A representative of Arrow Property Registry told the City Council the company maintains a national database of foreclosed and vacant properties and is proposing a program for Blue Island that would identify out-of-state owners and send invoices for property-maintenance and registration fees. "We are the only company that's doing this nationally," the representative said, explaining staff would have web access to property-owner contact information and that municipalities can recover costs through a registration ordinance.

The presenter described a proposed annual registration fee of $425 per vacant or foreclosed property, with $300 remitted to the city and $125 retained by Arrow. The company said it would inventory properties, identify the legal owner (often a bank or out-of-state holding company) and provide staff with direct contact information to send maintenance notices and tickets. The representative said banks generally respond and that the company reports a collection success rate "over 95%" for bank-owned properties and about 25% for privately owned vacant properties.

Council members asked several clarifying questions about scope and implementation: how the company identifies owners, whether the provider would be exclusive, the frequency of registration (proposed six-month updates), and how unpaid fees would be handled. The presenter said the firm would provide data access for all city staff, police and fire, and that the contract would be evergreen but could be terminated with data returned to the city.

The administration and city attorney reported the professional services agreement and an ordinance to require registration had been reviewed by the village attorney and were under consideration. Several aldermen raised practical concerns about cases in which residents were unaware of tax or title issues and about prior examples where tax or tax-code updates affected homeowners. Staff said the program's primary benefit would be increasing enforcement efficiency by identifying the correct parties to bill for maintenance and code violations.

No final vote was recorded in the committee meeting. The item was discussed as two agenda items (authorization to engage the provider and an ordinance adopting registration), with the city attorney and staff noting they would continue review and the matter could return to council for formal authorization and ordinance adoption.