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LAND BANK

Printed From: MiddletownUSA.com
Category: Middletown City Government
Forum Name: City Manager
Forum Description: Discuss the city manager administration including all city departments.
URL: http://www.middletownusa.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4583
Printed Date: Nov 22 2024 at 7:54am


Topic: LAND BANK
Posted By: Vivian Moon
Subject: LAND BANK
Date Posted: May 24 2012 at 5:38am

Land bank would help cities rid itself of blighted homes

By Chelsey Levingston, Staff Writer 8:42 PM Wednesday, May 23, 2012

    Efforts by Hamilton and Middletown to raze abandoned homes or blighted properties could take a step forward if the county agrees to form a land bank.
    With state money on the line for property demolition, forming the land bank in
Butler County
has become an urgent issue.
    The biggest concerns about the county forming a land bank had been about creating more bureaucracy, the impact on school districts and taking tax money from parts of the county that are less affected by foreclosures, said county government officials.
    Land banks are often funded by penalties paid on delinquent property taxes.
    However, a new plan is to form a land bank and have the communities that benefit pay for it, said
county Treasurer Nancy
Nix. The county would not fund the land bank at this point, but would establish the organization, if commissioners vote to create one, she said.
    County commission will discuss the issue today.
    The hurry is to meet a deadline of June 30 to apply for state funding. The Ohio Attorney General’s office has made available a total $75 million for property demolition. The $75 million comes from
Ohio’s share of a national mortgage settlement for foreclosure abuse reached this year with the largest mortgage servicers. A first round of demolition money is available to local counties to apply for with an amount dedicated to each Ohio
county based on its foreclosure filings during 2008 to 2011.
    But to get the approximately $2.7 million Butler County is eligible for, the county has to have a land bank or other lead entity apply and it has to match all money past the first $500,000. Forming a land bank to go after the money is the best way because a land bank, or a County Land Reutilization Corp., clears properties of titles and taxes, Nix said.
   
Hamilton and Middletown
, the hardest hit by foreclosures, have both passed resolutions to support a county land bank and met with county officials last week to discuss the issue.
    “I think we have blight issues to be addressed. This is the tool being used,” Nix said. “It seems like we need to be at the table with a land bank.”
    This approach acts as an incentive for the cities to prove the land bank to be successful. It can be discussed again in the future if the land bank should be funded by penalties collected on delinquent property taxes, she said.
    All county communities, not just Hamilton and
Middletown
, could be eligible to get some funding if they’re willing and able to make matches, Nix said.
    A County Land Reutilization Corp. is a quasi-public, nonprofit organization that can acquire vacant, abandoned, tax-foreclosed or other real property for rehabilitation and reuse.
    Butler County has had a more than 500 percent increase in foreclosures from approximately 500 foreclosures filed a year in 1999 to more than 3,000 each in 2009 and 2010, according to Thriving Communities Institute, a nonprofit focused on these issues. The county had in 2010 a total 12,313 residential vacant housing units, according to Census data.
    Vacant and abandoned buildings attract criminal activity, don’t generate property taxes and lower the value of surrounding properties, further decreasing the real property tax base, according to a policy discussion paper on land banks for the Federal Reserve Bank of
Cleveland
.
    Commissioner Don Dixon said he thinks the new plan for the cities and townships to pay is a good compromise.
    “There will be no county tax dollars per se. The day to day operations will be the responsibility of each city. We’re acting as a facilitator to really handle the money,” he said.
    Commissioner Chuck Furmon has always supported a land bank. He said the plan is doable.
    “I think the municipalities need it more than the county does, but we’re willing to work with them. As far as I’m concerned, we’re happy to do our share,” Furmon said.
    Joshua Smith, city manager of
Hamilton, said this is an “absolute priority.” Hamilton will most likely use a mix of general funds and grant money to match the demolition funds, he said. Demolishing properties especially benefits Hamilton
’s more traditional neighborhoods hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis, he said.
    “German Village, Dayton Lane, Rossville, our historic second ward that definitely needs those dollars to eliminate the blight that has become more noticeable in the past four to five years,” he said. “The problem is if the blight goes unchecked, good houses turn into bad houses in a couple of years because people give up.”
    More details still need ironed out, as Doug Adkins,
Middletown
community revitalization director, pointed out.
    “How much the council is willing to match again depends on what is available under what time period and what match is required in what time frame. 
Butler County
could get up to approaching $2.7 million, but we don’t know if they will receive all of the allotment or not. Once the amount is set for the county, the county will need to distribute it to the local jurisdictions,” Adkins said.
    Forming a county land bank, rather than the city doing it alone, saves time and money, he said.
    “To perform that as a city, we have to either in-house or through outside counsel clear the title problems ourselves and pay delinquent taxes to clear the land for re-use.”
    Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or clevingston@coxohio.com. Follow this reporter on Twitter @ChelsLevingston

