City proposal may remedy costs of abandoned parcels

The Rutland Herald reports that "in the midst of a declining housing market that's piling up with foreclosed properties on a national scale, Rutland's municipality is dealing with the after-effects of landlords who cut and run from their losses." In turn, Mayor Mayor Christopher Louras has "asked the aldermen to begin work on an ordinance that would help the city get paid for being the de facto landlord for abandoned properties." More specifically, Louras "hopes the [Aldermen] will pass an ordinance similar to one in Burlington that converts municipality property management expenses into tax liens."

According to the Mayor, "The city has incurred considerable costs dealing with everything from mold and mosquito-related public health hazards to situations involving tenants left in buildings where water and electrical utilities have been stopped." City city building inspector James Simonds  commented that "so much of his time has been spent dealing with abandoned properties as of late that he believes his office is 'becoming a property management company.'" Simonds concluded, ""As more and more buildings are foreclosed on, this is only going to get worse."

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