Fiscal Note
The 2017 Adopted Operating Budget anticipates $3.9 million in revenue from the Urban Forestry Special Charge. The 2017 rate fully recovers the City’s costs associated with forestry efforts. These expenditures are budgeted in the Parks Division (Parks Maintenance and Forestry Service) and Streets Division (Roadside Cleanup Service). Activities supported by these services include stump removal, tree removal and replacement, and general maintenance of the City’s forestry inventory.
The Urban Forestry Special Charge was first introduced in 2015 for a partial year. In 2016 the fee was annualized at its initial rate. The 2017 annual rate, as assumed in the 2017 Operating Budget, is $49.73; a 44% increase from 2016. The increased rate is attributed to fully funding forestry activities through the Special Charge.
Title
To approve the 2017 Urban Forestry Special Charge.
Body
In 2014, Section 4.095 of the Madison General Ordinance was created to establish an Urban Forestry Special Charge. The ordinance created the urban forestry special charge in the City based upon the authority granted the City by Wis. Stat 66.0627, pursuant to Sec. 4.09(13) MGO, and in response to the Alternative Revenue Work Group’s recommendations contained in its report entitled “Alternative Revenue and the City of Madison Proposal for an Urban Forestry Charge.” (Legislative File 35027). This special charge shifts the costs of the urban forestry program from the property tax levy to a special charge-supported program. The costs of the program that will be recovered include all urban forestry costs to the City to maintain, protect and grow the City’s urban forest. The charge will only recover for services actually performed by the City, and the amount imposed may be adjusted throughout the year to account for greater or lesser expenditures. The urban forestry program serves all real property in the City and the charges are apportioned based upon the Urban Forestry Special Charge Policy, as originally approved on July 7, 2015 by RES-15-00597 (Legislative File ID No. 38644) and amended on May 17, 2016 by RES-16-00368 (Legislative File ID No. 42706).
WHEREAS, on October 21, 2014, the Common Council adopted Ordinance ORD-14-00162, File 35038, creating Section 4.095 of the Madison General Ordinances, which ordinance established an urban forestry special charge in the City of Madison; and,
WHEREAS, the intent of the urban forestry special charge is to recover the costs to the City to maintain and manage the City’s urban forest through its urban forestry program, which program provides a service to all real property in the City; and,
WHEREAS, the Common Council approved the Urban Forestry Special Charge Policy on July 7, 2015 (Legislative File 38664) which stated “The Urban Forestry Special Charge will be apportioned to all parcels in the City, including City owned parcels, based upon parcel usage categories, aggregate street frontage of the usage categories, and parcel counts within each usage category, such that the net revenue received by the City from the special charges is consistent with the approved special charge amount”; and,
WHEREAS, the Common Council approved an update to the Urban Forestry Special Charge Policy on May 17, 2016 to address private medians and undeveloped parcels (Legislative File 42706) as some issues had been brought to the City’s attention regarding privately maintained medians and the treatment of undeveloped portions of platted lands; and,
WHEREAS, the 2017 adopted operating budget calls for $3,900,000 in net revenue to the City from the Urban Forestry Special Charge (Legislative File No. 44647); and,
WHEREAS, the Urban Forestry Special Charge rates need to be updated to reflect the net revenue target established with the adoption of the 2017 Operating Budget.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
1. That the 2017 Urban Forestry Special Charge rates provided in Attachment A are hereby adopted in accordance with Section 4.095 of the Madison General Ordinance and the Urban Forestry Special Charge Policy, based upon the net revenue target established by the 2017 adopted operating budget;
2. That these Special charges shall represent an exercise of the police power of the City of Madison; and,
3. That the date by which such special charges shall be paid in full is October 31, 2017; and,
4. That these approved Urban Forestry Special Charge rates shall continue until a new schedule is approved by the Common Council.