 




Replies:
Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: May 24 2012 at 6:16am

Where will City Hall come up with the needed matching land banking funds of 1.35 million? Will Mr. Adkins need to employ more office people and inspectors?

Oh that’s right he’s going to make all landlords register their rental property for a fee and then make them pay fines.

Yep this is a business friendly town.





Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: May 24 2012 at 6:20am
"But to get the approximately $2.7 million Butler County is eligible for, the county has to have a land bank or other lead entity apply and it has to match all money past the first $500,000"

"More details still need ironed out, as Doug Adkins, Middletown community revitalization director, pointed out.
    “How much the council is willing to match again depends on what is available under what time period and what match is required in what time frame. Butler County could get up to approaching $2.7 million, but we don’t know if they will receive all of the allotment or not. Once the amount is set for the county, the county will need to distribute it to the local jurisdictions,” Adkins said"

Ok, where will council find a half mil of matching funds when they have already stated during budget time that they have cut as much as they could to get it out of the red? Will be interesting how the magical mystery financing of the city will manuever the money to accomodate this need. Voodoo fund swaps and "BAM", the money magically appears! Gotta feed the demolition hunger to tear down something.....anything in this town. They love to destroy. Not so good at rebuilding. Alot of empty "greenspace" in this town now. Could also be classified as barren wasteland too.


Posted By: Bill
Date Posted: May 24 2012 at 7:11am
What gets me is the tone of the comments by the commissioners.  Rather than viewing this major issue involving THOUSANDS of old rundown houses, foreclosures, crime, etc., as a county concern, Furmon sees is it as a "municipality" issue. 
 
But those commishs sure jump to attention with something as important as the upcoming Liberty Way mega-mall.


Posted By: John Beagle
Date Posted: May 24 2012 at 9:12am
Originally posted by Bill Bill wrote:

What gets me is the tone of the comments by the commissioners.  Rather than viewing this major issue involving THOUSANDS of old rundown houses, foreclosures, crime, etc., as a county concern, Furmon sees is it as a "municipality" issue. 
 

But those commishs sure jump to attention with something as important as the upcoming Liberty Way mega-mall.


Good point Bill.

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http://www.johnbeagle.com/" rel="nofollow - John Beagle

Middletown USA

News of, for and by the people of Middletown, Ohio.


Posted By: Bocephus
Date Posted: May 24 2012 at 1:28pm
What happened to Middletown I just drove around the east end some today and everywhere you look theres garbage and weeds.


Posted By: 409
Date Posted: May 24 2012 at 10:15pm
Wow, if a land bank is instilled, what will top the list?
The Studio?   The Orman Bldg?   The Manchester?  Wink


Posted By: 409
Date Posted: May 24 2012 at 10:20pm
Whoops, forgot the Sorg!


Posted By: 409
Date Posted: May 25 2012 at 12:25am
From MJ:

Butler County OKs land bank to fight blight

Entity will help cities get funds to raze abandoned buildings.

By Lauren Pack, Staff Writer Updated 12:06 AM Friday, May 25, 2012

HAMILTON — A looming deadline to apply for federal money pushed an effort by local officials to quickly establish a land bank. County commission approved the effort Thursday, but not without a debate.

Officials from Middletown and Hamilton, the two cities urging the formation of a land reutilization program to allow them to procure millions in state money for property demolition, were in attendance supporting the effort.

Commissioner Don Dixon voiced concerns in the past that the land bank would create more bureaucracy and could take tax money from school districts by earmarking cash that typically goes to schools to fund the local match. But under the agreement forged by Hamilton and Middletown officials, who are working to raze abandoned homes and blighted properties, the cities will match funds, thus the land bank will remain “county unfunded.”

