City of San Marcos v. Board of Supervisors

The County of San Diego appeals a judgment requiring it to levy ad valorem property taxes on property within the San Marcos Unified School District (District) in order to pay a special assessment imposed on school district property by the City of San Marcos.

I

San Marcos formed an assessment district under the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 and the Improvement Act of 1911 (Sts. & Hy. Code, *357 § 10000 et seq., and § 5000 et seq.) and imposed a special assessment on property within the assessment district to finance street improvements. The San Marcos Unified School District owns a parcel of land within the assessment district. Over the District’s objections to including its property within the assessment district based on its inability to pay any assessment, and, notwithstanding San Marcos’ power to exempt the public property from the assessment (Sts. & Hy. Code, § 5301), San Marcos imposed the assessment and billed the District for $17,000.

Unable to pay the assessment in a lump sum, the District elected to pay the assessment in instalments (Sts. & Hy. Code, § 5302.5). However, the District did not have the money even to pay the assessment in instalments and,…