LEGISLATIVE, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
The Legislative, Finance, and Administration Committee meeting was held on May 29, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. with Chairman Salters presiding. Members present were Mr. Hogan, Mr. Slavin, Mr. Shevock, and Mrs. Jones. Members of Council present were Mr. Carey, Mr. McGiffin, Mr. Ruane, and Council President Williams.
AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS
Mr. Hogan moved for approval of the agenda, seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried.
Consideration of Reimbursement for Board of Adjustment Members
At the request of members of the Board of Adjustments, Councilmen Salters and Carey, and Council President Williams submitted an amendment to Chapter 2, Article IV, Section 2-201, Compensation and Expenses for Mayor, Council, Employees, and Other Elected or Appointed Officials, of the Dover Code for member’s consideration. This amendment would provide each appointed member of the Board of Adjustments $75.00 per diem reimbursement for expenses to be paid quarterly for preparation and attendance at each meeting of the Board of Adjustments, similar to like committees and commissions of the City of Dover.
Mr. Slavin moved to recommend adoption of the proposed ordinance amendment (Attachment #1), seconded by Mr. Hogan and unanimously carried.
Authorization to Purchase Cartanza Right-of-Way
Members were advised that in order to construct the 69Kv feeders 3 and 4, it is necessary to purchase an easement for approximately 3.7 acres in a southerly direction from the substation. In an effort to maximize reliability, staff chose a route that would provide a physical separation from the current 69Kv feeders, which will minimize the likelihood that an event would damage all of the City’s 69Kv lines. This route runs across property located on the northwesterly side of Country Road #338 (Edgewater Farm Lane), owned by Paul P. and Mark A. Cartanza and is currently woodlands and farmland.
Mr. Lunt advised members that after negotiating with the property owners for approximately one (1) year, there has been a mutual agreement on the terms of this purchase, which would be for the City to compensate the property owners $17,649.28 for the required easement, which is the approximate value that the City’s appraiser and City Assessor provided. In addition, he stated that prior to construction, the woodlands will need to be cleared and it is the desire of the property owners to perform this task. They requested to be compensated for clearing the land as it would be an expense to the City to perform the work. In order to prevent the growth of noxious weeds, the property owners also wanted compensation for spraying the easement, for the duration of the easement. Mr. Lunt indicated that by mutual agreement, both parties determined that a one-time payment, in the amount of $32,350.72, would be reasonable compensation for these two (2) tasks.
Mr. Lunt assured members that this is the only easement that the City will be required to purchase for the 69Kv Feeders 3 and 4 Project since the remainder of the line will be located in existing public right-of-way. The easement and agreement have been reviewed and approved by the Assistant City Solicitor.
Staff recommended that the City Manager and Treasurer/Finance Director be authorized to execute the Agreement for the purchase of an easement from Paul P. Cartanza and Mark A. Cartanza, owners of the Edgewater Farm Lane property, as outlined in the Agreement, for $50,000.00, which includes $17,649.28 for the easement and $32,350.72 for the woodland clearance and all future spraying of the easement for noxious weeds. The payments are to be made in two (2) parts, the first payment will be for the purchase of the easement and paid upon execution of the purchase agreement; and the second payment will be for woodland clearance and future spraying, which will be paid upon the City’s acceptance of the clearance.
Mr. Slavin moved to recommend that the City Manager and Treasurer/Finance Director be authorized to execute the Agreement for the purchase of an easement, as recommended by staff (Attachment #2). The motion was seconded by Mrs. Jones and unanimously carried.
Master Revaluation/Reassessment Program - Office of City Assessor
The City Assessor, Mr. Capuano, submitted a Master Revaluation/Reassessment Program for the City of Dover and explained that a revaluation/reassessment effort for the City should be predicated upon statistical analysis as it relates to uniformity, equity and level of assessments, in accordance with International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and available City resources. Therefore, staff recommended that all classes of property be studied, tested and evaluated in accordance with these standards before a decision is made to supply resources.
