Mount Vernon real estate committee reviews tax-cost calculations for six foreclosed properties, votes to enter executive session

The Mount Vernon Real Estate Committee on Jan. 31, 2025 reviewed detailed tax, interest and cost calculations for six city-owned properties that were foreclosed and discussed next steps for bids and conveyances. The committee voted to enter an executive session to consult with attorneys about the legal issues raised by a recent state court decision and related changes to state real property tax law.

Committee Chair Daryl Morton said staff had produced three parallel calculations for each property: (1) total taxes, interest and charges from the time the account went delinquent to the present; (2) the amounts outstanding at the time the city foreclosed; and (3) the foreclosed amount plus taxes the city paid on the property after foreclosure (excluding interest not charged to certain levies). "We've begun to calculate those costs, starting off with the properties we deemed are of imminent importance," Morton said.

Morton presented figures for several properties during the meeting. For 224 North Seventh Avenue he…