BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Council is scheduled to hear a bill to fight blight on Tuesday, but some at City Hall believe the bill won't deliver what it promises.
Thousands of vacant homes dot neighborhoods across Baltimore city.
Those empty houses are not only eyesores to the people who live next door to them but vacant homes also present a danger to the community as a site for fires or illegal activity.
In March, Baltimore City Council introduced a number of bills as part of an effort to clean up vacant properties and or streamline the city’s newly approved foreclosure process.
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Several of the bills would increase fees associated with owning a vacant property in Baltimore.
City Council president Nick Mosby introduced three of those bills, including Ordinance 22-0204 which would fine property owners for extensive and repeated 311 service calls and or emergency calls.
For example, if a fire should break out at a vacant home, the property owners could be billed $400 per hour, per fire engine.
Fire investigation services could cost absentee property owners $500 an hour.
At the time he introduced the bill, Mosby said unpaid fines would create tax liens, pushing vacant properties into receivership and into the hands of responsible owners.
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Meanwhile, the Baltimore city Department of Finance supports the idea of getting rid of vacant homes but opposes the bill.
The department is concerned about the financial impact to the city and that the juice might not be worth the squeeze the city puts on vacant property owners, as the city already struggles to collect property taxes, citations, and other bills for a large number of vacant homes.
The finance department also questions whether 311 service requests are an appropriate data source as the department of housing, office of information technology, or environmental control board may offer better statistics.
The public hearing on the bill to fine vacant property owners for excessive 311 calls is at 2 pm Tuesday afternoon at City Hall.
The public also can attend virtually online, HERE via Webex. Phone: 408-418-9388, Access Code: 2340 167 1296, Password: Public
