Councilors press city on outreach, notice and address updates as housing enforcement changes advance

Councilors at a Syracuse Common Council study session pressed city attorneys and enforcement staff for details on outreach and the notice process tied to proposed changes affecting housing code enforcement and Bureau of Administrative Adjudication (BAA) procedures.

Councilor Jones Rausser said the proposal is "probably the most important legislation we have to deal with the deteriorating housing situation in this city," and asked what outreach beyond a newspaper notice would be done to inform property owners. Sue Katzof, Corporation Counsel, said the office would likely use a newspaper article, a possible Mayor's Office press release and website postings, but warned a broad mailer would be costly and often returned because property-owner contact information is frequently out of date.

Katzof and Lee Terry, Deputy Director of the Bureau (the bureau that handles adjudication of code violations), pointed to existing legal service and notice requirements. Terry said the code enforcement process already includes a warning letter generated by code enforcement before referral to the Bureau, and that it "outlines all the varied enforcement means the city can take" if a violation is not addressed. Katzof cited a provision in current law, saying that the legislation's notice section (identified in the session as "Section I-96 sub E sub 1") requires notice by first-class mail at least 30 days before levying unpaid penalties on real property.

On service mechanics, staff said initial BAA notices are served by certified mail requiring a signature. "We do research [for] a proper address to serve and we serve via certified mail, which has to be signed for," Terry said, adding that certified service should prevent fines being rolled onto taxes without a signed proof of service. Vicki Boss, Deputy Commissioner of Finance, explained how delinquent amounts from several systems feed the tax roll: water and other unpaid fees come from AS/400 reports; the city creates the tax roll in April and issues bills in June.

Councilors raised the practical problem of returned mail and incomplete addresses. Katzof said the law department receives returned mail and staff update records when they get undeliverable notices, and that many problematic properties are vacant and therefore do not accept mail. She recommended adding bold, clear language about tax rollover consequences to the standard enforcement letters so recipients cannot claim lack of notice.

Staff and councilors also discussed limitations of the city's record systems. Officials said IPS is the code-enforcement system where violation notices and contact information are entered; assessment changes must be made in the assessment office and are stored in the eTax system. Those systems do not automatically update each other. "To change the address on the tax bills, they have to contact the assessment department," staff said; that change does not propagate to IPS automatically. Councilors asked whether a single consolidated system existed; staff answered no, noting multiple systems feed the tax roll but address updates are not centralized.

Councilors did not take final action on the proposed local law at the study session. Staff said they could add clearer language to existing documents, will provide the council with the statutory section cited on request, and are available for committee-level follow-up.