Will changing the name of the city result in individual costs to the residents?

In a word, No.

There has been some conversation about the potential costs to individual residents when the name of the city is changed. Some seem obsessed with the idea that every legal document will have to be changed and notarized at a huge cost to people. It's simply not so.

For the average resident, who has bank accounts for checking, savings, and credit cards, the bank goes by the account number on each specific account. The bank mails bills to you, which the Post Office delivers by street name, number, and zip code. Changing the name of the city won't *require* any changes to these accounts. You'll still get your bills, and mail in your payments. (If you want to order new checks, the process is the same as if you moved to a new address across town, You don't have to get new checks, the old ones are still good because the bank goes by the routing and account numbers, which won't change.)

Your drivers license and passport, if you have one, will automatically be updated the next time it's renewed. The CDL won't cost you anything. The Passport renewal will cost you money, but that is true regardless of the new city name. For both, in the meantime, you can simply put the new city name in, just as you'd do if you moved to a new home.

If you own property in Fort Bragg, every year the County Assessor sends you an envelope (which the US Post Office delivers by Street Name, Number, and Zip Code!) that contains a tax bill statement, two payment coupons, and two printed payment envelopes. One is due in November of the year, and the second is due in April of the next year. The coupons specify a Parcel Number which is unique for each property. When you write your check to pay the taxes, you write your Parcel Number on it, enclose it with the coupon (which already has the printed parcel number on it, add a stamp and mail it off to Ukiah.

When the name of the city is changed, the Parcel Numbers, the Lot Numbers and Block numbers assigned by the County Recorder will *not* change. Nothing has to be notarized. You'll still get your tax bill every year with its enclosed coupons. And you'll still pay it the same way -- by the parcel number.

When you buy or sell a property, it's by the Parcel Number, Lot number and Block number on the County Recorder's map. The realtor and the title company handling the deal will do all the paperwork which is necessary regardless of any name change for the city. The bank/lender will also be quite specific about the parcel, lot and block numbers from the Recorders office. Those numbers, and the street name and number, and the zip code, are what everybody will go by.

This silliness about excessive burdens to individuals in the form of notarization costs is just that, silliness.