Zone 9 Finances

Operations and Maintenance Revenues and Expenses 

Zone 9 operations and maintenance activities are generally supported by property taxes collected from approximately 13,000 parcels within the zone. The current annual property tax revenue to Zone 9 is approximately $400,000 and annual expenses are estimated to be approximately $335,000, as explained in more detail below.   

Property Tax Revenues

Sometimes called ‘ad valorem property taxes’—these are taxes collected based on the value of the properties that contribute a percentage toward Zone 9 activities. Property taxes also support a variety of other services such as school districts, incorporated towns, and sanitary districts and the percentages that support these services vary depending on the parcel location. The average percentage of property taxes collected that support Zone 9 activities are approximately 1/3 of 1% or $31 out of every $10,000 paid per year. 

It should be noted that not all parcels located within the Zone 9 boundary pay a portion of their property taxes to Zone 9. Portions of incorporated Fairfax and Corte Madera, for example, do not contribute a percentage of their property taxes to Zone 9 because they joined the Zone after Proposition 13 limited property taxes in 1978. Properties within the incorporated limits of San Anselmo generally do not pay property taxes into Flood Zone 9 because they were not in the Zone when Prop. 13 passed.  

Operations and Maintenance Expenses

As mentioned above, Zone 9 property tax revenues total approximately $400,000 per year and operating and maintenance expenses are currently estimated at approximately $335,000 per year. This provides for approximately $65,000 per year to be set aside as reserves for equipment replacement, repairs, or unplanned expenses that may occur in the future. The estimated annual operating and maintenance expenses include:

• Zone Administration – Approximately $95,000 per year. This includes Advisory Board administration, public outreach and communications. 
• Pump Station Operations – Approximately $60,000 per year. This includes utility costs (PG&E), system inspections, and annual service.  
• Maintenance Activities – Approximately $180,000 per year. This includes clearing ditches and channels, tide gate maintenance, and vegetation management.

It’s important to note that property taxes that support Zone 9 are not adequate to support flood control project planning and development work such as drainage studies, feasibility studies, project design and construction, therefore additional revenues are needed to support project expenses.  

Project Development Revenues and Expenses

In late December 2005 and early January 2006, severe flooding occurred in the Ross Valley, which contributed to three reported fatalities, caused over $30 million in damage to homes and businesses, and disrupted essential services. Following this extreme event, Zone 9 property owners in 2007 voted to approve a 20-year Storm Drainage Fee (“Fee”) to “provide funding for projects to: reduce damage due to flooding, offer solutions for homes and businesses, aid homeowners in repairing stream banks, remove bottlenecks that impede water flow, maintain natural creek functions, reduce pollutants entering the Bay, incorporate habitat enhancements and improve fish passage.” 

Storm Drainage Fee Revenues. The Fee amount collected per parcel within Zone 9 to support flood risk reduction projects is based on estimated stormwater runoff, which is linked to parcel size, impervious area, and use type. The Fee amount can be increased up to 3% each year, if approved by the Board of Supervisors. Additionally, the Fee only applies to parcels that had the opportunity to vote on the ballot measure in 2007. The Fee is set to expire in 2027. Table 1 summarizes the current Fee amounts and number of parcels that pay the Fee. 

Table 1: Fee Measure Summary 

Storm Drainage Fee Expenses

In order to plan and develop flood risk reduction projects under the Fee, a comprehensive Ross Valley drainage study was conducted in 2010-2011 to better understand how flooding occurs in the watershed. The study identified several potential flood risk reduction improvements including the construction of detention basins and removal of obstructions from creeks. The potential improvements identified by the drainage study were conceptual in nature and needed to be studied further to determine the feasibility, cost estimates, schedules, and permit requirements of each option.  In 2012, a Workplan was developed which prioritized the further evaluation of four detention basis and seven bridge projects within Zone 9.  

In 2013-2014, grant funding was secured to further support the planning and development of flood risk reduction projects in Zone 9. Of the $49 million in Zone 9 flood risk reduction project expenses incurred since 2007, $39 million was funded by the Storm Drainage Fee, and $10 million was funded by grants. Table 2 below summarizes the $49 million total project development expenditures to date. 

Table 2: Project Development Expenditures

Several of the proposed detention basins included in the 2012 Workplan, such as Phoenix Lake and the Memorial Park Basins, were found to have technical complications or faced public opposition that rendered them infeasible. In 2015, voters in San Anselmo approved a ballot initiative that prohibited the use of Memorial Park for anything besides recreation purposes and specifically prohibited its use as a detention basin. While work stopped on the detention basins that were infeasible, other proposed flood risk reduction projects proceeded to be developed. 

Projects completed to date include the City of Larkspur Hillview Neighborhood Drainage Improvements, Corte Madera Creek Maintenance Access Ramp and Granton Park Stormwater Pump Station in Kentfield, and the Sunnyside Detention Basin in Fairfax. 

Zone 9 has two major capital improvement projects that are still underway and are planned to be completed with funding from the Storm Drainage Fee. These include the Corte Madera Creek Flood Risk Management Project and the Building Bridge 2 Removal Project.