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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006/07/25 Item 9 COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT Item Meeting Date ~, 1..1 July 25, 2006 ITEM TITLE: PUBLIC HEARING: Regarding the Proposed 'Assessment of Certain Delinquent Sewer Service Charges as Recorded Liens Upon the Respective Owner-Occupied Parcels of Land and Placement of Delinquent Charges on the Next Regular Tax Bill for Collection RESOLUTION Approving Certain Delinquent Sewer Service Charges to be Assessed as Recorded Liens Upon the Respective Owner-Occupied Parcels of Land and Authorizing Placement of the Delinquent Charges on the Next Regular Tax Bill REVIEWED BY: .J /,\(L SUBMITTED ~ Director of FinancefTreasurer r 1r^- City Manager JI (4/5ths Vote: Yes _NolL) In order to adequately protect the City's iriterest in delinquent sewer service charges and ensure that collection efforts are directed towards the responsible property owner in the event of a change in ownership, staff is recommending approval for the placement 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 ensuring that the correct property owners are charged and that payment be received on a more timely basis. This is the identical process approved by City Council since August 1998 RECOMMENDATION: That Council open the public hearing to consider assessing delinquent sewer service charges as recorded liens on the affected properties, consider all testimony and adopt the resolution overruling all protests, and approving the delinquency amounts and authorizing placement of the delinquency charges as recorded liens upon the respective owner occupied parcels of land. BOARDS/COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS: Not applicable. DISCUSSION: The Chula Vista Municipal Code Section 1314150 allows delinquent sewer 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 sewer service accounts which are over sixty days delinquent. At the hearing the City Council considers the delinquent accounts 9-1 , Page 2, Item_ Meeting Date July 25, 2006 "., L( 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 liens upon the respective parcels of land and the amounts ar,e charged to the property owners on the next regular property tax bill. In April ?006, City Council approved liens for 273 delinquent sewer service accounts valued at $85,700 to be forwarded to the County for collection on the next regular property tax bill. Staff recently identified an additional 209 owner-occupied parcels with sewer service accounts over 60 days delinquent. The total delinquency is $72,500 Through preliminary collection efforts, 68 accounts have been resolved, and the remaining 141 accounts, valued at $57,500, remain delinquent (delinquencies listing available at the Finance Department) Many of these property owners have gone through this lien process previously as they continue to leave their sewer service accounts unpaid. These property owners have been notified of their delinquencies, and last month, they were notified of the public hearing and were asked again to pay their delinquent sewer service charges to avoid a lien being placed on their property Payment arrangements will be set-up as needed, and staff will continue to update the delinquency listing as payments are received and accounts are cleared. ,once all payments are recorded, a final list will be submitted to the City Council for review prior to the Council consideration of the proposed resolution on this matter Staff is recommending that the City Council approve the final list of delinquent sewer accounts as submitted, and that these charges be forwarded to the County and assessed as recorded liens on the respective owner-occupied parcels of land and ultimately placed on the next regular tax bill for collection.' CONFLICT OF INTEREST: This is no conflict of interest from this action. FISCAL IMPACT: By placing delinquent sewer service charges on the property owner's regular tax bill, over $211,000 in revenues was realized in FY 05-06 using this collection method. The City should realize approximately $55,000 in revenues from this action 9-2 RESOLUTION NO 2006- RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA APPROVING CERTAIN DELINQUENT SEWER SERVICE CHARGES TO BE ASSESSED AS RECORDED LIENS UPON THE RESPECTIVE OWNER- OCCUPIED PARCELS OF LAND AND AUTHORIZING PLACEMENT OF DELINQUENT CHARGES ON THE NEXT REGULAR TAX BILL WHEREAS, in order to adequately protect the City's interest in delinquent sewer service charges and ensure that collection efforts are directed towards the responsible property owners in the event of a change in ownership, staff is recommending approval of liens against affected properties as a preliminafy action to placing the delinquencies on the property tax rolls if they remain unpaid, and WHEREAS, the Chula Vista Municipal Code Section 13 14 150 allows delinquent sewer service charges to be assessed as recorded liens upon the affected properties and ultimately placed on the property tax bills for collection, and WHEREAS, Section 13 14 150 provides that, upon notification to the property owners, a public hearing may be set for sewer service accounts which are over sixty days delinquent; and WHEREAS, at the conclusion of the hearing, the City Council may approve the delinquency and amount owed on the accounts, as ~ubmitted or as modified or corrected by the City Council, and adopt a resolution accordingly; and WHEREAS, staff recently identified 209 owner-occupied accounts, totaling $72,500, as being over 60 days delinquent; and WHEREAS, many of these property owners have gone through this lien process previously as they continue to leave their sewer service accounts unpaid, and WHEREAS, these property owners have been notified of their delinquencies, and last month, they were notified of the public hearing and were asked again to pay their delinquent sewer service charges to avoid a lien being placed on their property; and WHEREAS, through City Staff's collection efforts, certain delinquent accounts have been resolved and City Staff has presented th'e City Council with a final list, reflecting those accounts which remain delinquent; and WHEREAS, staff is recommending that the City Council approve the final list of delinquent sewer accounts, as submitted, and that these charges be forwarded to the County and assessed as recorded liens on the respective owner-occupied parcels of land and ultimately placed on the next regular tax bill for collection 9-3 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Chula Vista hereby approves certain delinquent sewer service charges, as reflected on the final list submitted to the City Council at the public hearing on this matter, to be assessed as recorded lien~ upon the respective owner-occupied parcels of land and authorizes placement of the ge1inquent charges on the next regular tax bill. Presented by ~pm,\ed as to form by Maria Kachadoorian Director of Finance I i /i ' "f '~/v';""; !' -ftn MoordU1' C ty Attorney 1_ ..,n r' ' -, 9-4