ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and the Community Development Director with a Request to ADOPT an ORDINANCE Amending CHAPTER 5 of the City of Peoria CODE Pertaining to REGISTRATION OF LOTS.
Body
BACKGROUND: The deadline to register property in the City of Peoria for the annual non-owner occupied property registration is March 1st. Property owners are mailed out renewal forms as well as reminded multiple times through print and electronic media of this deadline.
However, some property owners do not voluntarily comply with this deadline. In 2016, staff issued about 1,400 citations for failure to register. If a property owner comes into compliance before a citation is issued, the City of Peoria has no mechanism to impose a late fee for the registration process, resulting in a disincentive to register by the deadline.
The attached ordinance would establish a $100 late fee for failure to register a property 30 days after the established deadline. This would incentivize compliance by the established deadline and not create a system that essentially punishes those who comply by the established deadline. The late fee would also help to off-set some of the staff cost associated with tracking down unregistered properties.
In addition, the ordinance change allows for the dismissal of a citation if the registration and late fee are paid before the court date.
Additional information was requested during the first reading of this item that occurred on June 27th, 2017. That information is below.
Councilwoman Moore requested a breakdown of citations written in 2016 to compare persons receiving tickets vs corporations/LLC.
Person - 960 citations
Corporation/LLC/Trusts - 413 citations
Councilman Riggenbach requested a historical breakdown of how many properties have registered annually with the City of Peoria.
|
|
Total Registrations Paid |
Revenue Collected |
|
2014 |
7,848 |
$ 241,425.00 |
|
2015 |
8,505 |
$ 248,625.00 |
|
2016 |
13,195 |
$ 1,223,193.00 |
|
2017 |
9,029 |
$ 967,955.00 |
Please note that the 2016 numbers are skewed based on a large amount of properties paying back registration fees owed to the City of Peoria. In September of 2016, the City of Peoria obtained a list of properties that were categorized as non-owner occupied with the Assessor’s Office and was able to find a significant amount of property that had never registered with the City of Peoria as required by ordinance.
In addition to the above information, staff made minor adjustments in the proposed ordinance language. The ordinance language was changed to reflect a $100 late fee as stated in the Council memo. Language was also added that offers a grace period to property owners who have never registered any property with the City of Peoria nor received any notice to do so. Those specific property owners will have thirty days to register their property from initial notice without having to pay a late fee. This does not apply to property owners who have previously registered any property with the City of Peoria. This language was added to alleviate concerns about people being completely unaware of our ordinance requirements.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: While the late fee is designed as a deterrent against avoiding the registration requirement, the fee will also help off-set the additional staff cost associated with the registration process.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: Many neighborhood residents rely upon the registration information to determine ownership of nearby rental or vacant property.
IMPACT IF APPROVED: A late fee would be imposed for those who fail to register on time and coming into compliance with the ordinance language related to registration would be an available defense.
IMPACT IF DENIED: Current system would remain in place and there would be no incentive to register by the stated deadline.
ALTERNATIVES: NA
EEO CERTIFICATION NUMBER:
WHICH OF THE GOALS IDENTIFIED IN THE COUNCIL’S 2014 - 2029 STRATEGIC PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION ADVANCE?
1. Attractive Neighborhoods with Character: Safe and Livable
2. Financially Sound City Government, Effective City Organization
3. Grow Peoria: Businesses, Jobs, and Population
WHICH CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S) FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENT?
1. Have an efficient government.
2. Reinvest in neighborhoods.
3. Keep taxes and fees competitive.
DEPARTMENT: Community Development