Parsons city commissioners are looking at starting a tax sale for properties in the city that are in arrears on property taxes.
The idea would be costly without much, if any, return on the back end, but commissioners wanted to pursue it as a way to reduce the dilapidated and abandoned housing stock and improve the look of the city. Having fewer vacant or condemned homes, or homes awaiting demolition, may have an impact on the growing squatter issue.
Commissioners heard a complaint on Nov. 27 from a property owner on North 22nd who lives close to three vacant homes that have had squatters coming and going and fires that resulted from that activity.
That citizen concern prompted Commissioner Tom Shaw to suggest the city do something more than it’s doing. He said he hears complaints frequently about the abandoned homes and businesses and squatters taking roost. The former Family Video store in the 2200 block of Main had someone living inside the entryway — the exterior doors to the business were not locked — and police had to go there to remove the person. Trash remained in the entryway, he said. The city staff has called but hasn’t heard back from the building owner about securing the doors.
City Attorney Ross Albertini said there are two levels of homelessness in the city. One involves vagrants who may live in the park or under a bridge. Then there are couch surfers who stay with friends until the friends kick them out. That action sends them to a vacant home.
The idea of the city having its own delinquent tax sale came out of that discussion. The county has a tax sale pending, with the actual sale likely to happen in 2025. But that sale involves properties that are delinquent on taxes from 2015 and before, commissioners heard. A property cannot be on the tax sale list until it’s been delinquent for three years.
The infrequent tax sales aren’t having an impact, commissioners said.
Shaw said no matter what positive steps the city takes, criticism continues on the abandoned or vacant homes, even though the city is demolishing more homes each year.
“Tax sales are not fast.
And that’s why they do not do them all the time,” City Attorney Ross Albertini told commissioners last week.
He said cities can do their own tax sales, but the process is costly and slow. It may require hiring support staff and taking a lot of time to serve notice on property owners. Service is one reason the process is slow.
If a couple owned a home and passed away, the home may fall to their children. When their children die, if they even knew about the home, then the home may fall onto the grandchildren. Then, the city staff may have to track down all the interested parties or heirs to see if they want to redeem the house and get it off the tax sale list. Service sometimes means a legal publication when other methods fail. Absentee landowners, those who live in other towns or states, also own some of these problem homes.
Commissioners leaned toward the tax sale as one solution. Shaw said these housing issues can undercut a community.
“It hasn’t been that long ago that nobody would have thought of Parsons as a trashy town. And I don’t think most people do now. But there’s a little bit of a slippery slope of going this direction,” he said.
Some properties are in the floodplain, and some of these parcels stay on the delinquent list from county sale to county sale because people won’t buy them. Many improvements are barred on properties in a floodplain without meeting strict guidelines.
“Everywhere you turn there’s an obstacle or some way that isn’t a perfect path,” Darrell Moyer, director of engineering and Public Works, told commissioners.
The discussion continued during Monday’s commission meeting because Shaw heard from a landlord over the weekend who thought the city should do a tax sale. The landlord hadn’t heard about the discussion from that week. He told Shaw that properties in decline are increasing in the city. This may discourage investment in the community or deter people from returning here or moving here.
Commissioners said they hope that if the tax sale can be done frequently enough, the vacant homes can be sold and put back into use before they fall further into disrepair, perhaps beyond saving.
Commissioner Leland Crooks said the county tax sale takes too long. Houses are too far gone by then and there is nothing for the new owner to work with. The city having its own tax sale makes sense, he said.
Commissioner Verlyn Bolinger said the city needs to bite the bullet, even if the process will cost the city money. He said one tax sale may curb the problem for “quite a while.”
In other matters Monday, the commission: — Agreed to purchase a recycling trailer for 23,940 from Pro-Tainer. The city paid $5,985 toward the purchase and a grant paid the rest.
— Discussed a language change in an ordinance that prohibits parking in a front yard. The change would allow a temporary exemption for people recovering from verified surgery. Commissioners will take up the issue again at a future meeting.
— Received but didn’t act on a draft ordinance for increasing sanitation rates in the city. Curb and alley collection would increase from $16 to $18 a month; walk-up service would increase $2 to $21 per month; outside city collection would increase $4 to $36 per month; polycarts would cost $2 per month in addition to the base rate; business service would increase $2 to $27 per month.
— Heard that the Parsons Planning Commission would like the city commission to attend its meeting at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 17 to discuss people living in RVs in the city. One citizen would like to live in an RV on her son’s property permanently, a living arrangement that’s not allowed by ordinance. The issue has bounced between the city commission and the planners.
