City of St. Joseph working to address derelict homes
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Local officials are working to tackle blight in St. Joseph by addressing abandoned and condemned homes.
City of St. Joseph leaders met with the Buchanan County Commission in late April to discuss derelict homes and have explored ideas to handle the issue. A special tax bill is still in the works but would go further to penalize property owners who don't adhere to code enforcement.
"If we come out as a city and have to notice you for that violation, and you failed to react to that notice and don't cure the violation, then the city will come out and perform an abatement on your property," Planning & Community Development Director Clint Thompson said.
Property maintenance inspectors enforce code violations on private property in categories such as weed growth, trash and dangerous buildings.
"We will then bill you after that abatement is performed, and then if you do not pay that fee for that service, then we place what we call a special assessment on your property," Thompson said.
The City of St. Joseph is working with Buchanan County to have the special tax bill certified to the county at the end of August each year.
"That will give the county enough time to be able to place that special tax assessment on the individual property," Thompson said. "And then when you pay your property taxes, that amount will be due at such time."
Thompson said the county and city are working together to improve the community appearance of St. Joseph. The city recently finished a community survey, and officials found that residents felt they could do a better job at code enforcement.
"This is one way, I think, that we can improve the effectiveness of our code enforcement department and see the area and some blighted areas improve because of this compliance mechanism," he said.
Both the county and city will work to identify and certify the costs for each individual property with the code violations.
"The city and county partner on a lot of different efforts," Thompson said. "This was a way that we thought we could move the needle and ensure that the two entities are working together."
