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Council approves additional vacant-property assessments to bolster foreclosure options
Summary
The City Council adopted Resolution 20-25-04 adding two properties to the vacant-property assessment registry under Ordinance 24-62; staff said the assessments aim to strengthen grounds for future foreclosure and staff will follow up on a voluntary-surrender request.
The City Council voted to adopt Resolution 20-25-04, adding two properties to the city’s vacant-property assessment registry under Ordinance 24-62, the council said during the meeting.
A city staff member said four properties had already been assessed earlier and that staff added two more after invoices went unanswered. “I am told that GMC's is supposed to be putting the check in the mail, so to speak, and bring a check in for 1,500,” the staff member said. The staff member also said one owner had asked for 90 days to clear personal property and that staff would follow up with an update at the next meeting.
The staff member described the practical effect of the change: adding assessments as additional liens to strengthen the city’s position if it later pursues foreclosure. “So I'd like to be able to put these as additional liens as we go forward so that when we go to foreclose, we've got, you know, ample grounds to foreclose on these properties and not have a real argument as to, you know, the value,” the staff member said.
Council member Ben moved to adopt the resolution; Council member Nicole seconded. Council members Smith, Leith, Taylor, Teagarden and Doug voted yes, and the resolution was adopted.
Council staff told the council they would follow up with the property at 412 Logan, which had requested additional time to clear items, and would report back at the next meeting. No new program funds or changes to ordinance 24-62 were proposed during the discussion.
The action places the newly assessed properties on the registry that informs later enforcement steps, including potential foreclosure, and gives staff additional legal grounds for pursuing unpaid assessments under the city’s existing vacant-property enforcement process.
