Two homes can both have a Ukiah mailing address and sit on opposite sides of the city limit. On August 31, 2026, the City of Ukiah's Annexation Ad Hoc Committee suspended its annexation initiative and said it would not keep revising the draft. That means the boundary between the city and unincorporated Millview, Willow and the Brush Street area stays where it has been.
The two-year fight left something useful behind. To answer residents' questions, the city published a plain-language FAQ. It lists what annexation would have changed for a homeowner and what it would not have touched. Read today, that FAQ works as a guide to what the current line controls. Very little of the monthly cost of owning a home follows the city limit. Water, sewer and electricity each follow their own maps.
The Map That Was Shelved
The proposal changed shape several times. In April 2025, the City Council authorized staff to pursue annexing Willow to the south and part of Millview to the north. The Mendocino Voice described a footprint that would have roughly doubled the city's area. In April 2026, the city swapped that larger "Valley Oak" option for a smaller one called "Sapling," the Ukiah Daily Journal reported. A revised Sapling 2.0 map released August 3, 2026 added about 70 acres at the Brush Street Triangle at property owners' request. It also removed about 15 acres still under Williamson Act contract to the south.
On August 25, the Ukiah Planning Commission voted 4–1 against recommending the pre-zoning step the process required, the Ukiah Daily Journal reported. The city's announcement came less than a week later. In its August 31 release, City Manager Sage Sangiacomo said "the regional service and infrastructure pressures that prompted this discussion have not gone away."
So for anyone shopping in the Ukiah Valley this fall, the line stays put for now. The city's own list shows what that line does and does not decide.
What Follows the City Limit, and What Doesn't
According to the city's annexation FAQ, annexed areas would have received city police protection, street maintenance and code enforcement. Property owners would have kept the same 1% general property tax rate. The FAQ also says the electric provider would not have changed, and that water and sewer would have stayed with whichever agency already serves each property. Put together, the list looks like this.
| Item | What decides it | 2026 detail |
|---|---|---|
| Sales tax at local retailers | City limit | 8.875% in Ukiah, 7.875% in unincorporated Mendocino County, effective October 1, 2026 |
| Police and code enforcement | City limit | City police inside, county outside |
| Street maintenance | City limit | City streets inside, county roads outside |
| Voting in City elections | City limit | City residents only |
| General property tax rate | Neither; it is 1% on both sides | Only the split between county and city changes |
| Water | Ukiah Valley Water Authority footprint | Separate rate schedules for city and district customers |
| Sewer | Existing provider, City of Ukiah or Ukiah Valley Sanitation District | Stays with whichever serves the parcel |
| Electricity | Existing service territory | City electric utility or PG&E |
The one-point sales tax gap comes from two city measures. Measure P is a half-percent for public safety and Measure Y is a half-percent for streets. The FAQ points out that most valley residents already pay both when they shop at city retailers such as Costco, Walmart and Friedman's. The tax applies where you shop, not where you live, so it hardly separates two homes on opposite sides of Brush Street.
Property tax works the same way. At a June 2025 town hall covered by The Mendocino Voice, Sangiacomo explained that the county receives 28.73% of property taxes collected and the city receives 9.38%. Annexation would have shifted some of that split over time. It would not have changed the homeowner's 1% rate.
The city limit mostly decides who provides services and who sets local policy. The costs that recur every month come from somewhere else.
Water Already Crossed the Line
Water is the clearest case. The city says the Ukiah Valley Water Authority already serves the whole proposed annexation area. Its consolidation of the City of Ukiah's water system with the Millview, Redwood Valley, Calpella and Willow water agencies was already underway before annexation came up.
A shared authority does not mean shared rates. City water customers pay $4.43 per CCF of usage, plus a fixed monthly charge of $54.38 for a ¾-inch meter. Those rates took effect March 1, 2026. Millview's schedule, also effective March 1, 2026, charges $18.08 a month for a 5/8-inch meter and $3.94 per thousand gallons. The meter sizes and billing units differ, so the two schedules can't be compared line by line. Comparing two homes means getting each property's actual water bills. At the 2025 town hall, the city's water and sewer director said the authority's member utilities were working toward a standardized rate across the footprint over roughly the next ten years.
