Same Price, Different Tax Bill: How Marana's Community Facilities Districts Work

On June 16, 2026, two boards met minutes apart in Marana and approved budgets for districts that both carry the Gladden Farms name. The Gladden Farms Community Facilities District cut its tax rate by 35 cents per $100 of assessed value, to $2.20. The Gladden Farms Phase II district kept its rate at $2.80. Of that, $2.50 pays debt service.

Each board's vote was 6-0. Each one moved in its own direction, and the reason is the most useful thing a Marana buyer can learn about these districts. A CFD tax goes up and down with how much the district is still borrowing. Whether a home is in a CFD tells you only so much. What matters more is where that district sits in its debt cycle.

Where this year's rates landed

Pima County's adopted levy table for fiscal year 2027, which is the 2026 tax levy, lists four Marana CFDs side by side with last year's figures.

All rates are per $100 of net assessed value.

Three of the four districts sit at the same $2.80 they charged last year. The newest proposal in town asks for that same $2.80. That's the Cascada CFD, tied to a D.R. Horton-optioned plan of about 3,100 homes on roughly 624 acres. Gladden Farms is the only district whose rate dropped.

The Town has no primary property tax. Its fiscal 2027 budget lists a secondary property tax levy of $3,727,795 and describes "four special assessment districts for which secondary property taxes are levied." Add up the four district levies in the county table and you get that exact figure. So inside Marana, CFD boundaries largely decide whether a Town-related secondary property tax shows up on a bill.

Why one rate fell while the others held

The Gladden Farms numbers show how this works. Between the 2025 and 2026 levies, the district's net assessed value grew from about $42.2 million to about $45.4 million. Over the same stretch, the amount it needed for debt service fell from $950,559 to $863,105. A smaller bond payment spread over a larger tax base means a lower rate, and the debt-service portion dropped from $2.25 to $1.90. The Town's finance director told the board the budget stayed just under $2.4 million "with no new debt."

Gladden Farms Phase II went the other way. Its assessed value climbed from about $36.4 million to about $44.6 million, and its total levy rose from $1,018,030 to $1,250,099. The rate stayed put. In a district still building, new homes on the tax rolls let the district carry more debt at the same rate. They don't bring the rate down. Mandarina makes the point even more clearly. Its assessed value nearly doubled, from about $2.4 million to about $4.8 million, and its rate held at $2.80.

That growth is what pays for the build-out. The Phase II budget includes $6.35 million in capacity for acquiring eligible public infrastructure. Cascada's own application spells out the same logic in its bonding table. Projected bond capacity grows from $1,315,000 in 2028 to $39,625,000 in 2040 as assessed value builds, all at a constant $2.50 debt-service rate.

The September vote that reset the clock

On September 1, 2026, the Gladden Farms Phase II board adopted Resolution GFCFD2 2026-04. It authorizes Series 2026 general obligation bonds of no more than $5.6 million. The district's chief financial officer will set the final schedule, and no maturity can run later than July 15, 2051. The feasibility report expected the sale to happen in October 2026 and described the final maturity as approximately 25 years.

That vote matters for anyone buying in the district this fall. The Town describes CFD bond payment lives as approximately 20 to 25 years. Each new bond series starts its own countdown. So in a district still issuing debt, the levy's end date keeps moving further out. Five-year-old bonds and brand-new bonds can share one rate on this year's tax bill and still mean very different things for the next two decades.

There's one more detail from the June meeting that rarely makes it into a buyer guide. A board member asked who would cover bond payments if development moved more slowly than projected. The finance director said that for Gladden Farms, a standby contribution agreement requires the developer to make up any shortfall in the debt service payment. He also said the answer in general "depends on the circumstances and the development agreement." That makes each district's development agreement part of its story.

What the gap looks like on one home

Cascada's application includes an example that shows the scale. It assumes a $435,000 home, a net limited assessed value at 80 percent of the sale price, and the requested $2.80 rate. On those assumptions, the district's share of the property tax bill comes to about $974.40 a year, or $81.20 a month. Cascada's levy is still a proposal, and the application forecasts first home sales in fiscal 2028. The math holds for any district, though:

1. At $2.80, which is the current rate for Gladden Farms Phase II, Saguaro Springs and Mandarina, the example home pays about $974 a year.
2. At Gladden Farms' $2.20, the same assumptions come to about $766 a year.
3. That's a difference of roughly $209 a year on one home price. It grows or shrinks with assessed value, and it changes whenever either district's rate changes.

For context on price, the Multiple Listing Service of Southern Arizona reported a $485,000 median sale price and 33 median days on market for its Northwest region in September 2026. That region is much larger than Marana.

A couple hundred dollars a year isn't what makes the rate gap important. Over decades, it adds up. Two homes listed at the same price, one in a district paying down old debt and one in a district still issuing new bonds, come with different long-term costs that no listing price shows.

Where a district shows up during a purchase

The disclosure path depends on whether you're the first owner or buying a resale.

• New construction. Under A.R.S. §32-2181(A)(14), the subdivider's notice must include a true statement or reasonable estimate of debt that a special taxing or assessment district has incurred or proposed for improvements, where repayment comes through ad valorem tax, assessment or special tax. A.R.S. §32-2183(A) puts that information in the public report, which goes to the initial buyer before they sign an offer.
• Resale. The Arizona REALTORS® August 2024 resale purchase contract says "the amount of any assessment lien or bond including those charged by a special taxing district, such as a Community Facilities District, shall be prorated as of COE."
• The tax statement. The Arizona Department of Real Estate's Buyer Advisory says the detailed property tax statement shows the current amount due to the CFD. It also says a member can request disclosures from the district's governing board, including the amount remaining and the number of payments left.
• The address check. The Town's Special Districts page has an address lookup that returns Facility District and Improvement District information for a Marana property. It also posts boundary maps for Gladden Farms, Gladden Farms Phase II, Saguaro Springs and Mandarina.

The Town separates two kinds of financing. CFD general obligation bonds are repaid through property taxes. District special-assessment lien bonds are repaid through semiannual assessment payments. Tangerine Farms is an Improvement District, not a CFD, and its charges apply only inside its own boundary. That's why the address lookup reports the two categories separately.

A few distinct questions

Where are these districts? The Phase II feasibility report puts that district at about 633 acres, generally west of I-10 between Moore Road and Tangerine Road. Mandarina covers about 342.3 acres. Town Council minutes place Mandarina Blocks 14 through 20 north of Tangerine Road and east of I-10. For Saguaro Springs and the original Gladden Farms district, the Town's posted boundary maps and its address lookup are the clearest way to confirm whether a specific parcel is inside.

Is this year's rate permanent? No. Each board adopts its rate every year with the budget. The county table shows Gladden Farms changing from one year to the next.

Who builds in Mandarina? The formation petition names Mandarina Holdings, Lennar Arizona, Meritage Homes of Arizona and KB Home Tucson among the petitioners and owners.

If you're comparing homes in Gladden Farms, Saguaro Springs, Mandarina or a non-district part of Marana, Lorenia Ruiz and the AZ Power Team can pull each property's district status, current levy and recent board actions, in English or Spanish, so the comparison reflects the long-term cost along with the list price. Schedule a complimentary consultation and bring the addresses you're weighing.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.