(A) The City Council may, at its discretion, defer the payment of special assessments for any homestead property:
(1) Owned by a person 65 years of age or older for whom it would be a hardship to make the payments;
(2) Owned by a person who is retired by virtue of a permanent and total disability for whom it would be a hardship to make the payments; or
(3) Owned by a person who is a member of the state’s National Guard or other military reserves who is ordered into active military service, as defined in M.S. § 190.05, subd. 5b or 5c, as they may be amended from time to time, as stated in the person’s military orders, for whom it would be a hardship to make the payments.
(B) (1) For purposes of this section, the determination of hardship shall be made by the City Council upon consideration of the following:
(a) The total assets and liabilities of the person claiming the hardship;
(b) The total income of the person whether taxable or non-taxable;
(c) The value of any assets transferred by the applicant within three years of the application for deferral of the assessment; and
(d) The total expenses of the person.
(2) Determination of hardship can also be made on the basis of exceptional and unusual circumstances not covered by the standards and guidelines where the determination is made in a non-discriminatory manner and does not give the applicant an unreasonable preference or advantage over other applicants.
(C) For purposes of this section, a person is deemed to be retired by virtue of a permanent and total disability if the person is determined to be permanently and totally disabled by the Social Security Administration.
(D) For purposes of this section, the burden of proving the existence of a hardship shall be the responsibility of the applicant for the deferral of any payment of a special assessment.
(E) The procedure to obtain a deferred assessment is as follows.
(1) A homeowner shall make application for deferred payment of special assessments on forms prescribed by the City Administrator and the County Auditor. The application may be made at any time while payments of assessments are due on the property.
(2) The application shall be considered by the City Council at its first regular meeting following receipt of it and a decision shall be made on the application at the meeting unless additional information is required by the City Council. In such event, the City Council shall make its decision at its first regular meeting following receipt of all information it requires to make its decision. Written notification of the decision of the City Council shall be provided to the applicant.
(3) The City Council shall consider all evidence of hardship presented to it and make its decision on any application on the basis of written findings of fact. The City Council shall not grant any request for a deferral of any payment of a special assessment unless it determines that the payment of the special assessment would leave the applicant with insufficient funds to pay applicant’s reasonable living expenses.
(4) If the deferred assessment is granted, the City Administrator shall record a notice thereof with the County Recorder which shall set forth the amount of the assessment.
(5) The City Council may determine, by ordinance or resolution, the amount of interest, if any, on the deferred assessment and this rate shall be recorded by the City Administrator along with and in the same manner as the amount of the assessment.
(F) The option to defer the payment of special assessments shall terminate and all amounts accumulated, plus applicable interest, shall become due upon the occurrence of any of the following events:
(1) The death of the owner, provided that the spouse (if any) is otherwise not eligible for the benefits hereunder;
(2) The sale, transfer or subdivision of the property or any part thereof;
(3) If the property should for any reason lose its homestead status; or
(4) If, for any reason, the City Council shall determine that there would be no hardship to require immediate or partial payment.
(Ord. 335, passed 2-2-2009)