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 city lien sale was not specified.

The Blue Team emphasized that the charter requires the comptroller to advertise a list of liens more than two years delinquent — giving property owners notice and the opportunity to pay — and that liens unsold after three years may be subject to foreclosure under the charter’s separate provisions. The team said the comptroller and corporation counsel asked the commission to consider charter revisions that would (1) permit packaging liens into bundles for sale, (2) allow private sales, and (3) simplify the charter’s language by referencing state law (identified in the team’s materials as “chapter 7 83 of the New York state laws of 1974”).

Commissioners and attendees pressed several practical and policy points. Some members argued that placing the authority to bundle and sell liens in the charter (or aligning charter text with state provisions) could modernize the process and help the city address a budget shortfall; one commissioner noted the unresolved liens could be a material revenue source if processed. Others questioned whether bundling and private sales could reduce competitive transparency and lower returns to the city. Commission member Axel Ebermann said allowing private sales raised corruption risks, calling the option “like my hand on a hot stove” and warning that private purchasers could buy portfolios cheaply and then neglect or speculate on properties.

Several participants stressed that a charter change would not retroactively resolve the current backlog. Commissioners noted that even if the charter were revised, implementing a large cleanup of long-standing liens requires time, outside counsel and administrative steps; one participant said processing the existing inventory could take at least two years. The Blue Team recommended the commission request more detail from the comptroller’s office about specific advantages the state law option would provide compared with the current charter text so the commission could evaluate proposed revisions on their merits.

Commission discussion did not produce any formal motion or vote. The Blue Team concluded the item as a research and discussion topic and asked the comptroller to return with supplemental information on options under state law and the potential implications for revenue, foreclosure timing and administrative workload.

The commission deferred any decision on charter language changes to subsequent meetings after receiving the comptroller’s supplemental materials.