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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011/12/13 Item 17CITY CC)U NCI L AGENDA STATEMENT ~~ CIlY OF CHULAVISTA DECEMBER 13, 2011, Item ~~ ITEM TITLE: PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE PROPOSED ASSESSMENT OF CERTAIN DELINQUENT SOLID WASTE SERVICE CHARGES AS RECORDED LIENS UPON THE RESPECTIVE PARCELS OF LAND AND PLACEMENT OF DELINQUENT CHARGES ON THE NEXT REGULAR TAX BILL FOR COLLECTION RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA ASSESSING CERTAIN DELINQUENT _ SOLID WASTE SERVICE CHARGES AS RECORDED LIENS UPON THE RESPECTIVE PARCELS OF LAND AND APPROVING THE PLACEMENT OF DELINQUENT CHARGES ON THE NEXT REGULAR TAX BILL FOR COLLECTION SUBMITTED BY: DIRECTOR OF FINAN E/ TREASURE~~ REVIEWED BY: CITY MANAGER ~~ MANAGER ~~ 4/STNS VOTE: YES ~ NO ^X SUMMARY In order to adequately protect the City's interest in delinquent solid waste service charges and ensure that collection efforts are directed toward the responsible properly owner in the event of a change of ownership, staff is recommending approval of liens against affected properties as a preliminary action to placing the delinquencies on the property tax rolls if they remain unpaid. Adoption of this resolution will enhance the collection process for delinquent sewer service charges by reducing the amount of uncollectible losses and ensure that payment will be received on a timelier basis. This is the identical process approved by the City Council on a regular basis since mid-2001. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The Environmental Review Coordinator has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA} and has determined that the activity is not a "Project" as defined under Section 15378(b)(4) of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA 17-1 DECEMBER 13, 2011, Item 17 Page 2 of 3 Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary. RECOMMENDATION That Council conduct the public hearing and adopt the resolution. BOARDS/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Not applicable. DISCUSSION In November 1998, the City Council amended Municipal Code Section 8.24 to eliminate suspension of solid waste service for nonpayment. To ensure that all residents pay their fair share of the costs of this program, the ordinance allows delinquent solid waste service charges to be assessed as recorded liens upon the affected properties and ultimately placed on the property tax bills for collection. The ordinance states that upon notification of the property owners, a public hearing is set for solid waste service accounts that are over ninety days delinquent. At the hearing, the City Council considers the delinquent accounts together with any objections or protests by interested parties. At the conclusion of the hearing, the City Council may either approve the delinquency and amount owed on the accounts as submitted or as modified or corrected by the City Council. Lastly, the City Council adopts a resolution assessing such amounts as recorded liens upon the respective parcels of land, and the amounts are charged to the property owners on the next regular property tax bill. As these amounts are collected, the monies are remitted to Allied Waste Services, less the City's Franchise Fees, AB939 fees and late charges. Because charges can only be submitted for placement on the property tax bills once each year in August, staff is recommending assessing liens on the affected properties midyear to better ensure the City's chances for collection. If the City were to address these delinquent charges only once each year in August, the effectiveness of using the property tax bill as a means of collection would be significantly reduced as the owners of record in August would not necessarily be the people responsible for the delinquent charges. In cases where the properties are sold or transferred, assessing liens midyear holds the correct parties responsible for the delinquent charges. In cases where the property owners choose to refinance their mortgages, the midyear liens ensure the City's receipt of payment in a timely manner, as the delinquent charges are paid through escrow during the refinancing process. In April 2011, the City Council approved 1,133 delinquent accounts valued at $170,600 to be placed on property tax bills for collection. These accounts were in addition to the 732 delinquent accounts valued at $108,300 approved by the City Council for placement on the property tax bill in November 2010. Of these 1,865 total delinquent accounts approved by the City Council for collection via property tax billing, 544 were resolved and 1,321 were submitted to the County of San Diego in August 2011 for placement on the property tax bill. 17-2 DECEMBER 13, 2011, Item ~7 Page 3 of 3 Since the April 2011 Council action, Allied Waste Services has identified and submitted an additional 4,543 delinquent accounts valued at over $487,560 to the City for collection. Through the City's collection efforts, 2,988 accounts have been resolved, and the remaining 1,555 accounts valued at $202,345 are now being submitted (listing available at the Finance Department). The account status and property ownership on these accounts have been verified by both Allied Waste and