Council amends nuisance abatement ordinances (Ord. 08-3, enacted April 28, 2008).

Council enacts new Section 141.24 of the Codified Ordinances to authorize acquisition of properties that cost $25,000 or less (Ord. 08-36, enacted April 28, 2008).

Council adopts Resolution reaffirming and expanding the City’s Equal Employment Opportunity Policy (Res. 08-15, adopted February 25, 2008):

Council amends nuisance abatement ordinances (Ord. 08-3, enacted April 28, 2008):

Sections 107.03 and 107.05 of the Codified Ordinances concerning the assessment of properties for the cost of nuisance abatement have been amended to streamline the process of assessment and to make it more likely that the assessment will be valid against the property.

Section 107.03 authorizes the City to declare certain nuisances and order their abatement. Section 107.05 authorizes the City to assess properties on which the City performs nuisance abatement.

The changes to the ordinances do the following:

1. Clarify that the City must provide a property owner with an estimate of the costs of planned nuisance abatement prior to the abatement, and a statement of the final cost as soon as the cost can be ascertained.
2. Allows the City to assess the property at any time after the City incurs the costs of preparing to abate and/or abating the nuisance, rather than having to bill the final cost first and waiting 30 days for the owner to pay. 
3. Clarifies that the City may bill and assess the City’s costs incurred by the City in preparing to abate and in abating the nuisance. Thus, the City has the authority to collect its costs incurred in preparing to abate a nuisance even if the City ultimately does not abate the nuisance because the owner finally takes action to abate the nuisance themselves.

These changes do not affect the rights of property owners to appeal nuisance abatement orders or to do the work themselves.

This enhanced procedure will better ensure that a property is not transferred prior to the filing of the lien, which better assures future payment of the costs incurred by the City.

Council enacts new Section 141.24 of the Codified Ordinances to authorize acquisition of properties that cost $25,000 or less (Ord. 08-36, enacted April 28, 2008):

The Charter of the City in Article VI, Section 7, and Section 141.03 of the Codified Ordinances, require that Council approve the acquisition of real estate when the purchase price exceeds the amount set forth in the Codified Ordinances, which is established as an amount exceeding $25,000 in Section 141.03. However, Council has traditionally approved all acquisitions of real property including donations and purchases of any value or price.

Due to the current real estate market, the City is finding that property is becoming available for donation or purchase through various means, including private offers, foreclosure sales, short sales, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, HUD sales, etc. Many of these properties are blighted, vacant and/or abandoned. By Council providing advanced authorization for acquisitions of real property costing up to $25,000, this process will be expedited and become more efficient, reducing the administrative cost in time and resources for the City and making more strategic acquisitions possible.

New Section 141.24 C.O. authorizes the Mayor to acquire real property in the City by donation or purchase, as long as the purchase price, including all costs and expenses of acquisition, does not exceed the amount established in Section 141.03 as the amount above which Council must approve acquisitions of real estate. That amount is currently set at $25,000 in Section 141.03.

Section 141.24 also requires the Mayor to report any acquisition of real property to Council in writing within sixty days after the recording of any deed completing the acquisition of a property.

Council adopts Resolution reaffirming and expanding the City’s Equal Employment Opportunity Policy (Res. 08-15, adopted February 25, 2008):

The City has long observed a principle of recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting City employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap, except where such factors would be bona fide obstacles to expected job performance.

Council has reaffirmed and expanded the City’s longstanding Equal Employment Opportunity Policy with the addition of protection from discrimination based on ancestry, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

The City will comply with all legal requirements prohibiting discrimination against any individual with respect to his or her employment compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, or disability and also will not discriminate against any individual in employment compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Artificial barriers or personal attitudes and customs shall not be permitted to affect matters relating to the City’s employment practices.

The City pledges itself to ensure that all activities relative to recruitment, hiring and promotion are undertaken to affect the principle of Equal Employment Opportunity. Only bona fide occupational qualifications should be considered when administering personnel matters. Further, all matters related to compensation, benefits, transfers, layoffs, recall from layoffs, and training will be free from any and all discriminatory practices.-