Agenda - Council Work Session - 11/10/2015

Home

CC Work Session Meeting Date: 11/10/2015 2. 3. Information Title: Review Special Assessments Policy Purpose/Background: Purpose: The purpose of this case is to review the Special Assessments Policy and discuss whether modifications are warranted based on the first year's application of the policy to applicable 2015 City Improvement Projects. Background: At the conclusion of the Assessment Hearings for the 2015 street improvement projects, the City Council requested a meeting with Staff to review the contents and implementation of the Special Assessments Policy. Policy Development Attached is the Special Assessments Policy (Policy) adopted by the City Council on December 9, 2014 and amended on January 13, 2015 (Amended Section 6 to reflect accurate rate of interest). The Policy was developed and implemented to help offset a portion of the costs associated with overlaying and reconstructing the 176 -plus miles of existing City streets. The following chronology outlines the development process that was followed prior to adoption and implementation of the Policy. May 20, 2014 - Public Works Committee directs City Staff to develop a Special Assessments Policy to establish the City's process for levying special assessments against properties benefiting from Improvement Projects including street reconstruction projects. As was also discussed, even if special assessments are not utilized to fund street improvement projects, it would be advantageous for the City to have an adopted Special Assessments Policy. June 25, 2014 - Charter Commission amends Section 8.4.5 of the City Charter by increasing the percentage of property owners required to petition against City Council initiated public improvements utilizing special assessments as a funding source from greater than 50% to at least 60%. While this action will make it slightly more difficult for property owners to petition against Council initiated improvements utilizing special assessments for partial funding, it still will not prevent petitions from occurring. August 14, 2014 - Public Works Committee reviews the first draft of the Special Assessments Policy, which was developed using the model Special Assessments Policy by Ehlers and Associates, Inc. as posted on the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) web site. A copy of this model policy is attached for reference. Since two voting members were absent, Staff was directed to bring the draft Policy back for review again at a later date. The Committee did however provide several comments including that all applicable MSA funds must first be applied to the City's share of the project costs, that no conflicts can exist between the Policy and the City Charter, and that the Policy should provide as much flexibility as possible in considering existing property sizes, shapes, development status (developed vs. undeveloped), etc. when levying assessments. September 16, 2014 - Public Works Committee reviews the draft Special Assessments Policy and directs Staff to revise the draft Policy incorporating proposed assessment percentages and by using Staff's proposed recommendations for assessment methods. Staff was then directed to bring the draft Policy to a future City Council Work Session for review and input from the full Council. October 14, 2014 - City Council reviews the draft Special Assessments Policy at work session and provides additional comments for incorporation into the draft policy for consideration at a future work session.