City staff. While many of these delinquent accounts have gone through this lien process previously, as they continue to leave their solid waste service accounts unpaid, the total number of delinquent accounts being submitted for the lien process continues to climb. These property owners have been notified of their delinquencies through a series of past due notices sent by Allied Waste, until they were ultimately submitted to the city for collection. City staff sent out past due letter within the last 60 days, and two weeks ago, these property owners were notified of the public hearing and were asked to pay their delinquent solid waste service charges prior to transmittal of the delinquent account list to the County to avoid a lien being placed on their property. City staff has been working with Allied Waste to resolve any customer disputes as they arise and payment arrangements have been set up as needed. Staff will continue to update this list as payments are received and accounts are cleared. A final list will be submitted to the City Council for consideration on the day of the public hearing in order to reflect the most current payment postings. Staff is recommending that the City Council approve the final list of delinquent solid waste service accounts as submitted, and that these charges be forwarded to the County and assessed as recorded liens on the respective parcels of land and ultimately placed on the next regular tax bill for collection. DECISION MAKER CONFLICT Staff has reviewed the property holdings of the City Council and has found no property holdings within 500 feet of the boundaries of the properties which are the subject of this action. CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT Approval of the resolution supports collection of delinquent solid waste charges totaling $202,345. Of this amount, the City is projected to realize Franchise Fee, AB939 and late charge revenues totaling approximately $39,000, with the balance of $163,345 being forwarded to Allied Waste Services. The $39,000 to be realized by the City is already reflected in the adopted fiscal year 2011-12 budget. ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT No ongoing fiscal impact. ATTACHMENTS None. Prepared by: Tiffarry Allen, Treasury Manager, Finance Department 17-3 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA ASSESSING CERTAIN DELINQUENT SOLID WASTE SERVICE CHARGES AS RECORDED LIENS UPON THE RESPECTIVE PARCELS OF LAND AND APPROVING PLACEMENT OF DELINQUENT CHARGES ON THE NEXT REGULAR TAX BILL FOR COLLECTION WHEREAS, in November 1998, the City Council amended Municipal Code Section 8.24 to eliminate suspension of solid waste service for nonpayment; and WHEREAS, to ensure that all residents pay their fair share of the costs of this program the ordinance allows for delinquent solid waste service charges to be assessed as recorded liens upon the affected properties and ultimately placed on the property tax bills for collection; and WHEREAS, the ordinance states that upon notification of the property owners, a public hearing is set for solid waste service accounts that are over ninety days delinquent; and WHEREAS, at 'the hearing, the City Council considers the delinquent accounts together with any objections or protests by interested parties; and WHEREAS, at the conclusion of the hearing, the City Council may either approve the delinquency and amount owed on the accounts as submitted or as modified or corrected by the City Council; and WHEREAS, the account status and property ownership of these accounts have been verified by both Allied Waste and City staff; and WHEREAS, these property owners have been notified of tYieir delinquencies through a series of past due notices sent by Allied Waste, until they were ultimately submitted to the City for collection; and WHEREAS, staff has notified the property owners of the public hearing and these owners were asked to pay their delinquent solid waste service charges prior to transmittal of the delinquent account list to the County to avoid a lien being placed on their property; and WHEREAS, staff is recommending that the City Council approve the final list of delinquent solid waste service accounts as submitted, and that these charges be forwarded to the County and assessed as recorded liens on the respective parcels of land and ultimately placed on the next regular tax bill for collection. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Chula Vista does hereby: (1) conduct the public hearing to consider assessing certain delinquent solid waste service charges as recorded liens on the affected properties; (2) overrule any and all protests or objections presented at the public hearing; and (3) approve, with respect to the delinquent account list submitted to the City Council and on file in the City Finance Department, 17-4 Resolution No. 2011- Page 2 assessing delinquent solid waste service charges as recorded liens upon the respective parcels of land and the placement of such delinquent charges as special assessments on the next corresponding regular tax bills, unless cleared prior to transmittal of the delinquent account list to the County. Presented by Maria Kachadoorian Finance Director/Treasurer Approved as to form by -~ ~ r ,L, len:- . G ~i-~s ~~~it~Attorney 17-5