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Gary committee hears competing views as ordinance to bar liens on rental properties is discussed
Summary
Public commenters at the Gary Common Council Planning and Development Committee meeting debated CPO 202602, an ordinance that would prohibit the city from placing liens on rental properties for unpaid sewer/sanitation charges; speakers split over whether those charges are user fees or taxes and raised concerns about effects on landlords, tenants and tax-sale enforcement. No vote was taken.
At a Gary Common Council Planning and Development Committee meeting, Councilman at large Darren Washington introduced CPO 202602, an ordinance that would bar the city from placing liens on rental properties for unpaid sewer and sanitation charges. The committee took public comment but did not vote; the item is scheduled for consideration at the next full council meeting.
Public commenters offered conflicting views on whether municipal sanitation and stormwater charges function as user fees or as taxes when they appear on property bills. John Allen, a resident who addressed the committee, said the ordinance is legally permissible but warned it could be poor policy that…
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