Mr. Capuano advised members that the PILOT Program, initiated this fiscal year, clearly demonstrates that approximately 3,200 residential single family properties are either at or below the minimum standards as promulgated by IAAO and USPAP, which do not require assessment changes. It is manifested that it would not be cost effective or serve the purpose of equity and uniformity by spending additional resources at this time. He explained that with minor adjustments to certain key neighborhoods, the City Assessor’s Office can easily bring these properties into balance with the standards. Therefore, staff recommended a six (6) year revaluation/reassessment program based upon the legal foundation of sales and market ratio studies for each of the remaining areas of the City; and propose to select four (4) additional residential neighborhoods and schedule them for a revaluation/reassessment study for the years 2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2010/2011, and 2011/2012, respectively. Mr. Capuano explained that this methodology should save the City several hundred thousand dollars over the traditional mandatory revaluation/reassessment cycle of every three (3) years as dictated by the City Charter. He stated that recent court decisions in New York and elsewhere in the United States, have ruled that this is an accepted method for meeting uniformity standards.
Mr. Capuano reviewed the PILOT Study results as well as the Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) Software, un-processed building permits, new residential building construction permits, and commercial building permits. The Office of the City Assessor purchased/leased its existing CAMA as part of the 2005 CLT Revaluation/Reassessment Project. Mr. Capuano advised members of the programs’ shortcomings and defects. As a result, staff recommended that the City issue RFP’s for the purpose of preparing for a revaluation/reassessment program sometime in the near future and that the City Council budget approximately $350,000 to replace the existing CAMA software.
In conducting an audit of all building permits issued by the Department of Planning and Inspections for the year 1997-2006, Mr. Capuano advised members that there were approximately 6,000 unprocessed building permits discovered (no valuation added to the properties), with a face value of approximately $200M which would yield approximately $600,000 in revenue to the City. Utilizing the new software, which would be built into the RFP, staff would be able to interface with the HTE software, which is utilized by the Planning and Inspection Department, and add the additional valuation to the tax roll with the savings of approximately 2,080 man hours.
Mr. Capuano stated that the City has in the planning/implementation stages approximately 4,000 new single family dwelling units. This volume of new and added work to the Assessor’s Office will require an additional full-time residential staff appraiser to handle the inspection/appraisal of these units. Staff recommended to include in the 2008 Budget, one (1) full-time Residential Appraisal Technician, at approximately $30,000.
Mr. Capuano also advised members that the City is currently experiencing several complicated commercial, retail, office, and other problematic appraisal projects. In addition, the rehabilitation and re-use/conversion of existing properties to a higher and better use is manifested by the amount of commercial building permits issued by the Department of Planning and Inspections. He reminded members that in the past, the Assessor’s Office has not had detailed inspections of this important/valuable class of properties to justify the values and assessments and are therefore, subject to challenge by sophisticated tax-payers. It would be necessary to complete the inspection, listing, measuring, and valuation of approximately 3,000 commercial properties currently on the tax rolls. In order to accomplish this goal, staff recommended development of an RFP for fiscal year 2008 expenditure for consultants to bid on the revaluation/reassessment of these properties. In addition, since the existing Commercial CAMA files are woefully deficient in details, staff recommended that one (1) full-time Commercial Appraisal Technician, at approximately $30,000, be included in the budget, to prepare for the Commercial Revaluation/Program planned to be implemented in 2008/2009.
Responding to Mr. Hogan, Mr. Capuano stated that although the Charter requires a reassessment every three (3) years, which he felt that such a system has not been successful in the past, it is his understanding that a Charter amendment would not necessarily be required as long as the City of Dover has established a plan of action. However, he stated that it may be the wishes of City Council to amend the City Charter.
Also, Mr. Capuano explained that the information is being presented to introduce the subjects to members. A formal report, inclusive of recommendations, is planned to be presented to members in September 2007. However, he explained that the issue with regards to software must be resolved at this time since staff is unable to conduct a reevaluation nor are they able to “tweak” the residential without adequate software.
In reviewing the recommendations contained in the report provided by the City Assessor, Mr. Hogan requested that staff address what is necessary to assure compliance with the City Charter when the formal requests are presented to members.
Mr. Slavin moved to recommend acceptance of the Report presented by the City Assessor, seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried.
Mr. Slavin moved for adjournment, seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried.
Meeting Adjourned at 6:49 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Reuben Salters
Chairman
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Attachments
Attachment #1 - Proposed Ordinance Amendment to Section 2-201 - Compensation and Expenses for Mayor, Council, Employees and Other Elected or Appointed Officials
Attachment #2 - Agreement for Purchase of Easement from Paul P. And Mark A. Cartanza