Logo courtesy of the City of Live Oak

LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - At the July 17 meeting, the Live Oak City Council held a public hearing on forwarding overdue water and sewer accounts to Sutter County for collection through the property tax roll.

Finance Director Ethan Gutierrez explained this is an annual process that allows the city to recover unpaid costs of service from delinquent accounts. This year, there were four properties with overdue accounts, with charges ranging from $55 to $328 for a total of $702 to be collected. City staff notified the account holders about the past-due amounts and the date of the public hearing.

Councilmember Ashley Hernandez asked whether the city pays a fee for the lien process, and Gutierrez said the county charges a $35 processing fee, as well as administrative fees for each delinquent account.

Hernandez said that since the total overdue amount is fairly small, the fees amounted to "kind of shooting yourself in the foot." She suggested the city look into adding those costs to the lien amount so the account holders, rather than the city, would bear the expense.

There were no public comments on the item, and the council voted 3-0 to approve the collection process. Mayor Jeramy Chapdelaine and Councilmember Nancy Santana were absent.

The council also held its annual public hearing on sending overdue refuse disposal accounts, identified by Recology, to the county for collection through the property tax roll.

There were 222 delinquent accounts, with a total of $71,638 to be collected. Gutierrez said the city adds $44 per parcel to cover administrative fees.

Councilmember Bob Woten asked whether the number of overdue accounts was higher than usual. A Recology representative said it was, with approximately 40 more accounts than last year.

The council voted 3-0 to approve the collection process.

Next, the council approved the 2026-27 special tax assessment for 142 parcels within Community Facilities District No. 92-1. The expected total to be collected from those parcels is $105,653. Of that total, 66.6% goes to the school district and 33.4% goes to the city for eligible uses including fire protection, law enforcement and streets. The city's portion is expected to be $35,214.

The council also approved the 2026-27 special tax assessment for parcels within Community Facilities District No. 2004-1. These funds are eligible to support fire protection, police, parks and recreation, animal control, streetlights and storm drainage. The assessment allows a 3.8% Consumer Price Index increase over last year. There are 849 parcels within the district, and the city expects to collect $821,631 from the assessments.

Finally, the council approved the 2026-27 special tax assessment for Fire Protection and Street Lighting Maintenance. This annual assessment does not increase with inflation. The total expected from these assessments is $277,296.

The next meeting of the Live Oak City Council is scheduled for Aug. 5.