Mount Vernon commission examines charter language on tax-lien sales after backlog of about 800 liens

The Mount Vernon Charter Review Commission’s Blue Team reported Feb. 5 that unclear charter language and uneven administration have left roughly 800 tax liens eligible for sale and prompted a review of Article 12 and Article 13 of the city charter.

The Blue Team presentation, read to the commission by Corinne Bell, said Comptroller Morton’s office is preparing for tax-lien sales but that the current charter language governing tax liens and foreclosures is “cumbersome and somewhat unclear,” forcing the comptroller and corporation counsel to rely on supplementary documents. Bell said many of the liens are more than two years old and that independent research places the unpaid-liability range at about $49 million to $59 million; the comptroller did not provide an exact total during the meeting and the timing of any previous…