Bethel Twp., the most-populated in Clark County with 18,523 residents, has more than 40 nuisance property referrals this year. It had 29 in the previous two years combined.
“It’s a big headache,” said Bethel Twp. Trustee Nancy Brown.
Bethel Twp. has spent about $11,500 this year to clean up those properties. The costs are added to the owners’ property taxes and eventually recouped.
The township has recovered about $10,000 of its nuisance property expenses from property taxes since 2011, but it can’t track specifically how long it takes for those delinquent property expenses to come back.
“We do pay money out, but we will eventually get it back because taxes have to be paid eventually,” said Melanie Cochran, the fiscal officer for Bethel Twp.
Bethel Twp. officials believe foreclosures are on the rise in their area. William Crump, the deputy sheriff’s sales specialist for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, said foreclosures can’t be broken down into specific townships.
Through April 20, Clark County had conducted 281 sheriff’s sales, up from 229 on that date a year ago.
Most of the time, neighbors call township trustees with nuisance property complaints. They believe it can become a health hazard.
“They’ve seen possums coming out of a brush pile,” Brown said. “We consider it our responsibility to do what we can. It takes money that could be used for things.”
Bethel Twp. Deputy Johnny Lemen said he spends about eight hours per week taking care of nuisance property calls. He said he’s seen houses with grass and weeds 3 feet tall, including several in one area of Park Layne. They also see houses with large brush piles and trash in the yard, as well as junk vehicles.
Lemen understands the need for residents to keep the area clean. He sent 32 letters to nuisance property owners last week.
“It brings up the property value, which in turn helps the community,” Lemen said. “It definitely helps the community for sure.”
Cochran said the biggest issue with nuisance properties is the time spent taking care of them.
“It does take a decent amount of time, but we have to follow up on the complaint,” Cochran said.
Other township trustees in Clark County say nuisance properties will always be an issue, but they’re not seeing the same high volume of calls as Bethel Twp.
Springfield Twp. Administrator Jeff Briner said they quit paying to mow nuisance properties after spending about $20,000 to contract mowing duties in 2008. He said they also had trouble finding lawn businesses to bid on the contracts because the work would become too difficult to complete at times.
Briner said the township has already had about 15 to 20 homes with grass complaints, but said they’re getting more cooperation from banks than ever before.
“It usually works,” Briner said. “Some of the banks aren’t cooperative, but most of them are.
“If they do it once a month, we’re happy.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0365.
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