“At least those liens equal a quarter million dollars that we had our taxpayers pay to have something removed that we may or may not get back,” City Commissioner Debbie McDowell noted. “Just because there’s a lien doesn’t mean we get reimbursed; we’re at the bottom of the list.”
McDowell, who joined the board in November 2016, is the only commissioner remaining from the members who adopted that 2017 ordinance. Mayor Jill Luke was elected to the board after that, through a special election.
Faced with the task of cutting costs in the 2021-22 budget, board members decided that it was time to eliminate the portion of the ordinance empowering the city to trim growth on vacant lots and then bill the property owner.