May 28, 2008

COUNTY LEGISLATIVE LEADERS ASK STATE LEGISLATURE FOR ACTION ON LAND BANKS AND FORECLOSURE FEES

The Erie County Legislature's Task Force on Distressed Properties, recently established by Legislature Chair Lynn Marinelli and co-chaired by County Legislator Bob Reynolds and Hub Frawley, Mayor of Angola, sent a communication to Albany requesting state legislators to approve two bills that would be extremely helpful to further the goals of the Task Force.

"The first bill for which the Task Force urged immediate passage is A.8059-B /S.5366-B, an act to amend the general municipal law and the New York State urban development corporation act to create land banks," began Reynolds. "These lands banks would enable the acquisition, management, planning and reuse of vacant and abandoned property."

The County Legislature's Task Force is composed of stakeholders from city, suburban and rural communities throughout Erie County. Task Force members have come to consensus on the root problems that have caused a vacant abandoned property crisis in Erie County and all of Upstate New York. The Task Force has divided its action strategy among four subcommittees or work groups to tackle the crisis in the following priority areas: 1) expediting and improving the foreclosure process, 2) enhancing the marketing of properties and parcels, 3) exploring federal and state funding opportunities, and 4) encouraging and facilitating intergovernmental and intermunicipal cooperation, including legislative advocacy.

"As a legislator representing part of the City of Buffalo and Town of Tonawanda, I can attest that vacant properties are not only a plague on urban areas, but on suburban areas as well," Marinelli stated.

"And I have witnessed what these abandoned properties have done to the rural communities that I represent," added Reynolds. "We have to tackle this problem countywide, because the problem does not end at the border of any one city, town or village line. It affects all of us."

The second measure the Task Force seeks passage of is A.8345-C/S.6677-B, which would help Erie County recoup the expenses that accrue from the collection of tax delinquencies. This legislation would require that the amount to be paid - for the redemption of real property affected by any Erie County tax sale certificate in foreclosure - include the back taxes owed plus the accrued interest, penalties and the costs of the foreclosure itself, including necessary attorneys' fees, court costs and abstracts of title.

"By enacting this legislation to amend the Erie County Tax Act, the State Legislature will significantly enhance the value and enforceability of Erie County tax sale certificates. The bill also allows for the recovery of a per parcel "in rem fee" of not more than $500 to cover the costs to Erie County related to in rem tax foreclosures. This legislation protects the interests of the taxpayers of Erie County and will enhance the communities in which we live," Reynolds concluded.

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