Explanation
BACKGROUND: Since 2014, the City of Columbus Land Bank Program and the County’s Land Bank entity, the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation (COCIC), have worked in close partnership to identify and target residential homes for demolition under the Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP). By November 2016, the Land Banks project to spend a total of over $6 million dollars to demolish approximately 390 residential structures. In July, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency announced an additional NIP award of over $12 million dollars to demolish structures through 2019. Since properties demolished under the NIP are required to be owned by COCIC, the land banks are working to identify additional properties for acquisition. COCIC is working with the Franklin County Treasurer to purchase Tax Certificates of vacant and abandoned property to acquire the property through tax foreclosure. This legislation authorizes the City to enter into an agreement with COCIC and spend $250,000 to pay costs associated with acquiring the property through tax foreclosure, such as legal fees, title services, court costs and other customary expenses to foreclose on at least 250 blighted properties for demolition or resale. The funds will be matched by both COCIC ($250,000) and the Franklin County Treasurer ($500,000) for a total of $1 million dollars. This expenditure request is similar to expenditures and contracts authorized under Ordinances 0912-2014, 1909-2014, 0255-2015, and 1887-2015. Those ordinances authorized purchase orders totaling $242,000 to three law firms contracted by the Franklin County Prosecutor. This legislation simplifies the process by running the foreclosure actions and contracts through one entity, COCIC.
FISCAL IMPACT: Funds are available in the Development Taxable Bonds Fund. ($250,000).
EMERGENCY JUSTIFICATION: Emergency action is requested in order to continue ongoing activities to target and demolish vacant and blighted properties.
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