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Home My WebLink About2008/07/08 Item 10 CITY COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT -Ie'. _"',1 ".iJ'l,;'1i.ffEii;t1J4':=r'liifJ"'" /~. ;sW:::. CITY OF ~CHULA VISTA PUBLIC HE.AJUNG FOR THE PROPOSED ASSESSMENT OF CERTAIN DELINQUENT SOLID WASTE SERVICE CKARGES AS RECORDED LIENS UPON THE RESPECTIVE PARCELS OF L~"!) At"!) PLACEMENT OF DELINQUENT CHARGES ON THE NEXT REGULAR V,-X BILL FOR COLLECTION RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COu'NCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA ASSESSING CERTAIN DELINQUENT SOLID \VASTE SERVICE CKARGES AS RECORDED LIENS UPON THE RESPECTIVE PARCELS OF LAND At"iD APPROVING PLACEMENT OF DELINQUENT CKARGES ON THE NEXT REGULAR Ti"X BILL DIRECTOR OF FIN/\l"iCE/TREASURERc.f1~ CITY MANAGER t.. \-, ) ~~S VOTE: YES U NO I X i ! In order to adequately protect the City's interest in delinquent solid waste service charges and ensure that collection effOlts are directed towards the responsible property owner in the event of a change of ovmership, staff is recommending approval for liens against affected properties as a preliminary action to placing the delinquencies on the property tax rolls if they remain wlpaid, Adoption of this resolution will enhance the collection process for delinquent solid waste service charges by reducing the amount of uncollectible losses and ensure that payment will be received on a more timely basis. This is the identical process approved by City Council on a regular basis since mid- 2001. ITEM TITLE: SUBMITTED BY: REVIEWED BY: SUMMARY JUL Y 8, 2008, ItemJQ.. EI\'VIRONMENTAL REVIEW The Environmental Review Coordinator has reviewed the proposed actIVIty for compliance with the Califomia 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 Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA Thus, no environmental review is necessary. 10-1 JUL Y 8. 2008. Item 10 Page 2 of 3 RECOMMENDA nON Council conduct the public hearing and adopt the resolution. BOARDS/COMNlISSION RECOMMENDATION Not applicable. DISCUSSION In November 1998, 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 arty 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 bv 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. In April 2008, City Council approved 773 delinquent accounts valued at $107,000 to be placed on the property tax bills for collection. Since then, Allied \Vaste Services has identified and submitted an additional Ll39 delinquent accounts valued at over $112,900 to the city for collection. Through the City's preliminary collection efforts, 788 accounts have been resolved, and the remaining 351 accounts valued at $40,000 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 ar1d City staff \Vhile many of these delinquent accounts have gone through the lien process before as they continue to remain utlpaid, there was been a dramatic increase in the total number of delinquent accounts being submitted for the lien process. These property owners were 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 letters within the past 60 days, and two weeks ago, these property ovmers 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 atTangements 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. 10-2 JUL Y 8, 2008, Item~ Page 3 of3 Staff is recoITlJnending that the City Council approve the final list of delinquent solid waste accounts as submitted, and that these charges be forwarded to the Coumy and assessed as recorded liens on the respective parcels of land and ultimately placed on the next regular tax bill for collection. DECISION !\HKER CONFLICT StatI 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 actlon. FISCAL IMPACT By using the property tax bill as the ultilnate collection method for delinquent solid waste service charges, the Ciry should realize a total of approximately 580,000 in Franchise Fees, AB939 Fees and late charges for Fiscal Year 2007/2008. From this action alone, the City should realize approximately $8,200 in revenues from the total 540.000 collected. and the balance. of 531.800 would be forwarded to Allied .. . Waste Services. Prepared by: ..\.'adine ,~1Gndery.' Treasury}.janager, Finance Deparrmenr 10-3 RESOLUTION NO. 2008- 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 CHA.RGES ON THE NEXT REGULAR TAX BILL WHEREAS, in order to adequately protect the City's interest in delinquent solid waste service charges and ensure that collection efforts are directed towards the responsible property owner in the event of a change of ownership, staff is recommending approval for liens against affected properties as a preliminary action to placing the delinquencies on the property tax rolls if they remain unpaid; and WHEREAS, in November 1998, 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 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. 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, 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; and WHEREAS, as these amounts are collected, the monies are remitted to Allied Waste Services less the City's Franchise Fees, AB939 fees and late charges; and WHEREAS, in April 2008, City Council approved 773 delinquent accounts valued at $107,000 to be placed on the property tax bills for collection. Since then, Allied Waste Services has identified and submitted an additional 2,565 delinquent accounts valued at over $259,200 to the city for collection; and WHEREAS, through the City's preliminary collection efforts, 1,538 accounts have been resolved, and the remaining 1,027 accounts valued at $152,500 are now being submitted (listing available at the Finance Department); and WHEREAS, the account status and property ownership on these accounts have been verified by both Allied Waste and City staff; and 10-4 Resolution No. 2008- Page 2 WHEREAS, these property owners were 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; and WHEREAS, City staff sent out past due letters within the past 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; and WHEREAS, 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; and WHEREAS, staff will continue to update this list as payments are received and accounts are cleared; and WHEREAS, 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; and WHEREAS, staff is recommending that the City Council approve the final list of delinquent solid waste 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 assesses certain delinquent solid waste service charges as recorded liens upon the respective owner occupied parcels of land and approves placement of those delinquent charges on the next regular tax bill. Presented by Approved as to form by ~\ lti 1a ' . /1-(;.h '. . ~L) f1 Batt C. Mles d~ t-yfim City Attorney Maria Kachadoorian Director of Finance 10-5