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Select Board delays action on impending foreclosures after extended debate over mobile-home costs and fairness
Summary
After a prolonged discussion of a pending-foreclosure list, the board declined to wave notices tonight and agreed to further outreach and to revisit decisions at its January meeting; staff warned that pursuing foreclosures on mobile homes could trigger legal, demolition and housing-displacement costs.
The town clerk presented a spreadsheet of properties with unpaid taxes that are scheduled to receive notices of impending foreclosure on Jan. 9 (lean maturity Feb. 23). The list includes conventional real-estate accounts and multiple mobile homes sited on rented lots (the Regency Park and other locations). Clerk Katherine outlined prior waivers for some accounts and asked the board whether to waive any foreclosures this year.
Select board members and staff debated options at length. Key concerns included the administrative burden of pursuing foreclosures, the practical and legal costs of taking title to mobile homes on rented lots, the town’s responsibility for lot rent or demolition if the town becomes owner, and the human consequences for residents living in marginal or potentially condemned mobile homes. A board member estimated demolition and removal of a derelict mobile home could cost roughly $25,000. The clerk said the process is time-consuming and that certified mail and registry filings add fixed fees.
Some board members pushed to move forward on accounts that had prior-year delinquencies (accounts marked with an asterisk). Others argued for additional outreach and efforts to help residents file a homestead exemption where appropriate. Staff agreed to attempt more direct contact before notices go out and to place foreclosure decisions back on the agenda for the board’s January meeting so the board can consider further action once additional outreach has occurred.
Why it matters: foreclosing recovers unpaid taxes but can expose the town to short-term costs (legal fees, lot rent, demolition) and longer-term administrative burdens; the presence of multiple mobile-home accounts complicates standard foreclosure procedures and raises equity and housing-stability concerns.
Next steps: the board directed staff to make additional outreach attempts, coordinate with Regency Park where feasible, and return to the question at the next meeting (scheduled before the Jan. 9 notice date). No blanket waiver of foreclosure was approved tonight; several select members signaled willingness to pursue prior-year-delinquency accounts but asked staff to gather further details first.
