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25 Minnesota Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (1992)

handle is hein.sag/sagmn0031 and id is 1 raw text is: Minnesota Legal Register (Attorney General Opinions Issue) Opinions of the Attorney General Hubert H. Humphrey, III * ** ** * * SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS: CITIES: DEFERMENTS: Minn. Stat. §§ 435.193 to 435.195 (1990) do not condi- tion grant of deferment on whether owner of assessed property could have qualified therefor at time assess- ment adopted; such grant not precluded by partial payment of assessment or sale of assessed property to otherwise qualified purchaser who makes application therefor. Deferment may not be granted based on owner being over 65 years of age without showing that It would be hardship to make payments. Con- tract for deed vendee in possession of property and using it as homestead Is owner for purposes of these statutes; no authority therein for governmental unit to defer, cancel, make refunds or otherwise affect col- lection of assessment payments due prior to grant of requested deferment. Brian C. Bengtson Grand Rapids City Attorney January 17, 1992 408-C P. O. Box 20 115 East Fifth Street Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55744 In your letter to Attorney General Hubert H. Hum- phrey, III, you submit substantially the following: FACTS Minn. Stat. §§ 435.193 to 435.195 (1990) relate to the authority of a city making a special assessment to defer the payment of that assessment for any homestead property owned by a person 65 years of age or older or retired by virtue of a permanent and total disability for whom it would be a hardship to make the payments. Section 435.193. The city has been confronted with a number of situations in which individuals have, pursuant to these statutes and chapter 51 of the city ordinances, sought to defer payment of special assessments levied by the city for local improvements under Minn. Stat. ch. 429. You set forth four of these situations, which are summarized below, and with reference to each, you sub- mit substantially the following: Page 1 In This Issue... Subject Op. No. Dated SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS: Cities: Deferments: 408-C 1/17/92 QUESTION Do Minn. Stat. § 435.193 to 435.195 (1990) allow the city council to defer payment of special assessments for local improvements levied by the city against the property? OPINION Before addressing each situation individually, a gen- eral review of these statutory provisions, and their appar- ent purpose, will be helpful. Section 435.193 confers authority for the deferment of special assessment pay- ments as follows: Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, any county, statutory or home rule charter city, or town, making a special assessment may, at its discretion, defer the payment of that assessment for any homestead property owned by a person 65 years of age or older or retired by virtue of a permanent and total disability for whom it would be a hardship to make the payments. Any county, statutory or home rule charter city, or town electing to defer special assessments shall adopt an ordinance or resolution establishing standards and guidelines for determining the existence of a hardship and for determining the existence of a disability, but nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the determination of hardship on the basis of exceptional and unusual circumstances not covered by the standards and guidelines where the determination is made in a nondiscriminatory manner and does not give the applicant an unreasonable preference or advantage over the other applicants. Section 435.194 is essentially procedural in content and relates to the application for deferment by the homeowner, as well as the recording requirements relevant to the granting of the deferment and the imposition of interest in connection therewith. Section 435.195 relates to the termination of the deferment and provides: 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: (a) the death of the owner, provided that the spouse is otherwise not eligible for the benefits JANUARY 1992

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