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Administration briefs council committee on switch to tax-lien certificates, cites 2,251 adjudicated tracts
Summary
City administration told the council committee that state law has replaced the old adjudication system with a tax-lien-certificate process, leaving the city with 2,251 previously adjudicated lots and 384 newly held lien certificates; officials warned converting records could cost roughly $105 per lot and proposed ordinance changes.
Alexandria administration officials told the City Council’s Economic Workforce and Planning Development Committee on June 30 that recent state law changes have replaced the city’s long-standing adjudicated-property process with a tax-lien-certificate system, leaving the city with a large backlog of properties and new procedural costs.
“At the time and approximately through the present the city has 2,251 adjudicated tracks that are on the tax roles,” the administration representative, Mr. G., said, adding that a recent tax-lien-certificate auction produced “132 parcels being purchased” while “384 parcels that there was no bid made.”
The presentation explained how the old system worked: tax sale purchasers gained tax-sale title and had a statutory redemption window (commonly three years) before taking steps such as filing a quiet-title motion. The new system, Mr. G. said, places lien rights in the mortgage records, preserves notice to property owners, and retains a three-year right to redeem but changes enforcement and court procedures.
Mr. G. warned the committee that converting the roughly 2,200 previously adjudicated lots to the new tax-lien-certificate records would require a court filing fee of $105 per tract, “so it would cost us in court cost alone $472,000.” He said the administration is preparing ordinance changes and updated local procedures to implement the new state framework and will return to the council with specific recommendations.
The briefing also highlighted a statutory option coming into effect Aug. 1 that allows a governing authority to convey adjudicated property directly to an adjoining landowner without public bidding, provided the adjoining owner has maintained the lot for at least one year. Mr. G. said staff will draft procedures to handle such requests on a case-by-case basis.
Council members pressed staff for additional financial detail. Council member Mr. Kiss asked the administration to provide the total amount the city has “tied up” in adjudicated properties and typical maintenance costs; Mr. G. said staff would assemble responsive figures and that the business office is contacting property holders to encourage redemption of outstanding taxes.
The administration also told the committee it was coordinating with Rapides Parish and other stakeholders on disposition policies; since 2021 the city and parish have sold 113 adjudicated properties under cooperative arrangements. Mr. G. said staff is not requesting immediate wholesale conversion of all tracks and will return with targeted ordinance and budget proposals.
Next steps: the administration will draft ordinance language and procedure changes for council consideration and supply the requested accounting of maintenance and lien-related costs.
