Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Ass'n v. City of Roseville

Opinion

DAVIS, J.

The City of Roseville (Roseville) operates three municipal utilities that provide, respectively, water, sewer, and refuse collection services. Roseville imposes an “in-lieu franchise fee” (in-lieu fee) of 4 percent on each of the utilities’ annual budgets; this fee is paid by the utility ratepayers and transferred to Roseville’s general fund.

This appeal presents us with two principal questions: whether Proposition 218—a descendant of Proposition 13 that covers local government fees and charges—applies to Roseville’s in-lieu fee; and, if so, whether the in-lieu fee violates…