Fiscal Affairs

Important Dates

12/20/25

1st 2026 Assessment Due

10% Penalty fee will be assessed if not paid

6/20/26

2nd 2026 Assessment Due

5% Penalty fee assessed if not paid

Assessments not paid will be published August 1st, 8th and 15th in our local newspaper.

Assessments will file Property Liens if not paid by August 2026.

For training records, additional information, or if you have any questions, please contact:

Teresa Ortiz (559) 686-3425

Where to Pay Your Assessment Bill

Physical Address:

Tulare Irrigation District
6826 Avenue 240
Tulare, California 93274

Mailing Address:

Tulare Irrigation District
Post Office Box 1920
Tulare, CA  93275-1920

DISTRICT ASSESSMENT

General Information

On August 31, 2022 Tulare Irrigation District Landowners through the Proposition 218 Election process voted to restructure its land-based rates away from the historical Ad Valorem methodology, which has been in place prior to the passing of Proposition 218 in 1996, to a flat rate across all District Lands.  The results of the Proposition 218 Election were 73% of the assessed acreage within the District voted, and approximately 83% of those that voted were in favor of the proposed benefit assessment increase.  The new benefit rates will help stabilize water rates, invest in District infrastructure, invest in needed water supplies, and stabilize finances to meet future water management challenges.

In general, the District functions as a revenue collection authority and is governed by Division 11 of the California Water Code, which code provides for the formation of water and Irrigation Districts and governs their operations including the authority to assess their members in order to obtain funding for services provided to landowners.  The Water Code further provides that all lands shall be assessed in accordance with Section 401 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.  Each year in October the Board of Directors meet to evaluate the current finances and future budget, to review the assessment roll, and make the determination as to how much the District should assess its landowners during the next calendar year.

The District Benefit Assessment consists of three components levied on all parcels greater than one acre, namely (a) District General and Administrative, revenue to cover ongoing administrative expenses; (b) Surface Water Supply, revenue to cover the cost of water utilized in groundwater recharge activities; and (c) Capital Improvements Plan Projects – revenue to support capital improvements projects and ongoing debt obligations.

The District Benefit Assessment consists of one component levied on parcels one acre or less, namely (a) District General and Administrative, revenue to cover ongoing administrative expenses.

The District collects annual assessments in two installments.  The first installment is due on or before December 20th, and the second installment is due on or before June 20th of the following year.  The District will impose a penalty for delinquent (Unpaid) installments – a 10% penalty is attached to the first installment and a 5% penalty is attached to the second installment.  Over time interest will accrue on delinquent assessments remaining unpaid when recorded as a tax lien.

Benefit Assessment Rate

2026 Benefit Assessment Rates

(Per Acre)

$25.00 — District General and Administrative

$29.00 — Surface Water Supply

$41.00 — Capital Improvements Plan Projects

(One Acre or Less)

$67.00 — District General and Administrative

District General and Administrative Benefit

This component represents the benefit derived from the basic functioning of the District (i.e., being within an Irrigation District versus being outside an Irrigation District, even without a water allocation). The component is required by the District to perform the minimum responsibilities necessary to maintain a functioning District without water use. Basic function includes items such as conducting a number of board meetings each year, preparing the annual audit and financial statements, and performing accounting, management, and legal services to maintain a functioning district, assuming no water deliveries were made. It also includes the benefit of the District funding the Mid-Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency (MKGSA) and the implementation of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GPS) for compliance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Per MKGSA GSP in the Kaweah Subbasin, the landowners in the District have an estimated 0.82 AF/acre per year of groundwater sustainable yield.

Surface Water Supply Benefit

The Surface Water Benefit component represents revenue that covers the cost of water utilized in groundwater recharge activities. The District recharges groundwater through means of its unlined canals and recharge basins.

The Surface Water Supply Benefit represents half (50%) of the average annual costs associated with surface water supply shift from the volumetric water rate, where they have typically been paid, to the land-based assessment to better handle these costs. The proposed $35.00 per acre for the surface water supply is anticipated to garner a benefit of 1.15 AF per acre. This derived by the average annual amount of water supply recharged either in dedicated recharge basins or channel seepage applied the assessed acreage greater than one (1) acre (74,700 AF / 64,980 Acres assessed = 1.15 AF/acre).

In-addition to the Surface Water Supply Benefit, District’s Waterusers/Growers, when District water is available to purchase, have the ability to purchase surface water at a per acre-foot charge. The current maximum rate set by the Board of Director for surface water from the District is $55 per acre-foot. The Surface Water Benefit Assessment does not impact or adjust the maximum water rate and it shall remain at $55 per acre-foot unless the District seeks to increase water rates further through a separate Prop 218 proceeding.

Capital Improvement Plan Project Benefit

The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Projects Benefits allows the District to fund various projects laid out below. The corresponding benefits from the Projects would be the anticipated return, primarily in the form of additional water supplies, which landowners will receive once the Projects are complete and operating. The CIP Projects namely include:

  • Friant-Kern Canal Fix
  • Installation of Monitoring Wells
  • Area 18 Pipeline
  • Liberty Railroad Pipeline
  • Area 11/12 Pipeline
  • Basin #3 Re-design
  • Creamline Basin Re-design
  • Johns and Kaweah River Siphon Design, Permitting, and Construction
  • City Pump Pipeline
  • Area 10 Pipeline
  • Area 7 Pipeline
  • Liberty Pipeline along Avenue 264
  • TIC Siphon Replacement
  • Main Intake Canal / North Branch Parshall Flumes
  • Crocker Cut Improvements
  • Seaborn Reservoir
  • McKay Point Reservoir
  • Annual Capital Replacements