04-14-2021 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Keis and Members of City Council FROM: Chris Heineman, City Administrator Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director Bill Dircks, Public Works Director DATE: April 14, 2021 RE: Assessment Policy Revisions The City last updated its assessment policy in 1995. A base rate was set at that time and the new rate is calculated using the Consumer Price Index each year. There have also been some questions regarding the application of the policy during the past couple of years so staff has decided it is a good time to take a close look at the policy and update it to fit the current best practices in the area. A number of changes/edits are proposed and the highlights are as follows: • The proposed updated policy removes a number of unnecessary definitions of street types as well as the entire section regarding street construction standards. The standards do not need to be published with the policy as they are addressed and updated each year. • The numbering in the basis of assessment section was eliminated in favor of bullets so that it does not appear that the City applies the different methods in any particular order. The “per lot” assessment method was moved up in the list and language was added to describe when it is most often used. • There was no language in the policy addressing sanitary sewer and water main assessments. This language will make it easier to assess for these improvements in future projects. • The existing policy states that the City bears the entire cost of storm sewer improvements. Staff has reviewed numerous policies from other cities and determined that this language should be removed and storm sewer costs should be assessable as it is necessary to serve the roadway. As an example, the 2020 Allen Avenue project had $66,500 in storm sewer costs. If those costs would have been assessed at 50% like the street repairs were each property would have been assessed an additional $300 raising the total assessment from $2400 to $2700. • Staff is recommending that the Assessment Policy include a benefits appraisal for each street during the feasibility study so that the estimated increase in value is known prior to the public hearing. The City of Maplewood has used this practice for ten years and it has been a very good tool for them to have when speaking with property owners. It also allows the City to check its assessment rate each year to make sure it is in the ballpark with the expected property value increase and also not too high. A representative from Maplewood said they pay between $5000