IS IT TRUE at last Tuesday’s County Commissioners meeting, George Lumley, a well known community volunteer, addressed the County Commissioners regarding implementing of Tax Sale reform legislation that provides new tools in addressing blighted properties while maximizing the revenues collected from the properties?
IS IT TRUE County Commissioner Bruce Ungenthiem, who was the County Representative on the Mayors task force that came up with the city plan of gifting the Brownfield’s $2.7 million and the County donating all tax delinquent properties to the Brownfield’s for a token amount, was unwilling to disclose any significant information?
IS IT TRUE George Lumley is pushing for implementation of new rules that will speed the process of taking the properties and selling, or marketing them to maximize the recovery of the delinquent taxes? …Mr. Lumley feels this can be achieved with the implementation of new state laws that work in conjunction with existing land banking operations, code enforcement, and private enterprise?  …Mr. Lumley also claims the properties could be a $500,000 financial resource for the county to use in everyone’s best interest?
IS IT TRUE that George Lumley claims that Evansville has a major blighted property problem? Â … forty (40) blighted tax sale properties sold at the recent Commissioners surplus property auction and estimates that 1,800 other parcels need to come down?
IS IT TRUE Commissioner Ungenthiem announced last week that he would be looking at tax sale reform measures? Â … Commissioner Ungenthiem indicated that he had met with only one county official but would not disclose that official by name or office? Â …George Lumley insisted on public input on this issue but Commissioners Bruce Ungenthiem and Joe Kiefer shut Lumley down by indicating there would be no public input into the plan.
IS IT TRUE we are hoping to have at least 2 million page views by the end of the year?
IS IT TRUE you can expect some unpredictable activity on our site spearheaded by our Webmaster? …we urge you to be patient with us over the next 5 to 7 days?
Please do not attribute the IIT about the 40 blighted houses selling at the tax sale to me. Of the 79 properties with structures that sold most were blighted in some way. Ron Beane, Vanderburgh Building Commissioner indicated that forty would be back on the tax sale within two years. That means this process put 39 back into the public taxpaying sector. There has been talk about these 40 home cycling continually through the process. Simply tear these forty down. Don’t blame 1800 blighted homes on 40 tax sale properties and use that as an excuse to fund special interest.
Mr. Lumley, you are to be commended for your efforts. I thought the current law provided for offering these properties to the adjacent property owners first. If I am correct, it appears that our City/County leaders are clearly trying to circumvent a law that protects the interests of those who have the most at stake in order to continue allowing the local Gravy Train to keep rolling to the doors of the cronies who always have profited from the way things have always been done.
The concept of giving adjacent owners first choice has not been promoted. Only a few are like yourself and know this is an option. Some adjacent owners called the commisoners office this fall and we’re told that because the land bank was not funded they would have to buy the property at the tax sale. The city does not consider many adjoining owners fit to own a vacant lot. That is one reason for the brownfields land bank expansion – taxpayer funded land controll. Brownfield got first choice this year. Then politically connected individuals got their pick and the average Joe was sent to bid at the tax sale.
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