Chapter 12.25 PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS

Whenever the City Council shall deem it necessary, upon its own motion or upon the petition of the owners of two-thirds of the property to benefit specially from the improvement, to make any street, sewer, sidewalk, drain, water line or other public improvement to be paid for in whole or in part by special assessment according to benefits, then the City Council shall, by motion, direct the City Engineer to make a survey and written report for such project and file the same with the City Recorder. Unless the City Council shall direct otherwise, such report shall contain the following matters:

1. A map or plat showing the general nature, location, and extent of the proposed improvement and the land to be assessed for the payment of any part of the cost thereof.

2. Estimates of the work to be done; provided, however, that where the proposed project is to be carried out in cooperation with any other governmental agency, the engineer may adopt the plans, specifications or estimates of such agency.

3. An estimate of the probable cost of the improvement, including any legal, administrative and engineering costs attributable thereto.

4. An estimate of the unit cost of the improvement to the specially benefited properties.

5. A recommendation as to the method of assessment to be used to arrive at a fair apportionment of the whole or any portion of the cost of the improvement to the properties specially benefited.

6. The description (which description may be by county tax lot numbers only) and assessed value of each lot, parcel of land, or portion thereof, to be specially benefited by the improvement, with the names of the record owners thereof and, when readily available, the names of the contract purchasers thereof.

7. A statement of outstanding assessments against property to be assessed. [Ord. 681 § 1, 1995; Ord. 642 § 1, 1993; Ord. 556 § 1, 1988.]

12.25.020 Council’s action on Engineer’s report.

After the City Engineer’s report shall have been filed with the City Recorder, the City Council may thereafter by motion approve the report, modify the report and approve it as modified, require the Engineer to supply additional or different information for such improvements or it may abandon the improvement. [Ord. 556 § 2, 1988.]

12.25.030 Resolution and notice of hearing.

After the City Council shall have approved the report as submitted or modified, the City Council shall, by resolution, designate the proposed improvement, declare its intention to make such improvement, provide the manner and method of carrying out the improvement, and shall direct the recorder to file notice of such improvement by two publications, one week apart, in a newspaper of general circulation within the City of Harrisburg, and by mailing copies of such notice by registered or certified mail to the owners to be assessed for the costs of such improvement, which said notice shall contain the following matters.

1. That a written report of the improvement is on file in the office of the Recorder and is subject to public examination.

2. That the City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed improvement at a specified place, time and date, which shall not be earlier than 10 days following the first publication of notice, at which hearing the City Council will hear and consider objections and remonstrances to the proposed improvement by any parties aggrieved thereby; and that if, prior to such hearing, there shall be presented to the recorder valid, written remonstrances of the owners of two-thirds of the property or two-thirds of the front footage of the property to be specially affected by such improvement, then the improvement will be abandoned for at least six months.

3. A description of the property to be specially benefited by the improvement (which description may be by county tax lot numbers only), the owner of such property, and the estimate of the unit cost of the improvement to the property to be specially benefited, and the total cost of the improvement to be paid for by special assessments to the benefited properties. [Ord. 681 § 2, 1995; Ord. 556 § 3, 1988.]

12.25.040 Manner of doing work.

The City Council may provide in the improvement resolution that the construction work may be done in whole or in part by the City of Harrisburg, or by a contract, or by any other governmental agency, or by any combination thereof. [Ord. 556 § 4, 1988.]

12.25.050 Hearing.

At the time of the public hearing on the proposed improvement, if the written remonstrances shall represent less than the amount of property required to defeat the proposed improvement, if such an improvement is one that can be remonstrated against, then on the basis of such hearing of written remonstrances and oral objections, if any, the City Council may, by motion, at the time of said hearing or within 60 days thereafter, order said improvement to be carried out in accordance with the resolution, or the City Council may, on its own motion, abandon the improvement. When the City Council decides to proceed with the improvement, plans and specifications of the work to be done shall be prepared by the City Engineer or other authorized person. [Ord. 556 § 5, 1988.]

