Special Assessments

Special assessments are a way for cities to charge certain properties for the cost of making a local improvement, or to collect certain charges that will benefit those properties.  The authority to levy special assessments is granted under Minnesota Statute, Chapter 429. 

Special assessments can be used to finance many different types of local improvements, including the following: 

• Street and sidewalk improvements 
• Storm and sanitary sewer systems 
• Steam heating mains 
• Street lights 
• Water works systems
• Parks, open space, playgrounds, and recreational facilities 
• Planting, maintenance, and trimming of street trees 
• Nuisance abatement 
• Dikes and flood control works 
• Retaining walls and area walls 
• Pedestrian skyway systems 
• Underground pedestrian concourses 
• Public malls, plazas, and courtyards 
• District heating systems 
• Some fire protection systems 
• Highway sound barriers 

Cities may use special assessments to recover the cost of the following service charges if the city has adopted an ordinance to provide for it. 

• Snow, ice, and rubbish removal from sidewalks 
• Weed elimination from streets and private property 
• Elimination of public health hazards from private property 
• Street lighting, sprinkling, and dust treatment 
• Repair of sidewalks and alleys 
• Trimming and care of trees and removal of unsound trees 
• Garbage collection (fourth class cities only) 
• Unpaid sewer and water bills 

Pending means the project has been approved by City Council and construction can start. Payment is not accepted at this point.  

Levied means the project is complete, the assessments have had their final calculation, and we can accept payment. Levied also means the assessments are certified and will be collected on your Hennepin County property tax statement.  

The following is a summary of the procedure for ordering a special assessments improvement

Initiation of the order for the improvement. 

The order for the improvement may be initiated by the City Council OR by a petition from affected property owners. Preparation of a feasibility report on the improvement. The city engineer (or other qualified person) must prepare a report on the proposed improvement. The report must include the estimated cost of the proposed improvement, and whether it is necessary, cost-effective, and feasible. 

Notice of the public hearing on the improvement.  

A public hearing must be held on the proposed improvement.  The city must publish a notice of the public hearing to consider the proposed improvement. It must be published twice with the notices appearing at least one week apart. At least three days must elapse between the last publication and the date of the hearing.  The city must also mail a notice to each property owner in the proposed assessment area at least 10 days prior to the hearing. 

Public hearing on the improvement.  

At the public hearing, interested persons will have an opportunity to voice their concerns, whether or not they are in the proposed assessment area. When a petition is signed by 100 percent of the landowners requesting the improvement, the City Council may order the improvement without a hearing. 

Ordering the improvement and the preparation of the plans.  

If the City Council began proceedings because of a petition signed by the owners of property that comprise at least 35 percent of the property frontage abutting the improvement, the City Council can pass a resolution to order the improvement with a majority vote. However, if the City Council initiated the proceedings, a four-fifths majority vote of the City Council is needed to pass the resolution. After the resolution is passed, the city engineer will prepare the necessary plans and specifications. The City Council will decide how the improvement will be done and, if necessary, issue a call for bids. 

The following is a summary of the procedure for levying special assessments

Preparation of the Proposed Assessment Roll.  

The city clerk and the engineer (or other qualified person) must calculate the proper amount to be specially assessed against each property that will benefit from the improvement. The proposed assessment roll must be available for public inspection in the city clerk's office. 

Notice of the public hearing on the proposed assessment.  

The city must publish notice of the hearing in the city newspaper.  The publication must occur at least once, not less than two weeks prior to the hearing.  The notice must include the following information: 

• Place, time, and date of the hearing 
• Overall project description
• Total cost of the improvement 
• Area to be assessed 
• Description of appeals procedure 
• Any deferment options

The city must also mail notice of the hearing to each property owner at least two weeks prior to the hearing date. The mailed notice must contain the following: 

• Amount of the assessment for the individual parcel 
• Prepayment information 
• Interest rate on the assessments '
• That the adoption of the proposed assessment may be made by the Council at the hearing 

Public hearing on the proposed assessment.  

The purpose of this hearing is to give affected property owners an opportunity to express their concerns on the actual special assessment levy. 

Approval and certification of the assessment roll.  

After the public hearing, if an assessment is adopted, the City Council must approve the assessment roll in its final form so the clerk can certify it to the County Auditor.  If the adopted assessment amount, interest rate, or prepayment requirements differ from those contained in the notice, the clerk must mail the property owner notice of the changes. 

Issuance of obligations to finance the improvement.  

Most cities use one of three types of bonds to finance special assessments:  improvement bonds, improvement warrants, or temporary improvement bonds.  See the 1996 Local Improvement Guide (LMC 515AI A.3) and Municipal Borrowing for Capital Needs (LMC 215D 1.9) for further discussion of these types of obligations. 

Levying and collecting assessments 

The clerk must certify the assessments to the county auditor.  This may be done either by certifying the entire assessment roll all at once, or by certifying each yearly amount annually.

In order to keep special assessment levies from being added to your tax statement, NEW special assessment levies must be paid by the close of city business on November 29. If November 29 falls on a weekend, the prepay date is the last workday before November 29. EXISTING special assessment levies must be paid by the close of city business on November 15. If November 15 falls on a weekend, the prepay date is the last workday before November 15. All prepayments of special assessments should be paid to the City of Bloomington, Assessor’s Office. 

