Fighting Blight with Property Tax Bills

<p>How can a city more effectively fight blight—vacant, abandoned, and dilapidated housing? The city of High Point tried to find some answers last year with help from the Center for Community Progress and the UNC School of Government.</p> <p>My economic development expert-colleague Tyler Mulligan and I were honored to play a part in this extensive effort that included a variety of city departments, Guilford County officials, and neighborhood organizations. Tyler focused on how best to navigate housing code enforcement law. My focus was on how best to use property tax collection remedies to recoup housing code enforcement costs.  You can read the full report produced by the Center for Community Progress here; today’s blog summarizes the relevant property tax collection issues.</p> <p>My best advice to High Point and other cities combating blight was simple: use your property tax bills!</p> <p>State law is remarkably quiet about what may or must be included on property tax bills. Believe it or not, a local government isn’t even required to send bills to taxpayers; GS 105-348 charges all property owners with notice of their tax obligations even if they never receive actual notice.  In other words, “I never got a bill!” is not a valid justification for avoiding your property taxes.</p> <p>Local governments who choose to send property tax bills (and that’s all of them, as far as I know) can choose what to include on those bills.  Any debt owed to a local government may be included on a property tax bill.  Library fines? Sure.  Parking tickets? You betcha.  Parks and rec fees? [...]</p>