St. Paul pays $640K to settle with property owners on street maintenance assessments

St. Paul is paying $640,000 to settle with property owners who successfully challenged the city's street maintenance program in court.

The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday approved seven settlement agreements authorizing the refunds, which cover assessments for work done between 2018 and 2020. A Ramsey County district court ruling in May ordered the city to stop assessing individual property owners for routine upkeep - such as lighting, sweeping and sealcoating - of the streets abutting their land.

Many of those receiving payments are churches, which argued that the city was using assessments to strategically collect revenue from tax-exempt properties. About 20% of St. Paul properties - including universities, nonprofit organizations and government buildings - are exempt from paying property taxes, according to the city.

https://www.startribune.com/st-paul-city-council-street-maintenance-assessment-refunds-court-settlement-sweeping-lighting/600264895/