A useful Brentwood ownership budget begins with the parcel’s bill lines, association documents and utility account. A neighborhood label cannot tell you which charges apply. Two current public tax bills provide a concrete demonstration: 633 Third Street and 717 Dainty Avenue have different annual totals and different special-assessment entries. Neither bill tells a future buyer’s complete carrying cost. The Brentwood guide supplies the broader property context; this article follows the sources behind the budget.
The comparison below uses the County’s actual current-year accessible bills, checked October 26, 2026. These are original annual secured bills with assessment information as of January 1, 2026. Owner identity and payment status are not reproduced. The figures describe those bills, not current market values, a proposed purchase assessment or the legal completion of any improvement. That boundary makes them useful examples without turning them into a misleading forecast.
Read the tax bill in two parts
The 633 Third Street bill, number 2026-017305, shows $6,642.60 in ad valorem taxes and $229.06 in special taxes and assessments, totaling $6,871.66 annually. The special-charge section contains five lines: mosquito and vector, emergency medical B, East County landscape and lighting, the Bay restoration parcel tax and Brentwood park maintenance. Their individual amounts add to the published $229.06 subtotal.
The 717 Dainty Avenue bill, number 2026-021872, shows $10,270.56 in ad valorem taxes and $351.04 in special taxes and assessments, totaling $10,621.60. Its special-charge section includes the same five lines plus “ECCFPD CFD 2020-1,” code PJ, for $121.98. That additional named line accounts for the difference between the two special-assessment subtotals. The larger difference between the annual totals also includes different ad valorem amounts.
This is why a comparison should preserve each bill’s components. A buyer who calls the entire difference an HOA fee would misunderstand both bills. A buyer who assumes the extra CFD line appears on every Brentwood house would also overreach. Use the actual parcel number, fiscal period and levy name. For questions about a particular line, follow the administering agency identified on the bill and obtain the applicable current explanation rather than transferring a neighbor’s amount.
| Annual bill component | 633 Third Street | 717 Dainty Avenue |
|---|---|---|
| Public source / parcel | Bill 2026-017305; APN 013-120-003-2 | Bill 2026-021872; APN 017-150-066-3 |
| Ad valorem | $6,642.60 | $10,270.56 |
| Special taxes / assessments | $229.06 | $351.04, including $121.98 ECCFPD CFD 2020-1 |
| Published annual total | $6,871.66 | $10,621.60 |
| Annual total divided by 12 | $572.64 for monthly planning | $885.13 for monthly planning |
| Still needed for a household budget | Future assessment estimate; any separate supplemental bills; actual association packet; utility account and use; insurance quote; inspections and maintenance scope. | |
| Assumed City account input | Monthly | Annualized |
|---|---|---|
| 5/8- or 3/4-inch meter; 5 water units | $32.45 base + 5 × $3.67 = $50.80 | $609.60 water only |
| Same meter; 16 water units | $32.45 + 5 × $3.67 + 9 × $7.60 + 2 × $9.61 = $138.42 | $1,661.04 water only |
| Lateral maintenance, separately | $4.34 | $52.08 |
| 32-gallon or 64-gallon garbage cart, separately | $37.98 or $52.31 | $455.76 or $627.72 |
One water unit is 1,000 gallons. Source: City rates effective July 1, 2026. Sewer usage, other services, drought charges, insurance, HOA charges and maintenance are excluded from the water totals. Monthly tax smoothing is not the installment schedule.
Keep future taxes and older district reports distinct
Both example bills identify tax rate area 10011 and a combined ad valorem rate of 1.1071. Their January 1 net taxable values differ: $600,000 at Third Street and $927,701 at Dainty Avenue. That explains why comparing only the percentage misses much of the current annual difference. These assessed figures should stay in the tax column; they are not estimates of what either home would sell for or evidence of the value of its ADU project.
