City of Baltimore - File #: 07-0284R

• File #: 07-0284R
• Version: 0
• Name: Information Hearing - Tax Sale Protections for Baltimore City Owner Occupants and Responsible Landlords of Affordable and Code-Compliant Rental Units
• Type: City Council Resolution
• Status: Failed - End of Term
• File created: 4/16/2007
• In control: City Council
• Final action: 12/5/2007
• Title: Information Hearing - Tax Sale Protections for Baltimore City Owner Occupants and Responsible Landlords of Affordable and Code-Compliant Rental Units FOR the purpose of requesting that the Director of Finance and the Chief of the Department of Treasury Management brief the Council regarding what remedies for negative and unintended consequences of tax sale policy are within the City's local jurisdiction to legislate and what remedies are for General Assembly enactment.
• Sponsors: Mary Pat Clarke, President Young, James B. Kraft, Nicholas C. D'Adamo, Robert Curran, Sharon Green Middleton, Belinda Conaway, Agnes Welch, Edward Reisinger, Keiffer Mitchell, Vernon E. Crider
• Indexes: Resolution

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
4/19/2007	0	The City Council	Referred for a Report
4/16/2007	0	City Council	Introduced
4/16/2007	0	City Council	Assigned

* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*

CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)

Introduced by: Councilmember Clarke


A RESOLUTION ENTITLED

A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Information Hearing - Tax Sale Protections for Baltimore City Owner Occupants and Responsible Landlords of Affordable and Code-Compliant Rental Units

FOR the purpose of requesting that the Director of Finance and the Chief of the Department of Treasury Management brief the Council regarding what remedies for negative and unintended consequences of tax sale policy are within the City's local jurisdiction to legislate and what remedies are for General Assembly enactment.
Body
WHEREAS, In an era of Affordable Housing initiatives, Baltimore City must protect its base of moderate-income homeowner-occupants and responsible landlords of code-compliant and affordable units from losing their homes to property tax sales based on overdue bills unrelated to annual property taxes and on minimal overdue taxes for which property owners have agreed to a City schedule for repayment; and

WHEREAS, The media reports that over 400 City homes have been lost over debts other than property taxes in the past three years, mainly from unpaid water and sewer bills, alley repaving charges, sidewalk repairs and even fees to register rental property; and

WHEREAS, Roughly half of those foreclosures involved unpaid charges of $500 or less, evolving into thousands of dollars for redemption under the City's private debt collecti...