HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-003 Council OrdinancesCITY OF LINO LAKES
COUNTY OF ANOKA
STATE OF MINNESOTA
Ordinance No. 03-86
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE LINO LAKES CITY CODE BY DELETING SECTION
401.31, DEPOSIT
The City Council of the City of Lino Lakes, Anoka County, Minnesota
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Section Deposit Section 401.31 of the Lino Lakes City Code is
hereby deleted.
does ordain:
Section 2. Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall be effective thirty (30) days after
• its publication as required by City Charter.
Passed by the Council of the City of Lino Lakes this 47 day of
} , 1986.
ATTEST:
Marilyn G. Anderson, Clerk -Treasurer
enjamin G.
enson, Mayor
DATE April 22, 1986
TO Honorable Mayor Benson and City Council Members
FROM Marilyn G. Anderson, Clerk -Treasurer
SUBJECT: Municipal Water System Deposits
Attached you will find Mr. Hawkins opinion on the legality of
the water deposits the City presently requires of all new re-
sidents on the City water system.
As I have told Mr. Hawkins, the new computer system cannot acc-
ount for the deposits. Although I am sure we will not have an
accounting problem I am asking the Council to remove this sect -
tion from the City Code and as each homeowner moves from his
current residence the staff will return the deposit. Event-
ually all these deposits will be returned and we will not have
to account for them.
There are two reasons I make this request. First, the amount
of the deposit, $35.00, rarely covers one quarters charges let
alone six months charges. The second reason is that in October
of each year I certify to the County all past due accounts. I
have always collected past due accounts in this manner. This
also makes bookkeeping simplier.
I have never had a problem returning the $35.00 deposit by re-
ducing the final bill by that amount. I have never returned
any interest. I would ask for your opinion as to whether or
not I should be returning interest as well.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
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LAW OFFICES OF
Burke and }Hawkins
SUITE 101
JOHN M. BURKE
WILLIAM G. HAWKINS
BARRY M. ROBINSON
April 18, 1986
Marilyn Anderson, Clerk
Lino Lakes City Hall
1189 Main Street
Lino Lakes, MN 55014
299 COON RAPIDS BOULEVARD
COON RAPIDS, MINNESOTA 55433
PHONE (6121784-2998
Re: Municipal Water System Deposits
Dear Marilyn:
This letter is written in response to your request for my
opinion on the requirement the City pay interest on water
deposits that it has collected pursuant to City Code.
Minnesota Statute 325E.02 requires that any publicly owned water
company must pay interest on deposits in excess of $20.00 at the
rate of 6% a year. This interest must be paid at least annually
by direct payment or as a credit on bills. Upon termination of
service will all bills paid, the deposit must be returned within
45 days.
There is a question under this statute as to whether or not a
city is deemed a publicly owned company. It is my belief that
the intent of the law was to require a municipality to pay
interest on such security deposits. Accordingly the City should
pay interest as required by statute to avoid claim for violation
of the statute or discontinue collecting these charges.
illiam G. Hawkins
WGH:mk
•
DATE • April 8, 1986
TO Bill Hawkins, City Attorney
FROM Marilyn G. Anderson, Clerk -Treasurer
SUBJECT: Page 69, City Code Book
401.31 Deposit. Each user shall pay to the city a dep-
osit, before connecting to the municipal water system,
of a sum of $35.00, or a sum equal to 6 months of ant-
icipated water usage, whichever is larger. Such sum
shall be returned to such user upon his discontinuance
of municipal water service if the user's obligation for
water service has been met; if a balance remains owing,
such sum shall, after 30 days after such discontinuance,
be applied to such obligation.
Would you please review this section of the City Code. I believe
it is now illegal for the City to hold these deposits without pay-
ing interest. A number of municipal water users have questioned
the staff on this matter. We have said we would ask the City Att-
orney for his opinion. We now hold deposits for about eighty re-
sidents.
We now have all the utility statements on our computer. However,
the computer program is unable to handle these $35.00 deposits.
I would like to see this section of the City Code eliminated since
$35.00 rarely covers one quarter of service, let alone six months.
In addition I would like to return the deposits without interest
if possible when the current owner moves from the residence. Ev-
entually we will not have to account for any of these deposits.
Would you please address this issue at the April 28, 1986 Council
meeting. Please address the legality of these deposits, whether
they should earn interest and any problems involved in returning
the deposits. I should have your written response by April 22, 1986
so that I can include it in the Council packets.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
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