Cuyahoga County’s Committee on Community Development and Housing voted to forward to full council a resolution authorizing a negotiated tax certificate sale and a revenue‑generating agreement with NAR Solutions (doing business as NAR Ohio LLC) for tax‑lien certificates through Nov. 30, 2027. The resolution sets an upper limit “not to exceed $40,000,000” on the total face value of certificates that could be offered under the contract; county staff said the actual pool is likely to be smaller.

Brad Chromas, Cuyahoga County Treasurer, presented the proposal and said the county has used negotiated tax‑certificate sales in prior cycles (most recently 2018–2019) and paused them during the COVID period. Chromas described tax‑certificate sales as a collection tool that transfers the right to collect certified tax delinquencies to a purchaser; the purchaser then offers payment plans and enforcement. He said negotiated sales allow the county to select a single partner and to build programmatic safeguards.

The county’s informal spring RFP produced five responses; staff selected NAR Solutions, which presented through Dawn Hoosier. Hoosier said NAR has operated about 29 years, works in multiple Ohio counties and manages portfolios in‑house. NAR described outreach plans, local presence and reporting portals for county access, and said its stated goal was to help property owners resolve delinquencies and remain in their homes.

Committee members engaged in lengthy questioning about the procurement method, the size of the proposed pool, how owner‑occupied properties will be treated, legal and enforcement limits, and local outreach. Treasurer Chromas and county staff said they excluded certain sensitive parcels from the sale pool — homestead properties, properties within equity zones, vacant or abandoned parcels and those with small delinquencies — and raised the minimum property value threshold to $100,000 and minimum delinquency to $1,000. Those exclusions reduced an initial universe of roughly 5,374 candidate parcels and $68 million in face value to a working pool of about 3,069 parcels and $33 million in face value; staff said figures may fall further as more owners enter county payment plans.

Key consumer protections in the draft agreement identified by staff include a lower interest rate for owner‑occupants (6%), a higher rate for other parcels (11%), purchase at par (no premium/discount), a cure period and limits on attorney fees, no foreclosures while a purchaser‑administered payment plan is current, local service phone numbers and local office presence, and real‑time portal access for county staff. Treasurer Chromas said the earliest foreclosure under the agreement would be one year after purchase.

Multiple members pressed staff for more outreach and transparency; several requested one‑on‑one briefings with council members before final council consideration. Council members also questioned the choice of an informal RFP process for a high‑dollar revenue contract; staff said the purchasing team recommended an informal process to allow vetting of respondents with Ohio experience and to tailor protections. The prosecutor’s office and Legal Aid reviewed contract provisions; staff said Legal Aid had asked for a cure period, which county staff included.

The committee voted to forward the agreement to full council for three readings; the transcript records a voice vote with the ayes prevailing and Councilwoman Simon recorded as opposed. Staff emphasized they prefer property owners contact county staff to enter payment plans prior to sale and that the county will continue outreach, including certified letters and community events, to reduce the number of parcels included in the sale pool.

Votes at a glance: committee approved forwarding the resolution by voice vote; the transcript records Councilwoman Simon as opposed.