CR 2004-138 Ordinanace Amending Section 703.05 Of the Hopkins City Code
September 7, 2004 Council Report 2004-138
. ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 703.05 OF THE HOPKINS CITY CODE,
DEFERRED ASSESSMENTS
Proposed Action
Staff recommends that the Council approve the following motion: Move to approve Ordinance 2004-931 for
first reading,
Approval of this motion will begin the process of amending section 703.05 of the Hopkins City Code in
order to remove the 1 O-year limit on deferred assessments.
Overview
Section 703.05 allows the City Council to defer special assessments for up to 10 years. This provision, which
was put into place in 1990, has been used a number of times to assist elderly homeowners with the costs of
special assessments. Historically the assessments have always been paid prior to the 1 a-year expiration.
Recently staff was approached by a resident whose 1 a-year deferment is expiring. The original special
assessment plus interest is now coming due. The effect of the deferment, in this case, has been to merely
increase the cost to the homeowner.
. Minnesota State Statutes allow cities to defer special assessments for persons 65 years of age or older or who
are retired by virtue of a permanent and total disability until one of the following occur:
(a) the death of the owner, provided that the spouse is otherwise not eligible for the benefit;
(b) the sale, transfer or subdivision of the property or any part thereof;
(c) if the property should for any reason lose its homestead status; or
(d) if for any reason the taxing authority deferring the payments shall determine that there would be no
hardship to require immediate or partial payment. I
Ordinance 2004-931 would remove the 10 year limitation and adopt the above reasons for ending the
deferment. It is staffs recommendation that this change be made applicable to those individuals who
currently have deferments.
Supporting Information
. Ordinance 2004-931
. Minnesota State Statute, Section 435
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James-A. Genelrie
. Assistant City Manager
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. CITY OF HOPKINS
Hennepin County, Minnesota
ORDINANCE 2004-931
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 703.05 OF THE HOPKINS CITY CODE
The City Council of the City of Hopkins does hereby ordain:
Section l. The Hopkins City Code, Section 703.05 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
703.05. Deferment of Payments. The City Council may In its
discretion defer payment of special assessments upon reques~ ter 0.
period of not more tho.n 10 yco.r:J for any homestead property owned by
a person 65 years of age or older or retired by virtue of a permanent
and total disability In either instance of which the City Council
determines it would be a hardship for said owners to make the
payments. Such deferment shall be based on the property owner
demonstrating he or she meets the following standards:
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l. The annual income of owners requesting a deferment lS found not
to exceed the sum of $29,400.00 as of January 1, 2004. This amount
adjusted -
shall subsequently be annually by the Consumer Price Index
. for the Twin City area;
2. Property owners, who have not attained age 65, but are retired
as a result of a permanent and total djsability c:Jt.:lblior,cd must
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establish such disabili-cy by evidence satisfactory to the City
Council;
Deferred assessments shall accrue simple interest during the
deferment period at the rate established for payment of asseC)::iments
at the time the assessment roll was adopted. The certification of
deferment shall be renewed annually by the owner during the term of
the deferment oo--t- and all required supporting documents or
information delivered to the City not later than September 30 of each
year. Upon failure to renew the deferment certification or upon
c}<::pi r.::l tion cf thc 10 ycor defermcnt period (a) the death of the
owner, provided that the surviving or successor owner is othervJlSe
not eligible for the deferment; (b) the sale, transfer o.c subdivision
of the property or any part thereof; (e) if the property should for
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any reason lose its homestead status ; or (d) if for any reason the
City shall determine that there would be no hardship to .cequlre
i:mnediate or partial payme~t; the deferment sha 11 terminate and the
City Clerk shall promptly certify to th~ County Auditor the amount of
the deferred assessment including lnterest to be inserted on the lax
rolls and c.:ollect ed In th8 period of time remaininq In the original
. assessment or in full if the property was sold or -[he _E~riod of. time
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for repayment of the original assessment has expired.
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. Section 2. The effective date of this ordindnce shall be the date of
pubJication.
First Reading: September 7, 2004
Second Reading: September 21, 2004
Date of Publication: September 30, 2004
Date Ordinance Takes Effect: September 30, 2004
Gene Maxwell, Mayor
ATTEST:
Terry Obermaier, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
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City Attorney Signature Date
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. Minnesota State Statutes
435.193 Hardship assessment deferral for seniors or retired disabled.
Notwithstanding the provisions of any Jaw to the contrary, any county, statutory or home rule
charter city, or town, making a special assessment may, at its discretion, defer the payment of
that assessment for any homestead property owned by a person 65 years of age or older or
retired by virtue of a permanent and total disability for whom it would be a hardship to make the
payments_ Any county, statutory or home rule charter city, or town electing to defer special
assessments shall adopt an ordinance or resolution establishing standards and guidelines for
determining the existence of a hardship and for determining the existence of a disability, but
nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the determination of hardship on the basis of
exceptional and unusual circumstances not covered by the standards and guidelines where the
determination is made in a nondiscriminatory manner and does not give the applicant an
unreasonable preference or advantage over other applicants.
HIST: 1974 c 206 s 7; 1976 c 195 s 3; 1981 c 80 s 1
435.194 Procedure to obtain deferred assessment.
. The homeowner shall make application for deferred payment of special assessments on forms
prescribed by the county auditor of the county in which the homestead is located. Where the
deferred assessment is granted, the auditor shall record a notice thereof with the county recorder
of said county which shall set forth the amount of the assessment. The taxing authority may
determine by ordinance or resolution the amount of interest, if any, on the deferred assessment
and this rate shall be recorded by the auditor along with and in the same manner as the amount
of the assessment.
HIST: 1974 c 206 s 8; 1976 c 181 s 2; 1976 c 195 s 4
435.195 Termination of right to deferred payment.
The option to defer the payment of special assessments shall terminate and all amounts
accumulated plus applicable interest, shall become due upon the occurrence of any of the
following events: (a) the death of the owner, provided that the spouse is otherwise not eligible for
the benefits hereunder; (b) the sale, transfer or subdivision of the property or any part thereof; (c)
if the property should for any reason lose its homestead status; or (d) if for any reason the taxing
authority deferring the payments shall determine that there would be no hardship to require
. immediate or partial payment.
HIST: 1974 c 206 s 9