Agenda Packets - 2003/09/02 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 EXHIBIT A Assessment Policy To finance a neighborhood street major maintenance project most cities rely on assessment of the benefited properties to finance a portion of the project. However, there are State Law requirements that govern various aspects of assigning assessments: • The amount of assessment assigned to a particular property cannot exceed the increase value that property receives as a result of the street major maintenance project (or any public improvement project). • All properties that have the same land use zone are assigned assessments using the same methodology. • The amount of the assessment assigned to a particular property cannot be based on the value of that property. Given these guidelines, cities are then left to develop their own methodology and policies of assigning assessments. These often vary greatly depending on the rationale they elect to use. The City of Mounds View‘s current assessment policy as it relates to this project would require that the amount of the assessment for a particular property be based on a front foot basis. Other methods used by cities include: based on the area of the benefited property, based partially on frontage footage and partly on the area of the benefited property, based on the square footage of the primary structure on that property, etc. In many cases, after the methodology is selected, many cities then reduce the amount of the assessment by only applying a percentage of the total project cost. In Mounds View’s case, the amount of the assessment is based on 100% of the actual cost of the project, then divided on a front footage basis not to exceed $14.62 per front foot (this maximum amount is adjusted annually in accordance with the Engineering News Record -ENR). When developing street assessment policies, the paramount objective is to identify the City’s plan as it relates to street major maintenance projects. Although a formal statement or resolution has not been given by the Council on this matter, some Council members have indicated to some degree that: A. We should treat all properties fairly. B. We should apply maintenance strategies at the proper time and to the proper streets so as to minimize the overall cost to the City and increase the overall benefit to the residents. C. We should develop a street program that is supported by the public and can be supported financially by the City. A. We should treat all properties fairly. Land value appraisal studies have indicated that all properties benefit approximately the same amount from a neighborhood street major maintenance