City Prepares to Adopt Foreclosure Ordinance

PORTLAND-Now may be a good time to negotiate settlement of outstanding liens, assessments and penalties with the City of Portland. The Portland City Council this week will hear the first reading of a foreclosure ordinance that will assist the city in retrieving some $7.8 million in liens, assessments and penalties that are more than a year past due.

The city places liens on properties whose owners have failed to pay money they owe for such things as street lighting, sewers or code violations, but it has not foreclosed on real property liens since 1971. The first reading of the foreclosure ordinance is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 29. The Council is expected to approve the ordinance one week later. The ordinance takes effect 30 days after adoption.

City Auditor Gary Blackmer tells GlobeSt.com the first notices will be sent out in early March and will focus on the 220 commercial properties and vacant lots with liens that are over 365 days past due. The commercial properties represent $1.3 million of the aforementioned $7.8 million figure. “My goal is to look not only at the violations but also at the financial situation of the owner,” says Blackmer. “The goal is to resolve these without going into foreclosure.”