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Agenda 02/14/2012 Item #10C2/14/2012 Item 10.C. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recommendation to review the alternatives for the waiver of fines /liens and direct the County Manager or designee to implement Board direction on this matter. OBJECTIVE: To provide the Board of County Commissioners (Board) options to Resolution No. 2010- 101 for payment of lien amounts for new ownership in accordance with direction provided by the Board on January 10, 2012. CONSIDERATIONS: The existing resolution, Resolution No. 2010 -101, provides procedures and criteria for resolving code enforcement liens. The Resolution was developed and subsequently executed by the Board to provide incentive to property owners to quickly abate code violations thus preventing Blight in our community and minimizing the deleterious effect on taxable values of the affected property and the surrounding properties. Following foreclosure by a Bank, a foreclosure auction occurs. Investors generally conduct due diligence on the properties they are interested in by determining if code violations, fines, and /or liens exist on the property and the time and expense to abate same. The time and cost to abate results in a purchase offer to the Bank that is below market. The Bank that foreclosed is aware of the code issues when accepting the purchase offer. On January 10, 2012, the Board provided direction to develop options to the current Resolution for the circumstance when a new owner takes ownership of a property encumbered with a code enforcement lien. This section of the current Resolution states: 4.1 Before a code enforcement lien settlement recommendation is made to the Board,-the following conditions must be taken into consideration: A. Fine /lien amount is fixed and no longer accruing on a periodic basis. B. Underlying violation(s) resulting in the fine/lien has been abated or corrected. C. History of violations involving the offering party. D. For code enforcement liens and fines on a property that has new ownership, fines that accrued prior to transfer of title would be considered for waiver so long as the new owner has diligently pursued abatement and compliance has been achieved. E. Extent to which payment of the full lien amount would impose a severe financial hardship on the property owner; fines accrued by an existing owner would be considered for waiver as long as the existing owner has diligently pursued abatement and compliance has been achieved. F. The amount recovered will equal or exceed the costs and expenses incurred by the County in prosecuting the violation and obtaining, recording, and enforcing the fine /lien. The following time extensions are offered as options to Section 4.1D of Resolution 2010 -101 for payment of lien amounts for new ownership: Packet Page -822- 2/14/2012 Item 10.C. 1. For code enforcement liens and fines on a property that has new ownership, fines that accrued prior to transfer of title and thirty days following transfer of title, would be considered for waiver so long as the new owner has diligently pursued abatement and compliance has been achieved. 2. For code enforcement liens and fines on a property that has new ownership, fines that accrued prior to transfer of title and sixty days following transfer of title, would be considered for waiver so long as the new owner has diligently pursued abatement and compliance has been achieved. 3. For code enforcement liens and fines on a property that has new ownership, fines that accrued prior to transfer of title and ninety days following transfer of title, would be considered for waiver so long as the new owner has diligently pursued abatement and compliance has been achieved. 4. No change to current resolution. The timeframe to achieve compliance varies and is based upon multiple considerations. These considerations include: the number and type of violations on the property, the commitment of the property owner to quickly achieve compliance, the commitment of the contracted resources to achieve compliance, etc. Purchase offers from investors take these issues into consideration when an offer to purchase is made; banks also take these issues into consideration when accepting a purchase offer. Since May 2009, the Board of County Commissioners has waived more than 8.5 million in fines/lien amounts. FISCAL IMPACT: The total fine amount, both prior to new ownership and after new ownership is owed to the Board. Fine waivers decrease revenue to the Board. GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: There is no growth management impact associated with this Executive Summary. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: This item is legally sufficient for Board action and requires a majority vote for approval. -JW RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends alternative 1; all fines that accrued prior to new ownership and thirty days after new ownership would be considered for waiver as long as the new owner diligently pursued abatement and compliance has been achieved. Staff requests that the Board direct the County Manager or designee to amend section 4.1D of Resolution 2010 -101, consistent with the chosen alternative. PREPARED BY: Diane B. Flagg, Director, Code Enforcement Department, Growth Management Division, Planning and Regulation. Packet Page -823- COLLIER COUNTY Board of County Commissioners Item Number: 10.C. 2/14/2012 Item 10.C. Item Summary: Recommendation that the Board of County Commissioners review the alternatives for the waiver of fines /liens and direct the County Manager or designee to implement Board direction on this matter. Meeting Date: 2/14/2012 Prepared By Name: SerranoMarlene Title: Manager - Code Enforcement Operations,Code Enforce 1/17/2012 4:52:23 PM Submitted by Title: Manager - Code Enforcement Operations,Code Enforce Name: SerranoMarlene 1/17/2012 4:52:25 PM Approved By Name: PuigJudy Title: Operations Analyst, CDES Date: 1/20/2012 3:51:36 PM Name: F1aggDiane Title: Director - Code Enforcement,Code Enforcement Date: 1/25/2012 6:07:53 PM Name: FederNorman Title: Administrator - Growth Management Div,Transportati Date: 1/26/2012 10:14:41 AM Name: MarcellaJeanne Title: Executive Secretary,Transportation Planning Date: 1/26/2012 12:36:23 PM Packet Page -824- Name: WrightJeff Title: Assistant County Attorney,County Attorney Date: 1/26/2012 4:12:54 PM Name: KlatzkowJeff Title: County Attorney, Date: 1/30/2012 4:10:48 PM Name: FinnEd Date: 1/30/2012 5:19:52 PM Name: OchsLeo Title: County Manager Date: 1/31/2012 3:44:48 PM Packet Page -825- 2/14/2012 Item 10.C.