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• s WS — Item 7 WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT Work Session Item 7 Date: February 6, 2012 To: City Council From: Michael Grochala Re: Senior Special Assessment Deferral Background The City has received an application for a Senior Citizen Special Assessment deferral for homestead property located at 6910 Otter Lake Road. The property is the site of Otter Lake RV Sales and Storage. The property does have an existing home on the site. The site is classified for tax purposes as both residential homestead and commercial. The owner does not live on the site. The total assessment levied on the parcel is $11,987. Minnesota Statutes 435.193 provides the city with the authority to defer an assessment for any homestead property owned by a person 65 years of age or older or retired by virtue of a permanent disability for whom it would be a hardship to make the payments. City Code, Section 303.10 provides for the deferment in accordance with state law and provides specific criteria in addition to the state law requirements. These criteria include: 1. Applicant is 65 or older; 2. The applicant and any other owner that resides therein shall not have an adjusted gross income in excess of Section 8, low income limits in effect. For 2012 this limit is $52,000 for a two family household. 3. The applicant or other owner that resides therein shall not have gross assets in excess of $50,000 (excluding the homestead property). T 4. The assessor's market value of the homestead parcel shall not exceed $60,000. The applicant did not submit any information related to item number 2. Additionally, the applicant does not meet the requirements of items 3 and 4. The assessor's value of the non homestead portion of this property is $352,300. The assessor's market value of the homestead parcel is $349,300. However, the ordinance does specify that the assessed and market value limitation may be adjusted by the council on an annual basis. It does not appear that these items have been adjusted since the adoption of the ordinance in 1990. It should also be noted that City Code does not prohibit the council from making a determination of hardship on the basis of exceptional or unusual circumstances not covered by these standards provided such determination is not discriminatory and does not provide an advantage over other