Land banks allow cities to hold property in trust for the purpose of transferring title to someone who will repurpose the land. The property involved usually has assessments and back property taxes attached, but as they come into land bank ownership, the taxes and fees are forgiven. Oftentimes on abandoned properties, those assessments and taxes go unpaid for several years until they are sold at a sheriff’s auction, at which time most of the taxes and fees are forgiven anyway after they sell for nominal prices. Having a land bank will allow the city to transfer such properties more quickly. “I consider this the opening salvo in a lot more programs to revitalize all the empty properties and the abandoned houses and everything in our town. This is the start. This is the first piece of the puzzle,” Commissioner Leland Crooks said.
Source: Parsons Sun
