Street Funding Task Force

We've received almost 300 feedback forms and many phone calls to date. Thanks for all the points of view on this very difficult topic. One specific phone conversation confirmed what we are hearing from the community but also a point that needs clarification.

First, for those that have previously been assessed. We understand this change is difficult and unfair. You've paid or are still paying for an assessment. The current policy that assesses 100% of the costs was adopted by council in the early 2000's. The policy worked for most of those years. The current policy is not legally and financially sustainable. A change is needed. We all wish we could go back and implement a different policy that would work for the 40+ years it requires to reconstruct our streets.

Second, the estimated financial impacts of the options being presented may not have been clear. In the first year of either option, taxes on the median valued home would increase city taxes for funding street reconstruction by approximately $40. In the remaining 15-years of the transition to either 50% city taxes or 100% city taxes, city taxes on the median family home would increase by $4 or $9 per year for funding street reconstruction. The current estimates based on a 16-yr transition would increase city taxes for funding street reconstruction on the median family home by either $100 or $175 respectively. Note that higher valued homes would pay more in city taxes and lesser valued homes would pay less.

Thanks, Chad Millner, City Engineer

Please note the feedback form will be open until noon on January 19, 2021. Thus far we have had 273 completed feedback forms. This is great. Please share with neighbors and other Edina residents. We want to get as many participants as possible. Thanks, Chad Millner, City Engineer.

We have received lots of feedback on the information that has been provided thus far. Thank you very much for the thoughtful comments. We are starting to see a few common questions or themes from those forms. Over the next few days, we will provide more information to make sure we all have a similar understanding on this matter. Two items of clarification are listed below.

1. What is the approximate number of residents that are assessed pay off their assessment immediately upon getting the notice for payment from the City? Approximately 1/3 of special assessments are paid off immediately and do not show up on tax statements. Approximately 1/3 pay it off early during the 15-year re-payment period and the remaining 1/3 pay it off over the entire re-payment period of 15-years.

1. What happens with a special assessment that has been levied on a property when it is sold? Typically during the sale of a home, the buyer and seller negotiate paying off the assessment into price of the home.

We have been received many feedback forms and questions. Thank you. One common question is why can’t the city keep using the current assessment policy that assesses 100% of the street costs to adjacent properties?

The city is finding that the application of that policy is legally difficult. The policy is based on State Statue Chapter 429 that gives cities the ability to assess for public improvements. In order to do so, the assessed properties need to see a benefit in their property values equal to or greater than the assessment. Historical, in most cases, the benefit test has been met. We are seeing future neighborhoods where this would not be the case. If the city assesses more than the market benefit it could lead to expensive litigation for the city and residents. In that case, both parties lose. The task force has determined that the current policy is not financially and legally sustainable.

The City’s Utility Fund covers the cost of curb and gutter and other utility improvements in a neighborhood roadway reconstruction project. Residents are currently assessed the cost of street reconstruction. Recent estimates for special assessments in neighborhoods with larger lots have climbed to over $30,000, a figure with which members of the City Council are not comfortable. The City Council delayed a project in the Prospect Knolls Neighborhood late last year until after a task force appointed by the City Manager could study the funding issue and make recommendations.

The City Manager’s Street Funding Task Force was announced at the City Council meeting on June 16. The Task Force has been meeting for eight months, worked to find sustainable solutions viewed as equitable while maintaining roadways to the current standard. The group believes a change is necessary.

The Task Forces Vision Statement is to develop a funding solution that is:

1. viewed by a plurality of residents as equitable,
2. able to maintain Edina's roadways to the City's standard, and
3. financially and legally sustainable.

• Ann Swenson, Task Force Chair
• David Alkire
• Chip Howard
• Kathy Kelly
• Hamid Mohtadi
• Ralph Zickert
• Matt Scherer, Transportation Commission Representative