4.8. SR 10-12-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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qu~lifies, all special assessments plus interest shall be payable in equal installments spread over the time remaining until the last maturity of the date of the bonds issued to finance the improvement for which the improvements were levied. If the bonds have matured, the special assessments plus interest shall be payable within 90 days. The city currently has $1,006,100 of deferred assessments $972,200 of which are deferred under the green acres statute. One of the deferrals dates back to 1974 and will continue to be deferred until the property no longer qu~]ifies. Interest rates on the deferrals range from six percent to 12.24 percent. It is important to know that assessments on green acres parcels are deferred automatically by the county at the time the property owner applies for green acre status, or f a parcel is already green acres deferred, the assessments are automatically deferred when certified to the county. For this reason, property owners often do not realize that there is an outstanding assessment accruing interest on their property. The county does not notify the city each time an assessment has been green acres deferred. Therefore, city staff has no contact with the property owner regarding the deferral. Unfortunately, the green acres application filed with the county does not state that assessments on the property will also be deferred. Several years ago the city requested that a sentence be added to the green acres card indicating that assessments are automatically deferred unless the property owner requests otherwise. However, this notice to the property owner was not added. Conclusion After research and discussion with the City Attorney, it has been determined that the Agricultural Property Tax statute clearly identifies that interest must be accrued on the assessments deferred and that it shall be collected based on the provisions outlined in the statute. Although Chapter 429 does allow for the deferral or forgiveness of interest on assessments, the green acres statute does not contain such a provision. Therefore, the city has no authority to forgive interest on any assessments deferred under the green acres statute. Action Requested This is a discussion only item since Minnesota'Statute 273.111 clearly does not give the city authority to forgive interest on special assessments deferred under the green acres statute.