12.25.060 Call of bids.

The City Council may, at its discretion, direct the City Recorder to advertise for bids for construction of all, or any part of, the improvement project on the basis of the City Council approved Engineer’s report and before the passage of the resolution; or after the passage of the resolution and before the public hearing on the proposed improvement, or at any time after said public hearing; provided, however, that no contract shall be let until after the public hearing has been held to hear remonstrances and oral objections to the proposed improvement. In the event that any part of the work of the improvement is to be done under contract bids, then the City Council shall determine the time and manner of advertisement for bids; and the contracts shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder; provided, that the City Council shall have the right to reject all bids when they are deemed unreasonable or unsatisfactory. The City shall provide for the bonding of all contractors for the faithful performance of any contract let under its authority, and the provisions of any contract let under its authority, and the provisions thereof in case of default shall be enforced by action in the name of the City of Harrisburg.

If the City Council finds, upon opening bids for the work of such improvement, that the lowest responsible bid is substantially in excess of the Engineer’s estimate, it may, in its discretion, provide for holding a special hearing of objections to the proceeding with the improvement on the basis of such bid, and it may direct the City Recorder to publish one notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Harrisburg. [Ord. 556 § 6, 1988.]

12.25.070 Assessment.

If the City Council decides to make the improvement, when the estimated cost thereof is ascertained, the City Engineer shall determine the amount of the assessments, in accordance with HMC 12.25.080, to each specially benefited lot or parcel in the improvement district, including a proportionate share of overhead costs, such as the cost of engineering, interest on warrants, advertising, postage and supplies for mailing notices of assessments, and bonding. [Ord. 556 § 7, 1988.]

12.25.080 Method of assessment.

The assessment of each specially benefited lot or parcel within a local improvement district shall be determined as follows:

1. Individual properties shall pay for public improvements specially benefiting the property.

2. The City will pay the cost of:

a. Extra-capacity improvements when the size of the public improvements required exceeds the minimum standards of the City, as set forth in public improvement standard specifications prepared by the City Engineer and adopted by the City Council, and the project has been included in the City budget document for the fiscal year during which construction of the improvement is scheduled.

b. Special and unusual costs when the City Council determines that circumstances exist which warrant City payment of all or a portion of the cost of the public improvement.

3. The City may use any other means to finance improvements, including Federal or State grants-in-aid, user charges or fees, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, or any other legal means of finance to pay either all or any part of the cost of the improvements. [Ord. 556 § 8, 1988.]

12.25.090 Apportionment of assessments.

1. Subtraction of City-Financed Costs. Costs of the improvement to be borne by the City shall be excluded from the assessment before apportionment.

2. Special Improvements. Special costs or features of the improvement that benefit a particular parcel of property in a manner peculiar to that parcel shall, together with a share of the overhead for the improvement, be assessed separately against the parcel.

3. Apportionment of Assessment. The remainder of the costs of the improvement, its general costs, together with the overhead for the improvement, shall be assessed against the benefited property in the following manners:

a. All property shall be assessed in accordance with the method of apportioning assessments adopted by the City Council; or

b. If property owners of all or a part of the benefited properties within the improvement district are in unanimous agreement, and so request, then their share of the improvement costs may be apportioned as an equal amount; or

c. If special conditions exist, the City Council may use any method of apportioning the sum to be assessed, other than subsections (3)(a) or (b) of this section, as is just and reasonable between the properties to be specially benefited. [Ord. 556 § 9, 1988.]

12.25.100 Assessment ordinance.

If the City Council determines that the local improvement shall be made when the estimate cost thereof is ascertained on the basis of the contract award or City departmental or other agency cost, or after the work is done and the cost thereof has been actually determined, the City Council shall determine whether the property benefited shall bear all or a portion of the cost. The Recorder or other person designated by the City Council shall prepare the proposed assessment to the respective lots within the assessment district and file it in the appropriate City office. Notice of such proposed assessment shall be mailed or personally delivered to the owner of each lot proposed to be assessed, which notice shall state the amounts of assessment proposed on that property and shall fix a date by which time written objections shall be filed with the Recorder. Any such objection shall state the grounds thereof. The City Council shall consider such objections and may adopt, correct, modify or revise the proposed assessment and shall determine the amount of assessment to be charged against each lot within the district, according to the special and peculiar benefits accruing thereto from the improvement, and shall by ordinance spread the assessments. [Ord. 556 § 10, 1988.]

