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Home My WebLink About05(C) - Resolution Declaring Costs to be Assessed and Ordering Preparation of an Assessment Roll for 2025 Unpaid Special Charges, and Establishing the Date of the Assessment Hearing Report ITEM: 5C CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: September 23, 2025 PREPARED BY: Nicole Klekner, Interim Finance Director PRESENTED BY: Nicole Klekner AGENDA ITEM: Adopt Resolution Declaring Costs to be Assessed and Ordering Preparation of an Assessment Roll for 2025 Unpaid Special Charges, and Establishing the Date of the Assessment Hearing RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve a resolution declaring the costs to be assessed, ordering the preparation of the proposed assessment rolls for the 2025 Unpaid Special Charges, and establishing October 28, 2025 for the assessment hearing date, as submitted. BACKGROUND: Introduction The purpose of this agenda item is for the City Council to order the preparation of an assessment roll and to set an assessment hearing date for 2025 Unpaid Special Charges. These charges include various costs and charges incurred by the City for oak wilt, mowing of nuisance properties, false alarm calls, and unpaid utility bills. The assessment roll that will be prepared for the public hearing will include the unpaid special charges by PID number and property owner information. History State Statutes 429.101 and 444.075 state that a city may certify unpaid special charges, including those listed below, to the County Auditor as a special assessment against the property. 1. Snow and weed elimination from streets or private property 2. Nuisance charges 3. Oak Wilt removal 4. The recovery of any disbursements for payment of utility bills and other services, even if provided by a third party Current Circumstances In order to recover unpaid special charges, the City must follow State Statute 429.101 procedures. Those procedures provide that the City must adopt a resolution declaring the unpaid special charges to be assessed and establish a date for the assessment hearing for those charges. Delinquent Utility Charges and Nuisance Abatement: The assessment shall include the annual principal, a delinquent assessment administration charge of $100 plus interest calculated from the date of the adoption of the assessment resolution to the end of 2025 plus twelve (12) months of the next year and shall bear interest at the rate of 5.75% per annum. The interest rate is based on the City’s most recent bond sale plus 2%. In the case of the special charges being considered as part of this resolution property owners have been provided the opportunity to pay the charges prior to the assessment. City of Prior Lake | 4646 Dakota Street SE | Prior Lake MN 55372 Item 5C Page | 2 Conclusion The City Council should order preparation of the assessment roll and declare the costs to be assessed and establish the date of the assessment hearing in accordance with State Statute 429. For the City to recover unpaid special charges incurred in 2025 it is necessary for the City Council to proceed with this process. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The total unpaid special charges proposed to be assessed are: Delinquent Utility Charges $146,065.93 False Alarm Fees $ 550.00 Total $146,615.93 This is the principal portion of the assessment, in total, for delinquent charges. It does not include the administration charge or interest. The principal portion of the assessment proposed in the three prior years is as follows:  2022: $110,056.12 (included $1,920.00 for False Alarms)  2023: $112,075.64 (included $250.00 for Nuisance Fees)  2024: $130,859.20 (included $0 for False Alarms or Nuisance Fees) Since 2013, the Council had directed staff to certify overdue unpaid utility billing to assessments (rather than shutting off water services due to non-payment) and to continue to bill renters directly. st After January 1, 2022, no new utility accounts have been set up in a renter’s name, but rather, must be set up in the property owner’s name. This should help minimize future delinquent payments. Online payment options are available to utility customers. Approximately 88% of residents pay their utility bill electronically. ALTERNATIVES: 1. Motion and second as part of the consent agenda to approve the resolution declaring the costs to be assessed, ordering the preparation of the proposed assessment rolls for the 2025 Unpaid Special Charges, and establishing October 28, 2025 for the assessment hearing date, as submitted. 2. Motion and second to remove the costs to be assessed, ordering the preparation of the proposed assessment rolls for the 2025 Unpaid Special Charges, and establishing the date of the assessment hearing from the consent agenda for additional discussion. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Resolution - Adopt Resolution Declaring Costs to be Assessed and Ordering Preparation of an Assessment Roll for 2025 Unpaid Special Charges, and Establishing the Date of the Assessment Hearing 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 RESOLUTION 25- A RESOLUTION DECLARING COSTS TO BE ASSESSED AND ORDERING PREPARATION OF PROPOSED ASSESSMENT ROLL FOR THE 2025 UNPAID SPECIAL CHARGES AND ESTABLISHING THE DATE OF THE ASSESSMENT HEARING AND PUBLICATION THEREOF Motion By: Second By: WHEREAS, the City has incurred the following unpaid special charges in 2025: Special Charge Unpaid Amount Delinquent Utility Charges $146,065.93 False Alarm Fees $550.00 WHEREAS, Minnesota Statutes and Prior Lake City Code authorize the City to recover such charges through the special assessment process; and WHEREAS, the City Manager notifies the City Council that such proposed assessments will be completed and filed in the City Manager's office for public inspection. 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 portion of the cost of such services to be assessed against benefited property owners is declared to be $146,615.93. 3. Assessments for Snow Removal, Nuisance Charges, Mowing and False Alarms shall be payable pursuant to Minnesota Statute 429.101 and Sections 8-20, 5-101, 5-204 and 7-109 4. of the City Code in one (1) single installment payable in 2026. The single installment shall include the annual principal, a delinquent assessment administration charge of $100 ($125 for Spring Lake Township) plus interest calculated from the date of the adoption of the assessment resolution to the end of 2025 plus twelve (12) months of the next year and shall bear interest at the rate of 5.75% per annum. 5. Delinquent Utility Charges shall be payable pursuant to Minnesota Statute 429.101 and Section 8-135 of the City Code in one (1) single installment payable in 2026. The single installment shall include the annual principal, a delinquent assessment administration charge of $100 ($125 for Spring Lake Township) plus interest calculated from the date of the adoption of the assessment resolution to the end of 2025 plus twelve (12) months of the next year and shall bear interest at the rate of 5.75% per annum. 6. Oak Wilt Assessments shall be payable pursuant to Minnesota Statute 429.101 and Section 5-63 of the City code which provides that all assessments less than $1,000 shall be payable in one (1) single installment payable in 2026 and all assessments over $1,000 be paid on an equal principal installment method extending over a period of five (5) years for the assessment. The first installment shall be the annual principal plus interest calculated from the date of the adoption of the assessment resolution to the end of 2025 plus twelve (12) months of the next year and shall bear interest at a rate of 5.75% per annum. 7. The City Manager shall submit a list of the costs for services the City has incurred for unpaid utility bills, weed abatement, landscaping, nuisance charges, false alarms and oak wilt abatement, as provided by law, and shall file a copy of such proposed assessment in the office of the City Manager for public inspection. 8. The City Manager shall upon the completion of such proposed assessment notify the City Council thereof. 9. A public hearing shall be held on the 28th day of October 2025, in City Council Chambers at 7:00 P.M. to pass upon such proposed assessments and at such time and place all persons owning property affected by such improvement will be given the opportunity to be heard with reference to such assessment. 10. The City Manager is hereby directed to cause a notice of the public hearing on the proposed assessment to be published once in the official newspaper of the City at least two weeks prior to the hearing, and the City Manager shall also cause mailed notice to be given to the owner of each parcel described in the assessment roll not less than two weeks prior to the hearing. 11. The owner of any property so assessed may, at any time prior to certification of the assessment to the County Auditor, pay the whole of the assessment on such property, with interest accrued to the date of payment, to the City Finance Director, except that no interest will be charged if the entire assessment is paid within 30 days from the adoption of the assessment. The owner may, at any time thereafter, pay to the City Finance Director the entire amount of the assessment remaining unpaid, with interest accrued to December 31 of the year in which such payment is made. Such payment must be made before November 14, 2025, or interest will be charged through December 31 of the next succeeding year. rd Passed and adopted by the Prior Lake City Council this 23 day of September 2025. VOTE Briggs Braid Churchill Hellier Lake Aye ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Nay ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Abstain ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Absent ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ______________________________ Jason Wedel, City Manager C:\\Users\\hsimon\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\Resolution - Adopt Resolution Declaring Costs to be Assessed and Ordering _674542\\Resolution - Adopt Resolution Declaring Costs to be Assessed and Or.docx 2