Township officials in Butler and Warren counties spend thousands each year cleaning up nuisance properties, but are able to recoup most of the expenses through assessments on property tax bills.

In West Chester Twp., officials budget $15,000 annually for property maintenance. Michael Juengling, community development director, said the most common nuisance complaints relate to high grass, junk vehicles and miscellaneous debris.

“If a code enforcement officer determines it to be a violation, we try to make contact for voluntary cleanup,” Juengling said. “More often than not the owner will clean it up.”

But officials said it’s not always possible to reach an owner, especially at properties under foreclosure or with absentee landlords.

Michael Yetter, Warren County zoning supervisor, said he oversees the zoning needs of five of the 11 townships in Warren County. He said there are about 70 to 125 nuisance properties each year in the townships of Franklin, Turtlecreek, Union, Harlan and Washington.

“It has gotten increasingly worse with the foreclosures,” Yetter said. “What’s happening is the homes are kept in foreclosure so long that people go in and steal, and it makes it hard to refurbish and sell. Banks are getting better in closing up (the property) and not letting them get stripped.”

Yetter said nuisance properties can be declared for a broad range of code violations — anything from broken windows, junk vehicles, falling decks, or in one unique case more than 100 junk tractors.

“People are collectors of anything metal and it accumulates and turns into a junk yard,” Yetter said. “Homeowners living next door always want government to fix the problem … because it affects property values. But it’s the owner’s responsibility first.”

Ronnie Caldwell, code enforcement officer for Deerfield Twp., said as the foreclosures have gotten worse, banks have been more willing to step in and help. Caldwell said the township budgets $10,000 each year for mowing high grass and cleaning up properties.

“We do it as a service,” Caldwell said, for those residents who do maintain their properties. “If we get (the money) back, that’s great.”

At an average cost of $200 per mow, the amount can add up quickly for townships. State law allows assessments of 100 percent of the expense to the property owner for abatement or removal of vegetation and debris.

“The county gets back their money eventually,” Yetter said. “Those property owners are required to make payments back.”

During 2011 and 2012, Liberty Twp. trustees approved tax assessments totaling more than $12,200 on 37 nuisance properties, according to Jonathan West, director of planning and zoning. He said at least half of the nuisance properties are in foreclosure.

“We like to go straight to the nuisance process instead of sending them a zoning violation letter and then following up with nuisance,” West said. “It takes too long to give 30 day notice, 30 day final notice, then approximately 14 days for nuisance.”

Liberty Twp. also budgets an additional $1,000 for equipment rental associated with nuisance abatement.

Erika Dockery of Ouray Court in Liberty Twp. said the number of nuisance properties in her neighborhood is frustrating to her as a responsible homeowner. Dockery said there needs to be more enforcement of zoning and maintenance code.

“We’ve noticed a decline in our neighborhood and we worry about property values,” Dockery said, citing two properties on Chablis Drive. “It’s frustrating others aren’t following policies and get away with it.”

Most townships receive more nuisance complaints than actually end up being declared as nuisance properties by township trustees.

Deerfield Twp. has received 97 nuisance complaints in two years — with 45 properties then declared as nuisances. Caldwell said since 2005 there has been a significant increase in the rate of nuisance properties. He said the township used to mow high grass at about three properties a year — now it’s more than 10.

In West Chester Twp., Juengling said there have been 56 properties declared as nuisances this year — after more than 260 complaints were received for zoning and property maintenance violations.

“The housing is fairly new here and the stock is in relatively good condition,” Juengling said, which helps cut down on homes falling apart.

Over the past two years, Franklin Twp. has assessed more than $10,000 to the property bills of 21 nuisance properties maintained by the township, according to Secretary Traci Stivers. Stivers said state law requires a precise process of locating an owner, sending certified letters and giving them a window of time to comply before the township can schedule to clean a property.

“It’s very frustrating for the homeowners around one of these abandoned homes, even more frustrating when the home is not abandoned, just neglected,” Stivers said. “The township cares, and we want to get these eyesores cleaned up, but at the same time we have to follow the rules.”