What is Mello-Roos (or Special Taxing District)?
Mello-Roos and Assessment Districts are special tax districts, created by the California State Legislature in 1982. These districts collect funds to pay for the vital facilities a new home community needs such as streets, schools, water, drainage, parks, sidewalks, median landscaping, and sewer systems which otherwise might not be available to initial homeowners in the community. As you might expect, Mello-Roos taxes are typically found in newer developments. The motivation for the creation of the Mello-Roos tax started back in 1978 with the passage of Proposition 13. Prop 13 limited local governments ability to pay for capital facilities and services by increasing property taxes. In 1982, Senator Henry Mello and Assemblyman Mike Roos enacted the Community Facilities District (now called Mello-Roos) to enable local governments with an another means to raise needed funds, and the first Mello-Roos district was created in 1986. An Assessment District or Mello-Roos District is formed by th
