“With so many funding cuts to local governments, the fact that you have to spend $5,000 or $10,000 for back taxes can be a lot out of your budget,” she said. “That money might be better used for demos (demolition) and that is one of main motivators you can have for joining this.”
About 50 people from nearly every jurisdiction in the county showed up this week to learn about the expanded land bank from Dudley and Butler County Treasurer Nancy Nix.
With $2.7 million it received in Moving Ohio Forward grants from the state, Butler County formed a land bank two years ago to deal with blighted buildings. The cities of Hamilton and Middletown each gave $1.1 million to the land bank fund as well.
At Nix’s request, Butler County commissioners recently agreed to siphon 1 percent of delinquent tax and assessment collection funds (DTAC) to bolster the land bank.
DTAC funds are late payment penalties on real estate taxes. Large counties generally take 5 percent of DTAC funds for their land banks, according to Nix. The 1 percent will garner about $155,000, she said.
The land bank’s balance currently stands at $6,714, after about 500 dilapidated buildings have come down in Hamilton and Middletown. By creating a permanent revenue stream, Nix said the county has a good chance of getting another $2 million from the state to replenish the coffers for demolitions in those two cities. The biggest benefits for the rest of the county are back taxes on foreclosed properties are erased and a quickly cleaned title, means properties can be razed and re-purposed much faster.
Only the $155,000 would be used county-wide, because just Hamilton and Middletown applied for the $2 million grant and already have been part of the land bank. Nix said the local dollars would largely be used pay for the paperwork involved in taking over properties, not demolitions, according to Nix.
“Any township or city that has a project, I guess the squeaky wheel gets the oil,” Nix said. “We don’t have a lot of money. In the grand scheme of things, we just spent $5 million on demolitions; this is $150,000. That’s got to cover legal, insurance and auditing but there will also be some extra left… We definitely want it to go county-wide because we want the program to work.”
Jim Foster, the economic development director for Trenton, said he will likely recommend his City Council join the land bank. He said dollars for demolition are not the biggest aspect of this tool.
“It’s an asset certainly if funds are available, but perhaps the most beneficial aspect of it is the free-and-clear title…,” he said. “There can be all sorts of title issues, so what happens is there is a free-and-clear title with no liens on it.”
Oxford City Manager Doug Elliott didn’t attend the meeting because of a scheduling conflict, but said at this point, the land bank isn’t a tool they need.
“Quite frankly we don’t have that many foreclosed properties, and typically they sell,” he said, adding he is glad to know the land bank is available if the need arises.
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