CCP 05-19-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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e . . City of Ardcn Hills I. GENERAL ASSESSMENT POLICIES The purpose of this assessment policy manual is to establish procedures to be utilized by the City of Arden Hills when preparing assessment rolls, so as to assure uniform and consistent treatment ofthe affected properties. Minnesota State Law, Chapter 429.01 0 to 429.111 provides that a municipality shall have the power to make public improvements such as sanitary sewers, storm sewers, water source and distribution facilities, street improvements including grading, curb and gutter, surfacing, sidewalks, street lighting and recreational facilities, ctc. The various procedures that the municipality must follow including reports, notices and public hearings are well defined within the law. The Statute further defines that the cost of any improvement may be assessed upon property benefited by the improvement based upon the benefits received whether or not the property abuts on the improvement and whether or not any part of the cost of the improvement is paid from other funding sources. The law is not specific on how these benefits are to be measured or how the costs are to be apportioned, but rather makes it incumbent upon the municipality to determine with assistance of the City Engineer, City Attorney, appraisers or other qualified personnel, a fair and equitable method of cost-sharing among the properties involved. Throughout this policy manual, the total cost of an improvement shall include the construction cost, plus all associated overhead costs. The total cost of the associated overhead for a public improvement project would typically include the following as a percentage of the construction costs: City Administration Engineering Legal Fiscal Interest During Construction Assessment Roll Preparation Contingencies TOTAL 2.5% 15.0% 2.0% 3.0% 4.5% 1.0% 4.0% 32.0% These ovcrhead costs are estimates only. The actual costs incurred will be tracked and charged to the project. Any contributing funds from outside sources (i.e., Municipal State Aid, water or sanitary sewer operating funds, connection charges, other governmental agencies) may be deducted from the total improvement cost to determine the assessable costs. The initiation of public improvement projects may happen in two (2) different methods. The first method is by a petition of the affected property owners. The petition must be signed by the owners of not less than thirty-five percent (35%) of the frontage of the real property 2003 Assessment Policy Manual- Page I