Burnsville council moves $6,875 in unpaid property-maintenance fees to tax assessments

The Burnsville City Council on Monday approved a resolution moving $6,874.75 in unpaid property-maintenance fees assessed by the city’s Neighborhood Services division onto property tax statements.

The fees were described by Deputy Community Development Director Travis Bistadoe as the remaining balance after staff outreach. "Final notices for the outstanding fees went out to property owners on April 18, and an open house was held for folks to come in and resolve those fees on April 23," Bistadoe told the council. He said the public hearing was the "final option for residents to dispute any of those charges."

Why it matters: moving unpaid maintenance fees to a property tax roll is a final collection step that places the charge on the tax statement and can affect a future sale or refinancing of the property. Bistadoe and other staff told council that city policy requires a biannual assessment of unpaid neighborhood-services fees and that staff works to resolve accounts voluntarily before referral to assessment.

What council did: after Bistadoe’s presentation the mayor opened the public hearing; no members of the public spoke and councilmembers moved to adopt the resolution. The motion carried with one abstention recorded.

Additional context: Bistadoe said there were no written objections at the time the background was prepared and none submitted before the hearing closed. He also said staff makes efforts to assist residents with hardship and that the assessment step is taken only after other efforts are exhausted.

Looking ahead: property owners who believe they have a hardship or have questions about the fee were told to contact city staff for available options before an assessment is placed on taxes.