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Home My WebLink About5J - JPA for Assessment Services to the City of Prior Lake MEETING DATE: AGENDA #: PREPARED BY: PRESENTER: AGENDA ITEM: DISCUSSION: ISSUES 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT AUGUST 16, 2010 5J JERIL YN ERICKSON, FINANCE DIRECTOR JERIL YN ERICKSON, FINANCE DIRECTOR CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE CITY OF PRIOR LAKE Introduction The purpose of this agenda item is for the City Council to consider renew- ing an existing Agreement with Scott County to provide property assess- ment services to the City of Prior Lake for the assessment year 2011. Historv Prior Lake has never elected to have its own municipal assessing depart- ment since this function can be more cost effectively delivered by contract- ing with the County. The previous Agreement was entered into by the Council on March 3, 2008 for property assessment services covering the calendar years 2009 and 2010 at a cost of $102,000 and $105,000 respec- tively. This cooperative agreement between the City and Scott County has existed since 1972. The current agreement is scheduled to expire on De- cember 31,2010. Current Circumstances All assessment agreements performed by Scott County for cities and town- ships are based on the general number of parcels in the entity and the level of difficulty in appraising the properties (Le. lakeshore vs. non-Iakeshore, commercial and industrial parcels, etc.). The County is in the process of implementing a time tracking system which will provide improved reporting on time spent on appraisals for each entity. With this in mind, the County is only proposing a one-year Agreement. It is their intention to re-examine the costs each year and to adjust Agreement prices over the next four years so that the 2014 Agreements reflect the ac- tual cost for completing each entity's assessment. Conclusion The Council should determine if it believes that contracting with the county continues to be the best way to accomplish statutorily required valuations. The operation of an assessing department would be well in excess of the annual contract cost from Scott County. The City could consider contracting with another county to accomplish this work but there would be the issues of consistency in the treatment of prop- R:\Council\201o Agenda Reports\08 16 10\2011 JPA for Assessing Services with Scott County - Agenda Report.doc erties across the county were this to occur. There were concerns noted at this year's LBAE meeting. We have dis- cussed these matters with the Scott County Assessor and believe these issues have now been resolved. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The 2011 amount of $116,300 represents a charge of approximately $11.42 per parcel based upon our current parcel count of 10,181. For comparison purposes, the following is an itemization of the larger cities in Scott County and their respective 2011 per parcel charge: City Number of Charge Per Parcels Parcel Prior Lake 10,181 $11.42 I Savage 10,356 1$13.10 I Shakopee I 13,663 I $13.29 'Fee rounded to nearest $100 by Scott County Assessor 2011 Proposed Ag reements $116,300 $135,700 $181,600 The City could not hire a full time appraiser, clerical support and provide office space and equipment as economically as provided in the Joint Pow- ers Agreement with Scott County. ALTERNATIVES: The following alternatives are available to the City Council: 1. Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Joint Powers Agreement for Assessment of the City of Prior Lake. 2. Table this item for a specific reason. RECOMMENDED Alternative 1. MOTION: Rr::1Y ~ Frank Bo es, R:\Collncil\2010 Agenda Reports\08 16 10\2011 JPA for Assessing Services with Scott County - Agenda Report.doc 2 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 RESOLUTION 1 a-xxx A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT BETWEEN SCOTT COUNTY AND THE CITY OF PRIOR LAKE FOR ASSESSMENT SERVICES Motion By: Second By: WHEREAS, Since 1972, the City has contracted with Scott County to provide assessment services within the City; and WHEREAS, The City has determined that because of the experience and expertise required to conduct property valuations and the number and cost of employees necessary if the City to undertake property assessments that it is most cost-effective for the CITY to contract with Scott County to receive assessment services; and WHEREAS, The City of Prior Lake desires to continue the Assessment Agreement. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA as follows: 1, The recitals set forth above are incorporated herein. 