BY TIMOTHY LAROCHE
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CLAREMONT — A decision on a proposed fund for cleanup of blighted properties will be delayed after city officials directed staff to rework a resolution.
City Council Finance Committee members directed city staff on Tuesday to rework the proposal to establish a Non-Capital Reserve Fund for Code Enforcement. The fund would allow city staff to use the revenue from the sale of city-owned properties to clean up blighted properties. The policy is tentatively slated for a vote at the March 14 council meeting.
“Ultimately, I would have to be convinced that we could recover enough money through this account for it to be effective,” Councilor Allen Damren said.
The committee recommended that city staff revise language in the resolution to specify that the fund would only apply to sale of city-owned real estate taken through tax deed. City staff were also tasked with developing a historical record of the sale of tax deeded properties in recent years, codify a cap for the fund and specify how the cap will be reached.
City staff involved in the Neighborhood Improvement through Code Enforcement proposed the non-capital reserve fund at the Feb. 14 council meeting as a means to clean up and turnover blighted properties. According to City Manager Ryan McNutt, the purpose of the fund is to “take care of problems before they become more expensive.”
Councilors tabled the resolution after several questions arose about which property sales would be eligible to replenish the account. The initial fund resolution proposed that money for the fund come from the sale of city-owned properties, but councilors noted that the wording of the resolution could encapsulate the sale of vehicles, construction equipment or any other city-owned property aside from those taken by tax deed.
Concerns about how residents might perceive the fund marked the finance committee discussion on the proposal. While committee members said they supported the efforts to clean blighted properties, they suggested that staff consider asking the council to expend General Fund money for the projects.
When a resident does not pay property taxes, the cost of services is distributed to all taxpayers. Clean-up projects for blighted properties, Damren said, could be perceived as having localized effects. By returning the money from property sales to the General Fund and drawing directly from there, clean-up efforts might be viewed as fairer.
However, McNutt noted that while the clean-up projects most directly affect the neighborhoods that have blighted properties, the clean-up efforts can also raise citywide valuations, broadening the tax base.
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