OSpecial assessments are one of the permitted statutory forms of charges made by the City against property to pay for improvements that serve and benefit the respective properties. This is a method that the City uses to offset the cost of constructing street and utilities improvements by those that directly benefit from the completed or planned improvements.

The City normally levies special assessments for the new construction and reconstruction of sanitary sewers, water mains, sewer and water connections, curb and gutter, sidewalks, driveway aprons, street surfacing and alley paving. New construction for grade, gravel, and open, street paving, and in some conditions storm sewer. Some of the items above are assessed on a guaranteed life basis and if they have to be replaced within that useful life, credit is given to the benefited property. In isolated cases, other benefits may be assessed for if a specific benefit is derived by the property.

The assessment rates are adjusted annually in accordance with the current costs to construct each item and are recommended to the Common Council by the Board of Public Works based on the previous year’s construction costs or current year bid prices. Similar assessments are used throughout the City; rates are consistent and do not vary from street to street or in accordance with the size of sewer and water mains. The assessment rates are based on the minimum sewer and water sizes necessary for residential service and construction on an average width residential street. The increased costs of larger pipes and wider streets are handled by the general public.

One of the duties of the Engineering Department’s Staff is to examine the various needs of the City of Chippewa Falls and make recommendations to the Board of Public Works and Common Council. But projects can be initiated by a number of methods including requests from property owners; sewer, water main, and storm sewer infrastructure needs, petitions from property owners, as well as the necessity to maintain and improve older sections of infrastructure within the City. The Mayor and City Council review these recommendations and, if the projects appear reasonable, include them in the budget process. If the projects are included within the budget, a preliminary resolution is adopted and sent to all property owners affected by the improvements. A public hearing is then scheduled in which all property owners are invited to attend and the Council’s final authorization of a project is made after the public hearing has been held.

The amount a property is special assessed is contingent on the size of the property, type of improvements that are being completed and assessment history of the property. The owners of all properties involved in a special assessment project will be notified of the types and amounts prior to the public hearing and the information is also available in the City Engineer’s office. Certain credits are made on corner lots and for unique utility and street improvements.

A bill will be mailed to the property owner after the improvements have been completed. The property owner has two methods in which to pay for the special assessments.

The first method is for the owner to pay the project assessments in full no later than February 28th of the year following construction. By doing so, the owner will avoid any interest charges.

The second payment method is to have them added to the property tax in five (5) equal annual principal installments. In most cases, the first installment will appear on the tax statement in December of the year following construction. An interest rate of eight (8%) is applied to the unpaid balances at the end of each year. Assessment balances may be paid in full at any time.

Special assessments are similar to real estate taxes in respect that both become a lien against the property involved. If the assessments are not paid, the City may, after due process, sell the property at public sale in order to collect the amount due.

In cases which special assessments may cause a financial hardship the City may forgive or defer collection of the assessments. The property owner will need to send a letter to the City Clerk requesting the deferment and then appear at a confidential meeting with the City Finance Committee and provide evidence of the hardship case.

For further information on this, or any other City Street and Utility Improvement Projects please contact the Engineering Department at (715) 726-2736, or stop at the office which is located on the second floor of City Hall, 30 West Central Street.

There are many ways streets are included in the annual budget for reconstruction. They range from a recommendation from the Engineering Department, citizen petitions, citizen requests and special other factors that may contribute to the need for reconstruction. If you are interested in getting a petition for street construction stop by the Engineering Office at 2nd Floor, City Hall, 30 West Central Street for details.

To replace a driveway approach in the public right-of-way, you will need a driveway permit which can be obtained from the Chippewa Falls Engineering Department. Before a driveway permit can be issued the Engineering Department Staff has to verify that the driveway will lead to legal parking area, the planned opening at the curb and gutter does not exceed 35 feet from the edge of opening to the edge of opening and check for any other concerns that the driveway way cause. The permits can only be issued to a General Contractor, or the person or organization that is performing the work.

The property owner is responsible for 100% of the cost to install and maintain sidewalks.

If the property owner fails to maintain the sidewalk, the City may issue a Sidewalk Condemnation Order. The property owner would then have 20 days to correct the deficient sidewalk. If after 20 days the sidewalk hasn’t been repaired, the City would cause the work to be done and bill the property owner.

The City issues sidewalk replacement orders when the sidewalk is deemed to be unsafe. The criteria for issuing sidewalk orders, in areas other than downtown, include but are not limited to: 1” joint displacement, wide cracks and surface spalling.

Property owners can install their own sidewalk as long as they comply with the City’s specifications. A copy of the specifications can be picked up at the City Engineer’s office.

Property owners/contractors are required to get a Sidewalk Permit when the sidewalk across the entire frontage is replaced or when sidewalk is installed for the first time.

The City sets sidewalk line and grade. The property owner/contractor should contact the Department at least 3 days prior to construction. There is no fee for grade requests.

After the City’s Contractor has completed the sidewalk repair, the City will send the property owner a bill for the repairs which is due upon receipt. If the bill is not paid on or before February 28th of the year following construction, one fifth of the total amount will be placed on the first half of your property taxes over the next 5 years at 8% interest.