12.25.110 Notice of assessment.

Within 10 days after the ordinance levying assessments has been passed, the City Recorder shall send by registered or certified mail a notice of assessment to the owner of the assessed property, and shall publish notice of such assessment once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Harrisburg, the first publication of which shall be made not later than 10 days after the date of the assessment ordinance. The notice of assessment shall recite the date of the assessment ordinance and shall state that, upon the failure of the owner of the property assessed to make application to pay the assessment in installments within 10 days from the date of the first publication of notice, or upon the failure of the owner to pay the assessment in full within 30 days from the date of the assessment ordinance, then interest will commence to run on the assessment and that the property assessed will be subject to foreclosure. The mailed notices shall further set forth a description of the property assessed (which description may be by county tax lot numbers only), the name of the owners of the property, and the amount of the assessment. The published notice need only describe the property generally, and need not describe the specific properties assessed or the names of the property owners or the amounts of the assessment. [Ord. 556 § 11, 1988.]

12.25.120 Deferral of assessment payment on delay of benefit.

1. Collection of an assessment for construction of a new street, and all local improvements within the street right-of-way, opened through action of the City Council may be deferred when the abutting property does not have or is denied driveway access or access to any of the local improvements within the right-of-way, and the property is not developed for a purpose which makes use of the street, or any local improvements therein.

2. If the local improvement will primarily benefit a land division approved by the Planning Commission in the preceding 18 months, and the street improvement is required by the City Council to comply with a neighborhood street pattern adopted by the Planning Commission, and a deferral has been granted to the abutting property owners under subsection (1) of this section, then the land divider shall pay the total cost of the deferred assessment to the City at the time of assessment.

3. If a deferral of assessment is granted under subsection (1) of this section, then the City shall establish a one-foot reserve strip within the public right-of-way to prohibit connection by the abutting property owners to the street or any local improvement therein. [Ord. 556 § 12, 1988.]

12.25.130 Agreement to defer assessment payments.

1. The Finance Officer shall make available to interested persons, upon request, information regarding eligibility for deferral of assessment payments. To be eligible, the property adjoining the public improvement must be within the City limits and must be used for residential purposes. The person requesting the deferral must live in the residence. An eligible property owner who requests such deferral shall submit evidence of eligibility on forms provided by the Finance Officer. After review of the evidence submitted, the Finance Officer shall notify the applicant whether the request has been granted. If it has, the applicant shall enter into a contract to pay the assessment in accordance with the terms of the deferral. The contract may be recorded in the official records of Linn County, Oregon.

2. Promissory notes shall include the following information:

a. Owner’s name(s);

b. Address, and legal address of the property;

c. Owner’s mailing address, if different from property address;

d. The assessment amount;

e. The installment period;

f. The interest rate;

g. The agreement and written body of the promissory note.

3. Interest rates shall be charged at the current rate established by resolution.

4. In addition, the following shall be included in the language of the promissory note:

a. A charge for a late fee, in an amount to be established by Council resolution, if the property owner fails to make a payment within 10 days of the due date;

b. A statement that if the property owner is more than 30 days late with a payment, then the City, at its option, is authorized to consider the full amount immediately due and payable; and

c. That the full amount owing is due upon the sale or change of ownership of the property.

5. The length of time allowed by the contract to pay the assessment shall be agreed to between the property owner and the Finance Officer, but shall not be longer than 10 years and monthly payments, including principal and interest, shall not be less than $20.00.

6. The City shall not be obligated to provide installment financing and may decline to do so as long as City, State and Federal regulations are complied with. Reasons for denying installment financing may include a lack of available funding for installment agreements at the City and an unacceptable credit rating by the property owner. [Ord. 846, 2006; Ord. 832 § 1, 2005; Ord. 556 § 13, 1988.]

