Levy County authorizes process to consider code‑compliance lien reductions up to $50,000 with board oversight

The Levy County Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution this week establishing formal criteria and a process for considering reductions of recorded code‑compliance liens, including delegation to the county manager to approve reductions up to $50,000.

Code enforcement officer Dave Benton told the board the change would formalize a process that already exists in principles but lacks a written formula. "There is language in our ordinance...that allows a negotiation to happen for the reduction of liens," Benton said, explaining staff compared peer jurisdictions and proposed a $50,000 delegation threshold used elsewhere. Benton told commissioners the county currently has 34 recorded liens; of those, seven are at or above the $50,000 threshold and would therefore require board action if the manager's delegation were adopted without caveats.

Commissioners debated whether reductions of that size should be made by an appointed manager or retained as a board decision. Some commissioners said they preferred the board to review larger reductions because the voters entrusted the board with fiscal decisions; others supported delegating authority with the guarantee that applications would come back to the board for final approval in the initial phase.

Board action and safeguards: the board approved the resolution as modified so that applications and final approvals will be presented to the board, giving the commission oversight on individual requests while adopting the staff's criteria. Staff explained the criteria include factors such as rapidity of compliance, time to compliance, property value, public benefit and demonstrated financial hardship.

Public testimony: members of the public and a prospective buyer said clear, upfront decisions on potential reductions are important to enable property transactions that bring properties into compliance. "If you buy it knowing that you gotta pay for cleanup...you gotta make a decision upfront," one speaker said.

Next steps: staff will return with final application forms and language; the board agreed the resolution can be modified after experience to adjust thresholds or criteria if necessary.