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Property buyer asks council to remove $149,000 inspection fees added to 57 Lindsay Avenue tax bill
Summary
An attorney for a recent purchaser of a foreclosed house at 57 Lindsay Avenue asked the Finance and Audit Committee to recommend the Common Council remove long-accumulated building inspection fee invoices that were added to the 2025 tax roll; the committee sent the matter to attorney–client discussion and tabled action for one month
An attorney for the purchaser of a foreclosed property at 57 Lindsay Avenue asked the Finance and Audit Committee on May 2025 to recommend the Common Council remove roughly $149,000 in building inspection-fee invoices that the council added to the 2025 tax roll.
The attorney said the fees accumulated while the property was owned by a now-deceased prior owner and that the buyer, Mr. Green, purchased the property in a foreclosure sale in May 2024 in “good faith, understanding from his title company that there weren't any liens against it.” The attorney told the committee that title counsel advised the fees were not liens at the time of sale and that the estate appears unable to pay the past-due invoices.
The attorney described demolition and long-standing nuisance conditions prior to Mr. Green’s purchase and said Green had begun cleanup work and paid the mortgage following closing. He said Green attempted to pay the 2025 tax bill minus the disputed $149,000; the city returned the partial payment citing a policy against partial tax payments. The attorney asked the committee to recommend that the Common Council remove the added fees from the tax roll to restore the property’s clear title.
Committee members questioned the process used to add old invoiced charges to the tax roll and noted that the practice is used across many properties. The committee moved to discuss the item in an attorney–client session, after which members announced they would table the item for one month while Corporation Counsel and staff explore legal options and prepare recommendations.
The committee asked staff to coordinate with Corporation Counsel and the purchaser’s representatives; no vote to cancel or reduce the charges was taken at the meeting.
