Tim Boyd
County Commissioner Tim Boyd on Wednesday called a move by Mayor Andy Berke to reject a plan for bringing savings to distressed city property owners "shameful."
He said, "This is the most disingenuous move that I have come across since I have been on the commission. We are helping the most wealthy property owners in Hamilton County, while we are willing to jeopardize 3,000 of our very needy families."
Commissioner Boyd said, "This is a mayor who takes every photo op to say 'I'm all for social justice' when this is the most unjust action I've ever heard of."
Trustee Bill Hullander said he was told by city officials that "the deal is off" for his office to handle cases of city residents who get behind on their taxes. He said earlier that the city and county currently have several duplicative charges. He said the move would cut costs for a distressed property owner from about $800 to about $400. For example, he said both the city and county get separate title searches on the same piece of property.
The trustee said the city backed out of "a package deal" he had worked out because the County Commission reversed itself and would not agree to send out assessments for the new downtown Business Improvement District (BID) on county tax bills.
Instead, the city is winding up sending the assessments on city tax bills.
Trustee Hullander said he is hopeful that the city will eventually agree to allow his office to handle the back tax cases, saying it would help a number of struggling families.
Commission members asked County Attorney Rheubin Taylor to contact City Attorney Phil Noblett to see if any agreement can be reached.
Commissioner Katherlyn Geter said, "Something needs to be done. This has gone on too long."
Vice Chairman Chip Baker asked Trustee Hullander about the situation, saying, "Just to be clear, the city is holding its citizens hostage." Trustee Hullander said the city position is that the County Commission was the one causing the problem by not handling the BID assessments.
He said, "But I'm not going to get in the middle of that fight."
Trustee Hullander said, "Our office is just moving on from this. Hopefully, one of these days the city will see fit to let us handle these cases. My ultimate goal would be to collect the taxes for the city."
Bill Hullander