Region 1 reports strong 2024 results for Winnebago County trustee program; inventory declines to 169 parcels

Region 1 Planning Council officials reported record results for the Winnebago County Trustee program for fiscal year 2024 at the March 13 county-board meeting, saying the program produced significant sales and reduced the county's inventory of tax-delinquent properties.

Region 1 Executive Director Michael Dunn and Region 1 Trustee program manager Eric Setter summarized the agency's work as agent to the Winnebago County Trustee and said the county recorded its best year since Region 1 began serving as agent. "We wanted to update you on basically, record success in fiscal year 24. Best year we've had as agent for Winnebago County," Dunn told the board.

Why it matters

The trustee program manages properties that go into trust after property owners fail to pay taxes for the statutorily required period. Funds generated by sales or redemptions from the trustee fund are redistributed to taxing districts or retained in the trustee fund for maintenance, so changes in sales and redemptions affect municipal budgets, local blight remediation, and the county's inventory of vacant properties.

What Region 1 reported (as presented)

- Inflows and sales: Dunn and Setter described roughly $1.4 million of inflow to the trustee fund in fiscal year 2024 from sales and late redemptions. The presenters summarized the fiscal-year totals as roughly $1.0 million in sales plus $262,798 of redemption interest. Dunn said the program "just missed a million dollars of sales" and also discussed the redemption interest number.

- Inventory and dispositions: Presenters said the trustee program sold 44 structures and a large number of vacant parcels; they reported holding 169 parcels at the time of the presentation. Dunn credited a neighboring-property outreach program and proactive marketing for the reduction from an initial inventory of more than 1,000 parcels when Region 1 began as agent.

- Maintenance and operations: Per the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the county, $150,000 a year is budgeted for maintenance of trustee properties. Region 1 reported spending about $41,000 of that maintenance allocation in fiscal year 2024, and it placed leftover funds into a reserve for the next year. Operation expenses for fiscal year 2024 included legal work,…