Service Area 126 to affected residents. The dedicated deputy was assigned to the community until Dec. 31, 2009, “when for economic reasons the dedicated service was discontinued,” the grand jury report said.
The county failed to adequately inform residents “of new agreements between CSA 126 management and the Jurupa Valley Sheriff Station for focused law enforcement,” the grand jury said.
“Citizens don’t understand how CSA agreements were designed to work and how the funds were managed,” the report said. “For complete record access, a citizen would need to inquire at the Jurupa Valley Sheriff Station, the EDA (Economic Development Agency), The landscaping contractor, a County Supervisor, Tax Collector, Assessor, and occasionally state records.”
The county disagreed, saying residents who pay the fee receive contact information on their property tax bills, there are CSA staff members attending community and town hall meetings, there is a parks hotline and more information is available on the county’s CSA website.
The grand jury recommended that the county issue a notice clarifying how the funds are being spent and post a summary report and hold a community meeting at least once every two years.
Federico said in an e-mail that the county has complied.
“The County has completely satisfied all reporting requirements on the budget and audit for County Service Area 126, including holding multiple community meetings,” her email said. “The County uses the funds collected to pay for services in the Highgrove community, which includes park maintenance, street lighting, street sweeping and law enforcement services.”
Barnett also questioned why residents living in the new Spring Mountain Ranch development in Highgrove are paying up to $2,900 a year for CSA 126, while longtime residents pay just $120.
“There was no vote to charge different amounts and the fee appears on their tax bills as for CSA 126,” he said.
Federico said, “Each homebuyer within the community was informed of and accepted the assessment as a condition for the home purchase.”
The higher assessment “covers costs associated with regular maintenance for more than seven million square feet of landscaping, street lighting, enhanced sheriff services, Spring Mountain Ranch community park, community trails and water quality basins,” she said in her e-mail.
The next scheduled court date for the case is Monday, April 22, at Riverside County Superior Court.
April 20, 2019
The Press-Enterprise
By Johnny Bender


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