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Council asks staff to seek vendors for foreclosed-property registry after audit shows incomplete compliance
Summary
Council directed staff to issue a request for proposals to outsource registration/enforcement of foreclosed properties after staff reported the city was collecting about 59 percent of the required registration fees and other cities charge higher fees.
Titusville City Council voted to ask staff to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a vendor to register and manage foreclosed properties after the mayor presented information showing the city collects roughly 59% of the $150 registration fees currently required when properties are foreclosed.
Mayor Andrew Connors said an estimate from a registry company showed the city collects about $20,000 annually but only captures part of the foreclosed-properties population. Council Member Sarah Stoeckle, who had met with the vendor previously, argued the vendor would bring software and legal staffing capable of locating and enforcing registration and maintenance requirements tied to blight, which the city’s small code-enforcement office cannot fully track.
Staff and council discussed enforcement goals: ensuring banks keep foreclosed properties mowed and secured, improving code enforcement outcomes and raising compliance rates. The proposed procurement would be competitive: firms would bid to maintain a registry, pursue noncompliant owners, and provide data to staff. The mayor and several council members said other jurisdictions charge higher registration fees ($300 or more) and the type of vendor the city is considering often works on contingency.
Council voted to direct staff to prepare an RFP to explore outsourcing registry services and report back the procurement options; any change in fee amounts would go through the standard procurement and ordinance or fee-setting process if council elects to change the registration fee later.
Council members emphasized that the goal is not to penalize property owners but to identify responsible parties and reduce blight. Staff noted a formal procurement will be required and that any vendor contract would be subject to procurement rules and council approval.