Sewer Carries the Seller's Winter Into Your Summer
Sewer is where a buyer can be caught off guard. Depending on the parcel, the provider is either the City of Ukiah or the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District, and annexation would not have changed that. UVSD bills residential customers a fixed monthly base charge plus a use-based charge. The use-based part is calculated from the property's average water use from January through March and applies starting in July.
This affects anyone closing on a UVSD-served home in the spring. Your sewer charge for the coming year may be based on the previous owner's winter water use. A household of a different size, or a property that sat vacant for part of the winter, could produce a charge that doesn't match how you will use the home. The same city FAQ notes that annexation would never have required owners on a private well or septic system to connect to public water or sewer. Parcels at the valley's edge can be on public water with a private septic system, or the other way around. Our rural property guide for Mendocino County and our post on what slows down a sale with a well and septic system cover what those systems require in a transaction.
Electricity Has Its Own Map
The City of Ukiah runs its own electric utility. Its standard residential schedule for January 1, 2026 lists energy charges of 25.790¢ per kWh below baseline and 33.804¢ at or above baseline. The monthly fixed charge is $6.32, $10.47 or $19.76 depending on usage band. The city also adds a power cost surcharge per kWh. It is recalculated quarterly and can be positive or negative, so the published schedule is not the full bill.
PG&E's residential pricing sheet, effective March 1, 2026, rounds its tiers to 33¢ per kWh up to baseline and 41¢ above it. PG&E notes that these figures exclude local taxes and surcharges. Starting March 2026, most PG&E residential customers also pay a $24 monthly Base Services Charge. Many unincorporated homes add a third party. A 2024 Ukiah Daily Journal explainer described Sonoma Clean Power as the default generation provider in unincorporated Mendocino County, with PG&E delivering the power. Sonoma Clean Power's residential schedule effective September 1, 2026 lists its CleanStart generation rate at $0.08099 per kWh, and PG&E bills delivery separately.
The key point is what annexation would not have done. At the 2025 town hall, the city's water and sewer director said that PG&E customers in annexed areas would stay with PG&E. Those areas might "theoretically, at some point, have the opportunity to be served by the city." Moving the city line would not have changed anyone's power company. Keeping the line where it is doesn't settle which utility serves a particular house either. That depends on the service territory.
Why the Line Could Come Up Again
The city's release ended the current proposal, not the conversation. On June 23, 2026, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted 4–1 to table a proposed termination of the Master Tax Sharing Agreement. It directed a joint county-city meeting and an independent fiscal review instead, The Mendocino Voice reported. In a September column in The Mendocino Voice, Third District Supervisor John Haschak wrote that "infrastructure in the Ukiah Valley needs to be modernized and sustainable economic development needs to happen."
The county's own fix for unincorporated roads has stalled. A proposed 1% sales tax for roads in the unincorporated county failed in July to get the four Board votes it needed. It is not among the measures on the November 3 ballot, according to The Mendocino Voice. In an October candidate Q&A, several Ukiah City Council candidates discussed what they would do differently, including earlier collaboration and clearer fiscal information.
For a buyer, the services tied to the city limit are the ones still being debated. The utilities are already on their own path through regional consolidation.
Checks Worth Making Before an Offer
- Look up who provides the property's electricity. Don't assume it from the mailing address, and ask for a year of bills, including the power cost surcharge or generation charges.
- Confirm whether sewer service comes from the City of Ukiah or UVSD. If it's UVSD, find out how the January through March usage was set.
- Get the water bills, and check whether the property is on public water, a well, or a mix.
- Confirm whether the street is maintained by the city or the county. According to The Mendocino Voice, City staff discussed State, Brush, South Dora, Laws and Tedford among the roads the annexation plan involved.
If you're comparing parcels farther north, our Redwood Valley page and our Ukiah buyer overview are good next reads.
A Few Quick Answers
Would my property taxes have gone up with annexation? According to the city, no. The general rate stays 1% either way. Only the share that goes to the county versus the city would have changed.
Is annexation permanently off? The August 31 release ended the current proposal. It didn't set a date to revisit annexation, and no new map has been published.
Does an unincorporated address mean PG&E? Usually it does, but confirm by address. City staff said existing PG&E customers would have stayed with PG&E even if annexed.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm the tax and utility details for a specific property with the agency or professional responsible for them.
If you're weighing a home near the Ukiah city limit and want help confirming the electric, sewer, water and road details for that exact parcel before you write an offer, Steve Bowne can help you check each one. Let's Connect.
