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DELINQUENT WATER BILLS IN VICTORIA BUT THEY NUMBER LESS THAN 1% Council approved the certification of delinquent municipal utility bills to the county for collection with 2012 property taxes. There are a total of 82 delinquent accounts reported for 2011 -- a number that has been gradually increasing over the years. Approximately half are repeat offenders. The amount for this year is $53,040. Councilmember Kim Roden asked if there might be a correlation between monthly water bills and delinquency. The City of Victoria is on quarterly, not monthly, billing. "It concerns me that there is a trend that I don't like to see," she said. "Water bills are not part of the property tax bill. They cannot be written off." Mayor Mary Thun mentioned that some cities shut the water off at delinquent properties and it serves as quite a deterrent. City Finance Director Jylan Johnson pointed out that it's less than 1% of water bills not getting collected in Victoria, and that the penalty was increased last year from $25 to $45. Stated Councilmember Tom O'Connor, since the city receives the entire balance sooner or later, "There's a relatively good story at the end of the day."
NO INCREASE IN VICTORIA UTIILITY BILLS INCLUDING WATER, SEWER, AND STORMWATER Council approved the 2012 Enterprise Fund Budgets on November 14th. They include budgets for water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater management. According to information from Finance Director Jylan Johnson, there will not be a rate increase for the water fund, which receives revenue from charges for water service and core fees from developers. There is a debt here that requires annual payments from the general fund. Water consumption in the city is increasing. Also, no increase is proposed for the base sewer fee of $31.05 per quarter nor the unit charge. The Metropolitan Council has actually decreased its charges to the city. The sewer fund receives revenue from charges for sewer service and core fees from developers. The sewer fund is expected to cash flow through 2016. The system includes 18 lift stations and 41 miles of sewer lines. No rate increase is proposed for the stormwater management utility fee of $13. This fund receives revenue from stormwater fees and utility connection fees. The monies help clean the city's inlets, outlets, and stormwater ponds.
DOWNSIZING DOWNTOWN TIF DISTRICTD TAX INCREMENT DOLLARS DOWN FOR 2011 Council voted unanimously on November 28th to schedule a public hearing for Monday, December 19th, at 5:30 p.m., regarding a proposal to amend the Tax Increment Finance Plan (TIF) for Victoria's Tax Increment Financing District #4. As Administrator Don Uram reported, the recommendation is to modify the TIF District #4 by removing all downtown parcels except that occupied by Fresh Seasons Market. Because of a reduction in property values, there was a reduction of tax increments generated by the TIF District, the majority of which are generated by Fresh Seasons. Said Mr. Uram, "The District will now only include Fresh Seasons. The change is being made to benefit Fresh Seasons." Said Shannon Sweeney, a TIF consultant with David Drown Associates, "The District is not anticipating other activity. Fresh Seasons is being harmed because we created a larger District. There is no negative impact to the other parcels. Fresh Seasons should benefit by $23,000/year." He had reported, "Another property owner within the TIF District had appealed the valuation of their property which resulted in the reduction of the assessors market value by $507,400 for taxes payable 2011. This reduction equated to a 39% reduction in value for this property and had a significant negative impact which resulted in the reduction of tax increments generated by TIF District #4, the majority of which are generated by the Fresh Seasons project. Rather than collecting approximately $22,000 in tax increments from TIF District #4, the city will only capture $7,000 in tax increments when all local property taxes within the District have been collected. While this will not solve the impact to tax increment collections for 2011, it is our understanding that it will resolve the issue going forward."
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December 2011 |