12.25.140 Rendering of bills, responsibilities, delinquencies, and penalties.

1. Once an installment account has been established and is legally represented by a promissory note, a monthly statement shall be mailed. All accounts established by promissory note are scheduled to be mailed at the beginning of each month.

2. The statement shall be due and payable to the City no later than 20 days after the date of billing, and shall thereafter be considered delinquent.

3. Statements still delinquent as of the tenth day after the due date shall have a late charge applied to their account. All payments received shall be applied to (a) any late fees owing, (b) accrued and unpaid interest on the unpaid balance, and (c) the principal amount owing.

4. Notice of delinquent amounts and the addition of late fees shall be applied to the next statement mailed to a property owner.

5. On all amounts not paid within 30 days from the date of such assessment ordinance, the City may proceed to foreclosure or enforce collection of the assessment liens in the manner provided by the general law of the State of Oregon. [Ord. 832 § 2, 2005; Ord. 556 § 14, 1988.]

12.25.150 Deferral of assessments – Liens.

Any assessment for which payments have been deferred under HMC 12.25.130 shall be a lien on the property to which the assessment pertains. When such an assessment becomes due under HMC 12.25.160, it may be enforced and collected as though it had not been deferred. [Ord. 556 § 14, 1988.]

12.25.160 Termination of deferral of assessment.

1. A deferral of street and drainage assessments shall terminate if the abutting property owner takes access to the street through a driveway.

2. A deferral of an assessment for a particular improvement, such as a water main, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, sidewalk or any other local improvement, shall terminate when the abutting property owner connects to that particular improvement for which the assessment has been levied. The deferral of assessment will not terminate for those improvements to which the property owner does not connect.

3. A deferral of assessment shall terminate, for the entire amount of the assessment levied, if the abutting property is partitioned or if the abutting property is developed for a use other than a single-family residence. [Ord. 556 § 15, 1988.]

12.25.170 Reimbursement to land divider.

If a land divider has paid the City the total cost of a deferred assessment under HMC 12.25.120(1), and the deferred assessment has been terminated by the City and abutting property owners in accordance with HMC 12.25.160, then the land divider shall be reimbursed by the City in an amount equal to the amount of the assessment for which the deferral has been terminated. [Ord. 556 § 16, 1988.]

12.25.180 Termination of reserve strips.

When all deferrals of assessment for a local improvement have been terminated, the City shall remove the one-foot reserve strip established under HMC 12.25.120(3). [Ord. 556 § 17, 1988.]

12.25.190 Lien records and foreclosure proceedings.

1. After passage of the assessment ordinance by the City Council, the City Recorder shall enter in the docket of City liens a statement of the amount assessed upon each property benefited, together with a description of the improvement, the name of the owners, and the date of the assessment ordinance. Upon such entry in the lien docket, the amount so entered shall become a lien and charge upon the respective lots, parcels of land or portions thereof, which have been assessed for such improvement. All assessment liens of the City of Harrisburg shall be superior and prior to all other liens or encumbrances on property insofar as the laws of the State of Oregon permit.

2. Interest shall be charged at a current rate of interest to be fixed by ordinance. On all amounts not paid within 30 days from the date of such assessment ordinance, the City may proceed to foreclosure or enforce collection of the assessment liens in the manner provided by the general law of the State of Oregon. The City may, at its option, enter a bid for the property being offered at a foreclosure sale, which bid shall be prior to all bids except those made by persons who would be entitled under the laws of the State of Oregon to redeem such property. [Ord. 681 § 3, 1995; Ord. 556 § 18, 1988.]

12.25.200 Errors in assessment calculation.

Claimed errors in the calculation of assessments shall be called to the attention of the City Recorder, who shall determine whether there has been an error in fact. If the recorder shall find that there has been an error in fact, he shall recommend to the Council an amendment to the assessment ordinance to correct such error, and upon enactment of such amendment the City Recorder shall make the necessary correction in the docket of the City liens and send a correct notice of assessment by registered or certified mail. [Ord. 556 § 19, 1988.]

