Shawnee commission opts into new municipal lien enforcement process

The Shawnee City Commission voted to authorize the city to opt into the Municipal Code Lien Enforcement Act of 2025, a state law that creates a judicial procedure allowing municipalities to use foreclosure to recover certain municipal liens on non-owner-occupied properties.

City Attorney Joe Vander told commissioners the resolution is an "opt-in" measure that does not force foreclosures on every property with a municipal lien. "These are not owner-occupied properties," Vander said, adding that the ordinance targets cases where liens exceed a set threshold. "The liens have to be in excess of $1,500," he said, noting the city intends to use the tool primarily for larger, blighted properties that have already required significant city spending for demolition or remediation.

Vander said staff recommended the option so the city can pursue properties with six-figure liens and recover value to put the properties back into productive use. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about scope and discretion; Vander emphasized the law is permissive and would be applied case-by-case.

The commission approved the opt-in resolution; the vote was recorded in the meeting as carrying "6." The authorization allows staff to adopt the procedural steps needed to use the new statutory option and to return to the commission with implementing policies or case-specific recommendations.

Next steps: staff indicated it will bring any proposed foreclosure actions or implementing administrative procedures back to the commission for approval before taking property-specific enforcement steps.