NEW ULM – The New Ulm City Council approved two resolutions establishing special property tax assessments for delinquent payments to the city.

Every year the city holds a public hearing before applying a special assessment to properties with unpaid services over the last fiscal year.

The first public hearing was for unpaid charges for weed, snow and tree removal. In the last year, the city recorded a total of $5,555 in unpaid services from 12 separate properties. The majority of the unpaid charges were from weed removal.

Property owners on the list were notified of the public hearing, but no comments were received by the council.

Councilor David Christian said for the properties that are delinquent on payment year after year, he would support an increase to the yearly assessment to pressure the owners into compliance.

Council President Andrea Boettger said she agreed but warned the city is prohibited from making a profit of the assessment. A progressive scale for repeat offenders could cause the city to fall out of compliance. The city would need to perform a study of staff hourly wages before making any changes.

Christian commented that the number of properties on delinquent payment list has gone down since he joined the council. He made the motion to establish the special property tax assessment, with a second from councilor Eric Warmka. It was unanimously approved.

Later in the meeting, the council held a public hearing on special assessments for the 2024-25 delinquent water, wastewater and stormwater charges. The assessment included the annual principal plus interest calculated from the date of the adoption of the assessment with an interest rate of 5% each year.

The total amount assessed for delinquent water, wastewater and stormwater charges was $10,691.41 from 33 properties. No comments were received during the hearing.

Warmka made the motion to approve the special assessment with a second from Christian. The assessment was unanimously approved.