12.25.210 Deficit assessment.

In the event that an assessment shall be made before the total cost of the improvement is ascertained, and if it is found that the amount of the assessment is insufficient to defray the expenses of the improvement, the City Council may, by motion, declare such deficit and prepare a proposed deficit assessment. The City Council shall set a time for a hearing of objections to such deficit assessment and shall direct the City Recorder to publish one notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Harrisburg. After such hearing, the City Council shall make a just and equitable deficit assessment by ordinance, which shall be entered in the docket of City liens as provided by this chapter, and notices of the deficit assessment shall be published and mailed and the collection of the assessment shall be made in accordance with HMC 12.25.100 and 12.25.110. [Ord. 556 § 20, 1988.]

12.25.220 Rebates.

If, upon the completion of the improvement project, it is found that the assessment previously levied upon any property is more than sufficient to pay the costs of such improvement, then the Council must ascertain and declare the same by ordinance, and when so declared, the excess amounts must be entered on the lien docket as a credit upon the appropriate assessment. In the event that any assessment has been paid, the person who paid the same, or his legal representative, shall be entitled to the repayment of such rebate credit, or the portion thereof which exceeds the amount unpaid on the original assessment. [Ord. 556 § 21, 1988.]

12.25.230 Abandonment of proceedings.

The City Council shall have full power and authority to abandon and rescind proceedings for improvements made under this chapter at any time prior to the final completion of such improvements; and if liens have been assessed upon any property under such procedure, they shall be cancelled, and any payments made on such assessments shall be refunded to the person paying the same, his assigns or legal representatives. [Ord. 556 § 22, 1988.]

12.25.240 Curative provision.

No improvement assessment shall be rendered invalid by reason of a failure of the Engineer’s report to contain all of the information required by HMC 12.25.010, or by reason of a failure to have all of the information required to be in the improvement resolution, the assessment ordinance, the lien docket or notices required to be published and mailed, nor by the failure to list the name of, or mail notice to, the owner of any property as required by this chapter, or by reason of any other error, mistake, delay, omission, irregularity, or other act, jurisdictional or otherwise, in any of the proceedings or steps herein specified; unless it appears that the assessment is unfair or unjust in its effect upon the person complaining; and the City Council shall have the power and authority to remedy and correct all such matters by suitable action and proceedings. [Ord. 556 § 23, 1988.]

12.25.250 Reassessment.

Whenever any assessment, deficit or reassessment for any improvement which has been made by the City has been, or shall be, set aside, annulled, declared or rendered void, or its enforcement restrained by any court of this State, or any Federal court having jurisdiction thereof, or when the Council shall be in doubt as to the validity of such assessment, deficit assessment, or reassessment, or any part thereof, then the City Council may make a reassessment in the manner provided by the laws of the State of Oregon. [Ord. 556 § 24, 1988.]

12.25.260 Remedies.

Subject to the curative provisions of HMC 12.25.240, and the rights of the City to reassess as provided in HMC 12.25.250, proceedings for writs of review and suits in equity may be filed no later than 60 days after the passage by the City Council of the ordinance spreading the assessments; providing that the property owner shall have filed a written objection to the proposed assessment as provided in HMC 12.25.050, and shall not have paid the assessment or signed an application to pay the assessment in installments. Such property owner may commence a suit for equitable relief based on a total lack of jurisdiction on the part of the City; to the owner, and if the owner did not have actual knowledge of the proposed improvement prior to the hearing, then the owner may file written objections alleging lack of jurisdiction with the recorder within 30 days after receiving notice or knowledge of the improvement. No provision of this section shall be construed so as to lengthen any period of redemption, or so as to affect the running of any statute of limitation or equitable defense, including laches. Any proceeding on a writ of review or suit in equity shall be abated if proceedings are commenced and diligently pursued by the City to remedy or cure the alleged errors or defects. [Ord. 556 § 25, 1988.]