The five common direct rows are $11.88, $10.00, $19.70, $12.00 and $175.48. The last amount is the line labeled Brentwood park maintenance. Keeping those descriptions beside their amounts lets you ask the right administrator about a charge rather than treating the subtotal as an unexplained surcharge. Preserve the code as well as the name when transferring a bill into a worksheet. A similar description on another parcel does not establish an identical current charge.
The County explains that supplemental property taxes can generate separate bills associated with ownership changes or new construction. A buyer should therefore request an appropriate estimate for the proposed transaction and ask how separate bills fit the first-year cash plan. Dividing the seller’s annual bill by twelve is useful for understanding that bill; it does not determine the buyer’s future assessment or eliminate a later supplemental obligation.
Brentwood’s combined CFD report index supplies historical district information. The newest report listed when checked was fiscal year 2024/25. That date should stay attached to it. The current Dainty bill’s ECCFPD line should not be conflated with an amount in an older City district report merely because both contain the letters CFD. Match the agency, district, parcel and current levy before carrying a number into a purchase budget.
Use the actual association packet
Association costs require their own evidence. The Trilogy at the Vineyards club operator states that owners belong to the HOA and Club Los Meganos forms part of the association. That establishes a relationship worth investigating, but the operator page does not supply current dues, reserves or insurance. No current private association packet was obtained for either public-bill example, and no HOA amount is assigned to them here.
For a candidate with an association, separate the regular assessment from optional services, approved special assessments and unresolved capital needs described in the actual documents. Identify which building or site components the association maintains and which remain the owner’s responsibility. Compare that allocation with the reserve study and the insurance documents. Two identical monthly dues figures can support very different obligations when one covers substantial shared work and the other leaves that work to the individual owner.
Model City utilities using the correct unit
Brentwood’s current rate page uses monthly billing and defines one water unit as 1,000 gallons. The example water model assumes a 5/8- or 3/4-inch meter and compares five units with sixteen units. It applies each tier only to the consumption within that tier. At the published July 2026 rates, those assumptions produce $50.80 and $138.42 monthly for water, an annual difference of $1,051.44 if the same use repeats every month.
Those profiles are illustrations, not observations of either property. Actual meter size, consumption and cart selection need the account records. Sewer usage is separate: the City publishes a $20.72 minimum through a $74.90 maximum and describes a citywide-average basis for new owners. The applicable amount requires confirmation. The page also lists a drought surcharge tied to a declared reduction condition; this model does not assume that condition is active. Keep these omissions visible instead of calling the water-only figure a utility total.
Budget maintenance and insurance from different evidence
Put cash timing in a separate column. The annual tax totals can be smoothed to $572.64 and $885.13 per month for comparison, but the actual tax payment schedule is separate. Association assessments, utility bills and a construction deposit may fall on different dates. If a lender collects an impound amount, reconcile its treatment of taxes and insurance with the household worksheet so the same expense is not included once through the mortgage estimate and again as an independent annual cost.
For an unfinished improvement, distinguish money needed to finish the project from money reserved to maintain it after completion. Request a defined remaining-work scope, the supporting approval status and bids tied to that scope. For completed work, preserve the relevant completion evidence and use an inspection to identify current maintenance needs. This keeps an uncertain construction obligation from disappearing inside a generic annual reserve figure and helps the buyer compare an unfinished opportunity with a property delivered ready for the intended use.
A tax line does not fund every part of a property’s upkeep. Use an inspection to identify present work, then obtain scoped bids for immediate repairs and longer-term replacements. Keep a one-time project outside the recurring-service subtotal until you decide how to fund it. The City’s register contains ADU work at both example addresses, but it does not establish that either project is complete, determine remaining construction cost or justify a universal maintenance allowance.
Insurance also needs an address-specific proposal. The California Department of Insurance guide explains why replacement cost and land or purchase value differ. Obtain the appropriate quote for the actual building, improvements and use; no premium is invented here. Bring the completed ledger into the financing discussion, with wider local context in the Contra Costa County guide. A useful budget shows the source and date beside each figure and leaves genuinely unknown inputs open for resolution.
