How one man stopped Lake Elsinore from collecting taxes for a debt that was already paid off
Hundreds of Lake Elsinore residents have a sharp-eyed former city administrator to thank for taking a close look at his latest county property tax bill. Pat Kilroy, who worked for the city for 20 years and retired in 2014 as its lake, parks and recreation director, says he was quickly drawn to a line item on his Riverside County tax bill marked “CFD 90-2 Lake Elsinore.” Kilroy recognized the charge as a recurring Mello-Roos tax that Kilroy and other Tuscany Hills residents had been paying since 2007 to cover $7.3 million in bond debt for infrastructure improvements in their neighborhood. Kilroy reviewed the city’s annual report for Tuscany Hills and noticed that the special levy, called a Community Facilities District tax, had matured on Oct. 1, was paid off and showed a principal outstanding balance of zero. “I’m a retired administrator from this city. I knew this bond was maturing and I was looking forward to NOT paying $2,000 every year,” said Kilroy, 66. Pat Kilroy, a resident of the Tuscany Hills neighborhood in Lake Elsinore, looks at his tax documents on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, showing the