2. The City of Prior Lake hereby approves the contract for Scott County to provide the CITY with assessment services. The cost of the services for 2011 is One Hundred Sixteen Thousand Three Hundred Dollars ($116,300). 3. The Mayor and City Manager are hereby authorized to execute the contract on behalf of the City of Prior Lake. PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 16th DAY OF AUGUST, 2010. YES NO 1 Myser I Erickson I Hedberg I Keeney I Millar Myser Erickson Hedberg Keeney Millar Frank Boyles, City Manager R\Council\2010 Agenda Reports\08 16 10\2011 JPA for Assessing Services with Scott County - Resolution.doc JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE CITY OF PRIOR LAKE THIS JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT is made and entered into by and between the City of Prior Lake and the County of Scott, State of Minnesota, pursuant to Minnesota Statute 273.072 and Minnesota Statute 471.59. WHEREAS, the City of Prior Lake wishes to enter into an agreement with the County of Scott to provide for the assessment of the property in said City of Prior Lake by the County Assessor's office; and WHEREAS, it is the wish of said County to cooperate with said City of Prior Lake to provide for a fair and equitable assessment of property; NOW THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERA nON OF THE MUTUAL COVENANTS HEREIN CONTAINED, IT IS AGREED AS FOLLOWS: 1. That the City of Prior Lake which lies within the County of Scott and constitutes a separate assessment district, shall have its property assessed by the County Assessor of Scott County for the assessment year 2011. All work done necessary to the establishment of the estimated market value for each parcel shall be performed by the Scott County Assessor or by one or more of the licensed assessors under his direction and supervision. 2. It is hereby agreed that the City of Prior Lake and all of its officers, agents, and employees shall render full cooperation and assistance to said County to facilitate the provision of the services contemplated hereby. 3. In consideration for said assessment services, the City of Prior Lake hereby agrees to pay the County of Scott the sum of $116,300, such payment to be made to the Scott County Treasurer on or before June 1,2011. 4. The County agrees that in each year of this Agreement it shall, by its County Assessor or one or more of his appraisers, view and determine the market value of at least twenty percent (20%) of the parcels within this taxing jurisdiction. It is further agreed that the County shall have on file documentation of those parcels physically inspected for each year of this Agreement. 5. The County agrees that in each year of this Agreement it shall provide the following data summarized by property usage class (i.e. residential, commercial, industrial, utility, apartments, etc.) for assessment year 2011/taxes payable year 2012: 1) Taxable Market Valuation 2) Tax Capacity 3) Taxable Market Valuation - New Construction 4) Referenda Market Value 5) Number of Parcels Such data will be available per the following schedule: April 1, 2011 - Assessment Year 20 111Payable Year 2012 Preliminary Data August 1,2011 - Assessment Year 20111Payable Year 2012 Preliminary Data (updated) April 1, 2012 - Assessment Year 2011/Payable Year 2012 Final Data 6. Each named party to this Agreement shall be liable for its own acts to the extent provided for by law and hereby agrees to indemnify, hold harmless and defend the other named parties to this Agreement, its officers and employees against any and all liability, loss, costs, damages, expenses, claims or actions, including reasonable attorney's fees with the other, its officers and employees may hereafter sustain, incur or be required to pay, arising out of or by reason of any act or omission of the party, its agents, servants, or employees, in the execution, performance, or failure to adequately perform its obligations. This provision to indemnify and hold harmless does not constitute a waiver by any named party to limitations on liability provided by Minnesota Statute Chapter 466. Further, all workers' compensation claims shall be handled in the jurisdiction in which the agent is employed. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the City of Prior Lake has executed this Agreement by its Mayor and City Manager by the authority of its governing body and the County of Scott has executed this Agreement by its Chairperson, County Administrator, and County Assessor pursuant to the authority of the Board of Commissioners intending to be bound thereby. CITY OF PRIOR LAKE: Mayor Date City Manager Date City/Township Clerk (if applicable) Date COUNTY OF SCOTT: Chairperson, County Board of Commissioners Date County Administrator Date County Assessor Date Approved as to form: Scott County Attorney