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Home My WebLink About09570 City Clerk’s Office Item # R-9 Background Paper for Proposed Ordinance COUNCIL MEETING DATE: September 23, 2019 TO: President Dennis E. Flores and Members of City Council CC: Mayor Nicholas A. Gradisar VIA: Brenda Armijo, City Clerk FROM: Lisa Macchietto, Assistant City Attorney SUBJECT: AN ORDINANCE ELECTING TO CERTIFY ABATEMENT ASSESSMENT ROLL NO. 2019-1 TO THE COUNTY TREASURER AND TO HAVE THE COUNTY TREASURER COLLECT IN THE SAME MANNER AS OTHER TAXES SUMMARY: Attached is an Ordinance by which City Council is electing to certify to the County Treasurer certain abatement liens that have remained unpaid for more than six months. All abatement liens certified to the County Treasurer will be collected in the same manner as other taxes. PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: On September 14, 2015, City Council approved Ordinance No. 8917, which provides for the assessment of abatement costs. On October 13, 2015, City Council approved Ordinance No. 8926, which certified Assessment Roll No. 2015-1. On December 14, 2015, Council approved Ordinance No. 8953, which certified Assessment Roll No. 2016-1. On September 26, 2016, City Council approved Ordinance No.’s 9043 and 9044 which certified Assessment Roll No.’s 2016-2 and 2016-3, respectively. On October 23, 2017, City Council approved Ordinance No. 9189 which certified Assessment Roll No. 2017-1. On October 23, 2018, Council approved Ordinance No. 9355 which certified Assessment Roll No. 2018-1. More recently, on July 22, 2019, Council approved Ordinance No. 9502 which amended the notice of hearing and protest deadlines by expanding each by five days to create more time between the protest filing deadline and hearing date. Also, on August 12, 2019 Council approved Resolution No. 14523 which set the hearing on protests for September 17, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. and directed the Mayor to appoint a hearings officer. BACKGROUND In or about July 2015, City Council became aware that the City had over $600,000 in unpaid weed and trash abatement liens. In the past, the City did not generally recover the amount owed for a weed or trash lien unless and until the property affected was sold or transferred. The majority of the outstanding liens are for relatively small amounts and therefore, it is not cost effective to collect the amounts owed through civil litigation or foreclosure. All of the outstanding liens resulted from costs actually incurred and paid by the City to remove weeds and trash from the properties subject to the liens. All of the liens that the City seeks to certify to the County Treasurer by this Ordinance have been outstanding for more than six months. Most of the liens have been pending since late 2017 and throughout 2018. Pursuant to Colorado Revised Statute §31-20-105, any municipality, in addition to the means provided by law, if by ordinance it so elects, may cause any or all delinquent charges, assessments, or taxes made or levied to be certified to the treasurer of the county and be collected and paid over by the treasurer of the county in the same manner as taxes are authorized to be collected. Certifying the weed and trash abatement lien assessments to the County Treasurer is a more efficient method to collect the amounts owed. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The cost of the weed and trash abatement has already been incurred by the City. Certification of the abatement lien assessments to the County Treasurer is anticipated to increase the amount collected by the City for the liens. BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: None. STAKEHOLDER PROCESS: None. ALTERNATIVES: Council may choose to deny the ordinance in which case the City will continue to collect the liens by other methods. RECOMMENDATION Approval of this Ordinance. Attachments: Report of Abatement Lien Assessments dated September 17, 2019 and Ruling on Protests. ORDINANCE NO. 9570 AN ORDINANCE ELECTING TO CERTIFY ABATEMENT ASSESSMENT ROLL NO. 2019-1 TO THE COUNTY TREASURER AND TO HAVE THE COUNTY TREASURER COLLECT IN THE SAME MANNER AS OTHER TAXES BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that: SECTION 1. The City Council of Pueblo, a Municipal Corporation, pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-20-105 of the Colorado Revised Statutes and Chapter 8 of Title VII of the Pueblo Municipal Code, hereby acknowledges receipt of the Report of Abatement Lien Assessments dated September 17, 2019 attached hereto. SECTION 2. A hearing was held at 9:00 a.m. on September 17, 2019 in the City Council Chambers at which time any protests or objections to the lien assessments were heard. Any person interested in or affected by a proposed charge and who filed a written protest with the City Clerk on or before 5:00 p.m. on September 10, 2019 had the ability to present testimony and evidence at the hearing. The Hearings Officer has issued recommended findings and orders. SECTION 3. City Council has reviewed the recommended findings and orders of the Hearing Officer dated September 17, 2019. City Council hereby adopts the findings and orders of the Hearing Officer and elects to cause any or all of the delinquent abatement lien assessments set forth in the Report of Abatement Lien Assessments dated September 17, 2019, to be certified to the Pueblo County Treasurer and to be collected and paid over by the Treasurer in the same manner as other taxes. SECTION 4. The Code Compliance Unit Supervisor is directed to thereafter prepare an Assessment Roll, showing in suitable columns for each piece of land assessed: the property Parcel number, assessed owner, complete mailing address and/or post office box number of the assessed owner, complete and accurate legal description, and the amount to be collected, and deliver the same to the Director of Finance. The Director of Finance is directed to thereafter certify and deliver the Assessment Roll, together with a copy of this Ordinance certified by the City Clerk under the seal of Pueblo, a Municipal Corporation, to the County Treasurer, therein showing all payments made thereon, with the date of each payment, together with her warrant for the collection of the same. The County Treasurer is requested to receive the same, and such Assessment Roll shall be numbered as follows: ASSESSMENT ROLL NO. 2019-1 SECTION 5. The County Treasurer is requested to receive payment of all assessments and interest appearing upon said Assessment Roll. In case of default in payment of any assessment when due, the County Treasurer is requested to advertise and sell any and all property concerning which such default is suffered, for the payment of the whole of the unpaid assessments thereon. Said advertisements and sale shall be made at the same time, in the same manner, under all the said conditions and penalties, and with the same effect as are provided by general law for sales of real estate in default of payment of general taxes. SECTION 6. Any person may pay the City for any assessment hereby certified on the Report of Abatement Lien Assessments dated September 17, 2019, with accrued interest and applicable filing fees, up to the date the Report is certified to the County Treasurer. The Report of Abatement Lien Assessments dated September 17, 2019 may be certified to the County Treasurer any time after October 15, 2019. Any such payments shall be made at the City of Pueblo Finance Department. All monies received for the payment of assessments shall be deposited into General Fund. SECTION 7. The officers and staff of the City are authorized and directed to perform any and all acts consistent with the intent of this Ordinance to effectuate the policies and procedures described herein. SECTION 8. This Ordinance shall become effective on the date of final action by the Mayor and City Council. Action by City Council: Introduced and initial adoption of Ordinance by City council on September 23, 2019. Final adoption of Ordinance by City Council on October 15, 2019 . President of City Council Action by the Mayor: ☒ Approved on October 17, 2019 . □ Disapproved on based on the following objections: Mayor Action by City Council After Disapproval by the Mayor : □ Council did not act to override the Mayor’s veto. □ Ordinance re-adopted on a vote of , on □ Council action on failed to override the Mayor’s veto. President of City Council ATTEST City Clerk