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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008/12/09 Item 14 ITEM TITLE: SUBMITTED BY: REVIEWED BY: CITY COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT ~Vt-- CIIT OF PO "'&'.:'!'CHULA VISTA DECEMBER 9, 2008, Item~ PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE PROPOSED ASSESSMENT . OF CERTAIN DELINQUENT SOLID WASTE SERVICE CHARGES AS RECORDED LIENS UPON THE RESPECTIVE PARCELS OF LAi\lD Ai\lD 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 AI'ID APPROVING PLACEMENT OF DELINQUENT CHARGES ON THE NEXT REGULAR TAX BILL DIRECTOR OF FINAI"iCE/TREASURER~ INTERIM CITY rvIANAGER '7 r DEPUTY CITY MANAGER fr/ 4/STHS VOTE: YES D NO ~ SUMMARY In order to adequately protect the City's interest in delinquent solid waste service charges and ensure that coUection 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 roUs if they remain unpaid. Adoption of this resolution wiU enhance the coUection process for delinquent solid waste service charges by reducing the amount of uncoUectible losses and ensure that payment wiU be received on a more timely basis. This is the identical process approved by City Council on a regular basis since mid- 200 I. 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 Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary. 14-1 DECEMBER 9, 2008, Iteml1- Page 2 of 3 RECOiVIMENDATION Council conduct the public hearing and adopt the resolution. BOARDS/COMMISSION 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 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 a year in August, staff is recommending assessing liens on the affected properties midyear as to better ensure the City's chances for collection. If the City were to address these delinquent charges only once a 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 properties are sold or transferred, assessing liens midyear holds the correct parties responsible for the delinquent charges. In cases where property owners choose to refinance their mortgages, the midyear liens will ensure the City receiving payment in a more timely manner as the delinquent charges would be paid through escrow during the refinancing process. In July 2008, City Council approved 351 delinquent accounts valued at $40,000 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. Through the City's preliminary collection efforts, 1,393 accounts have been resolved, and the remaining 1,172 accounts valued at $161,300 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 the lien process before as they continue to remain unpaid, the total number of delinquent accounts being submitted for the lien process continues to climb. 14-2 DECEIvfBER 9, 2008, Item~ Page 3 0 f 3 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 owners were notified of the public hearing and were asked to pay their delinquent solid waste service charges prior to 1:ransmittal.of the delinquent account list to the County to avoid a lien being place"d 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 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. FISCAL IMP ACT By using the property tax bill as the ultimate collection method for delinquent solid waste service charges, the City realized a total of approximately $95,000 in Franchise Fees, AB939 Fees and late charges for Fiscal Year 2007/2008. From this action alone, the City should realize approximately $51,000 in revenues from the total $259,200 collected, and the balance of $208,500 would be forwarded to Allied Waste Services. Prepared by: Nadine AfandeJY, TreasUlY Alanager, Finance Department 14-3 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 CHARGES ON THE NEXT REGULAR TAX BILL 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 liens upon the affected properties and ultimately placed on the property tax bills for collection; and WHEREAS, the ordinance states that upon notification to 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 submitt'ed or as modified or corrected by the City Council; and WHEREAS, because charges can only be submitted for placement on the property tax bills once a year in August, staff is recommending assessing liens on the affected properties midyear as to better ensure the City's chances for collection; and WHEREAS, the account status and property ownership on these accounts have been verified by both Allied Waste and City staff; and WHEREAS, 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, 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 accounts, as submitted, and that these charges be forwarded to the County and assessed as record liens on the respective parcels of land and ultimately placed on the next regular tax bill for collection. J:lAnomey\RESOLUTIONS\SOLlD W ASTE\Delin<!uenl Solid Waste Srvc Chrg5_12-09-ol4_ 4 Resolution No. 2008- Page 2 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the City Council of the City of Chula Vista does hereby: (I) conduct the public hearing to consider assessing certain delinquent solid waste service charges as 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, assessing delinquent solid waste service charges as liens upon the respective parcels ofland 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 Approved as to form by ~~. " j '1/111/ !&:t) /.fl ,_li'lrt-e;-. M'iesfel {RnterimGity Attorney 1/ \ Maria Kachadoorian Director of Finance J:\Allomey\RESOLUT10NS\SOLlD WASTE\DelinquClI Solid Waste Srvc Chrgs_12-09-ol4=.- 5