“This is just to enable the two largest cities to take advantage of a pool of money and administer where it goes and how it is used,” Dixon said. “The county is a pass through ... we aren’t hiring staff.”

Commissioner Cindy Carpenter said she had not had a chance to read documents provided to her and did not feel comfortable voting on the resolution, asking to hold a work session to further vet the proposal. She added she was not aware the proposal was moving so quickly.

“I am saying give me an opportunity to review; it’s not an extraordinary request,” Carpenter said.

County treasurer Nancy Nix said Carpenter has had months to approach organizers of the proposal and ask questions or attend meetings for discussion.

“I emailed you that we could meet whenever you wanted to discuss it. You never responded,” Nix said.

With commissioners Dixon and Charles Furmon in agreement, the discussion moved forward.

Butler County Land Reutilization Corp. will be the lead entity for requesting $2.6 million of the $75 million in demolition funds set aside by the Ohio attorney general. Participating municipalities, which at present are Hamilton and Middletown, will be responsible for the matching local funds. All but $500,000 must be matched.

Forming a land bank to pursue the money is the best way because a land bank, or a County Land Reutilization Corp., clears properties of titles and taxes and provides cash for demolition.

“We have a need for a tool like this,” Hamilton City Manager Joshua Smith said. “And we have an obligation to prove it will work.”

According to Census data, the county had more than 12,000 vacant residential housing units.

Carpenter said she was not against a land bank, but said she wanted to make sure that everyone’s rights are protected, including those of property owners, and that there is a specific plan for how the property is chosen and a contract that spells out the city’s matching funding.

The resolution establishing the county land bank passed with a 2-1 vote. Carpenter cast a no vote.



Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: May 25 2012 at 6:11am
So now we will be getting more government funding to help us demo all those blighted houses in those high crime high poverty neighborhoods.

Ahh 409 your predictions are right on the money. You can bet that the top 5 items on their list will be located somewhere in “Their Downtown Area”.  

You might want to ask City Hall where all the NSP and CDBG funding has been spent in the last three years to clean up all these poor blighted neighborhoods.
How many houses have been demoed over the past three years?
Again this is just another way for them to fund “Their Downtown”.
Just another way to FEED THE BEAST.
Yep ”Slumville
USA” is doing a great job of getting all those federal dollars to help all those poor folks that live near the downtown. Wink




Posted By: Bill
Date Posted: May 25 2012 at 9:37am
Yeah, heaven forbid we come up with one or two positions for this landbank or borrow staff from another department.  Have you been in some of these county offices lately?  Aside from being bored and having little sense of customer service, they don't exactly look overworked.
 
Cindy Carpenter is a nut.  How did she get on commission?  Typical Butler County politics and sheep-like GOP voters.


Posted By: Bocephus
Date Posted: May 25 2012 at 10:06am
Originally posted by Bill Bill wrote:

Yeah, heaven forbid we come up with one or two positions for this landbank or borrow staff from another department.  Have you been in some of these county offices lately?  Aside from being bored and having little sense of customer service, they don't exactly look overworked.
 
Cindy Carpenter is a nut.  How did she get on commission?  Typical Butler County politics and sheep-like GOP voters.
 
And if they were Democrats it would be so much better right? As long as people keep thinking this way then its mission accomplished for the crooks (all of them) thats the problem.


Posted By: Bill
Date Posted: May 25 2012 at 10:21am
The GOP aspect has nothing to do with it.  If this was the San Francisco or New York area, the sheep would just happen to be Dems.


Posted By: Rolo Tomassi
Date Posted: May 25 2012 at 2:48pm
Nancy Nix is a loser. So is Carenter. Too nuts over their head thinking they are in the "big leagues."

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"Hush, hush."


Posted By: John Beagle
Date Posted: May 25 2012 at 3:20pm
Originally posted by Rolo Tomassi Rolo Tomassi wrote:

Nancy Nix is a loser. So is Carenter. Too nuts over their head thinking they are in the "big leagues."


And what basis do you make that statement? Says here your from LA.

Only people from Middletown are allowed to bash people in Middletown. Besides I happen to know Nancy Nix and she is a very nice person.

-------------
http://www.johnbeagle.com/" rel="nofollow - John Beagle

Middletown USA

News of, for and by the people of Middletown, Ohio.



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