Engineering and Assessing personnel are available to help answer your questions Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am. to 4:30 pm.  

Our phone numbers are: 

• Engineering (952) 563-4870 FAX: (952) 563-4868 [TTY (952) 563-8740 Teletyper] 
• Assessing (952) 563-4743 FAX: (952) 563-4741 [TTY (952) 563-8740 Teletyper]

As the name implies, it is a deferral of the special assessment amount that must be paid, with compounded interest, at some time in the future. It is not an exemption, exclusion, or forgiveness of any amount due. To have a special assessment deferred the owner must apply and qualify (see required qualifications below).

Minnesota Statues, Sections 435.193 through 435.195 authorizes cities to defer the payments of special assessments. On November 7, 1994, by Resolution Number 94-163, the Bloomington City Council established the criteria by which special assessments may be deferred.

To qualify for the special assessment deferment, ALL of the following are required:

• The applicants must be 65 years of age or older, or are retired by virtue of a permanent and total disability. A permanent and total disability is defined as a condition which is permanent by nature and which totally incapacitates the person from working at an occupation that affords the person an income.
• The payment of the special assessment would cause a hardship. A qualifying hardship is defined as follows: the applicant’s household income is below the ”‘very low income’” limit for the applicant’s family size on the current HUD Income Guidelines for Low and Very Low Income Families for the Minneapolis – St. Paul Area and, the average annual principle and interest due on the special assessment is in excess of one and one-half percent (1½%) of the annual gross income of the applicant’s household.
• The special assessment is levied on a parcel homesteaded by the applicant and valued at less than the current average value of a single family home in the City of Bloomington.

Only special assessments for permanent improvements are eligible. Current and/or delinquent service charges are not eligible. Service charges include, but are not limited to water and sewer service, tree removal, recycling, weed removal, storm drainage charges, street maintenance, administrative citations, and the clean up of grossly unsanitary dwellings.

Contact the Bloomington Assessor’s Office at 952-563-4743. Applications for deferment of special assessments for a given year of payment must be submitted to the City of Bloomington Assessor’s Office before October 15 of the preceding year. After the initial application, a renewal application is required each year until the deferment ends. Additional information to verify eligibility will be required each year the deferment is in effect.

The deferment will automatically terminate if:

• the owner dies and the spouse is not otherwise eligible for the deferment, or
• the parcel or any part thereof is sold, transferred, or subdivided, or
• the parcel loses its homestead status, or
• the City determines the owner or the owner’s spouse no longer qualifies for the hardship requirement.
• Also, the owner may terminate the deferment.
  • Upon termination of the deferment, payment shall be made of such portion of the deferred special assessments as would have then been due and payable had there been no deferment, together with any accumulated interest. Any remaining amounts shall be thereafter due and payable in accordance with the schedule under the original special assessment roll.
  • Contact the Assessor’s Office for payoff amounts 952-563-4743

The City Manager or his designee reviews the applications for consistency with and conformance to the standards and guidelines prescribed in the ordinance and will either grant or deny the application. You may appeal this determination to the City Council.

For special assessment deferment questions call the City of Bloomington Assessor’s Office Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am. to 4:30 pm at 952-563-4743.

You may make payment(s) using any of the following methods. 

All payment methods listed below must be initiated by you. The City is unable to "pull" payments such as ACH or EFT payments from a bank account.

Paper Check

• Mail to: 1800 West Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, MN 55431
• Drop off in person at the Finance Department during regular business hours, or place in a drop box located in the West parking lot or inside any of the three (3) entryways. 

Online Bill Pay

• You may arrange with your bank/financial institution to issue payment.
• Reference your Customer Number (5 digits) found on your invoice when setting up your online payment “payee”*. 

*PAYEE - If you are currently using Online Bill Pay (not ACH/EFT) to pay your Utility/Water/Garbage bill to the City of Bloomington (the payee) you must set up a separate/new payee account to pay the City of Bloomington for this invoice, as your tree invoice(s) are transacted in a separate billing system. 

Debit Card or Credit Card

Call the Cashier to process your payment 952-563-8757. Business hours Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m

An unpaid tree removal invoice may be eligible to be levied as a Special Assessment on your property taxes.

The Special Assessment timeline is determined based on the invoice date.

• Special assessment timeline and example scenarios

*New Levy Special Assessments 

To avoid having these charges added to your property taxes, any remaining balance must be paid by the close of City business on November 29. If November 29 falls on a weekend, payment must be made by the last regular business day before November 29. If you are unable to pay off the total remaining balance, you may make partial payment(s) prior to November 29 to reduce the amount of the new levied special assessment. 

**Post Levy - After unpaid balance has been levied to the property taxes

During your 3, 5 or 10 year Special Assessment period you may payoff the balance in FULL on or before the close of City business on November 15. If November 15 falls on a weekend, the payoff must be made by the last regular business day before November 15. ALL Special Assessment payoffs must be paid to the City of Bloomington Assessor’s Office, call (952) 563-4743 for payoff balance information. 

Special Assessment Deferral

If you are 65 years or older, or permanently and totally disabled you may qualify for a deferment program. The deferment program does not excuse the assessment but puts off the payment of the assessment to a future date. Interest accrues for as long as the assessment is deferred. The property must be homesteaded, and the total assessment must be $750 or more. Call the Assessing Office at (952) 563-4743 for more information.