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Mount Vernon officials discuss list of delinquent taxes, payment plans and tax-lien sale options
Summary
City leaders discussed publishing a list of delinquent taxes and possible tax-lien sale or in rem foreclosure steps, emphasizing payment-plan options and the potential neighborhood impacts of wholesale tax-lien or foreclosure actions.
City of Mount Vernon officials discussed procedures for publishing the list of delinquent taxes and options that follow — including payment plans, tax-lien sales and in rem foreclosure proceedings — during the Jan. 28 Board of Estimate and Contract meeting.
Mayor Deirdre Patterson Howard told the board that publishing the list of delinquent taxes is a required legal step that gives property owners opportunities to respond, and she urged caution in choosing remedies. “Tax liens are not equivalent to foreclosures,” she said in explaining the sequence: publication of the delinquent-tax list is the first formal step and does not immediately trigger foreclosure.
Why it matters: Council action on delinquent taxes and any decision to sell tax liens or pursue in rem foreclosure can affect owner-occupancy rates and neighborhood stability. Mayor Patterson Howard warned the board that an aggressive use of liens or foreclosure could rapidly destabilize neighborhoods where ownership has already shifted to absentee or LLC landlords.
Officials described two primary options beyond publication: offering payment plans to property owners (the city has already provided a payment-plan option) or pursuing a tax-lien sale, which is a shorter, “leaner” legal route than full foreclosure but still includes timelines and interest for property owners. Corporation Counsel’s office is reviewing the city charter provision (section 162) to clarify the legal process and determine whether further charter action or a referendum would be required for changes to the procedure.
A mayoral speaker said the city is conscious of the neighborhood impacts: “If we wanna destabilize our community even quicker and in a worse way, yeah, it’s easy just to go and do all of these wholesale things,” the mayor said, urging deliberate, measured steps to preserve homeownership and avoid unintended consequences.
Officials said the controller’s office and corporation counsel are coordinating next steps. The mayor and other officials said staff will publish the delinquent-tax list and follow statutory notice requirements; the board also reiterated that any sale of tax liens will contain statutory safeguards that give property owners a period to cure the debt and that purchasers of liens face restrictions under state law.
Next steps: The city will publish the list of delinquent taxes and provide public information about available remedies, including payment plans; Corporation Counsel will complete its review of the charter language in section 162 and advise the board on whether additional local legislative changes are necessary before moving to a sale or foreclosure process.
