December 6, 2022 |
The Town of Medicine Bow wants to make the process of purchasing of abandoned properties in its community less costly for buyers.
Ordinance 3-2022 is being drafted as an amendment to an existing law. It puts a cap on utility charges owed to the town once the property goes into lien.
Medicine Bow municipal code requires a monthly water and sewer utility charge for all plots of land in town. When a property owner doesn’t pay their utility service fees, the town will issue a lien in order to recoup some of the lost revenue.
Mayor Sharon Biamon explained what the town hopes to accomplish with the new ordinance.
Without the amended ordinance, Medicine Bow will continue to charge utility fees to the land owner, even if the property is clearly abandoned. Some of the parcels may be empty for years with the meter running nonstop. Mayor Biamon said unpaid liens may prevent people from purchasing real estate from the town.
If a person offers to buy a plot of land that has a lien issued against it, they must pay the lien to obtain a clear deed. Mayor Biamon said some properties can have liens totaling $4,000. The mayor said the town will generally put a lien on a property when unpaid utility bills reach $200, however, the number isn’t set in stone. She said the town council is working on a different ordinance that will codify the total amount of money a property owner owes before the town takes legal action.
The supposed need for the ordinance was brought up by two individuals during the October 10th town council meeting. Mr. and Mrs. Worthington told the council they, and a family member, had purchased 10 parcels of property in a tax sale. According to the meeting minutes, the Worthington’s said most of the landowners were deceased and their heirs no longer cared about the properties. With a lien totaling $12,191.68 for all 10 lots, the Worthington’s asked the town council to forgive the entire amount. Mr. and Mrs. Worthington said, by not waiving the lien, the town would be discouraging people from purchasing delinquent tax property in the future.
Mayor Biamon offered to forgive half of the lien amount, telling the Worthington’s the town had expenses associated with the properties. Medicine Bow’s attorney, Robert Piper, said the town didn’t want to set a precedence for forgiving liens.
Fast forward to the November 14th Medicine Bow town council meeting. An amendment was proposed to town ordinance number 19.5.104, the section of the municipal code that established the monthly utility fee. Councilmember Lucinda Schofield explained the amendment would alter the existing law to cease utility charges once the town placed a lien on a property. Ordinance 3-2022 passed on 1st reading, with all members of the council voting for it. The ordinance will receive a second reading during December 12th’s town council meeting.
Mayor Biamon wasn’t able to provide an exact number of how many properties in the town have unpaid utility liens, but she said it was “quite a few.” The mayor said the ordinance change would help attract buyers to the abandoned properties.
After complaints about high utility liens placed on vacant properties by the town, the Medicine Bow council has drafted an ordinance change to halt the recurring charge once the lien is issued. The December 12th meeting will be the second reading of the ordinance.
