Common Council authorizes adjustment to Syracuse tax code following SCOTUS ruling

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The Syracuse Common Council authorized an amendment to the city of Syracuse’s tax code Monday in response to a United States Supreme Court ruling regarding the collection and use of surplus funds in the seizure of tax-delinquent properties.

The ruling states local governments cannot keep proceeds beyond the amount owed when seizing and selling the homes of people with unpaid property taxes, forcing the city to change its tax code.

In May 2023, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of a 94-year-old Minnesota woman who sued Hennepin County, which encompasses Minneapolis. Plaintiff ​​Geraldine Tyler had owed roughly $15,000 in property taxes, according to Reuters. The county foreclosed on her home and sold it at an auction in 2016 for $40,000, keeping it for its own use.

The amendment was originally introduced and tabled at the council’s Jan. 8 meeting by Corey Williams and Patrona Jones-Rowser, councilors representing Districts 3 and 4, respectively.

Councilor Patrick Hogan, who represents District 2, referred to the amendment as a “vital piece of legislation” on Monday.

“The revitalization and resurrection of our neighborhoods is dependent on the city’s ability to seize tax-delinquent property. I urge all of my fellow councilors to vote ‘yes’ on this proposal,” Hogan said.

Hogan wrote a letter to the editor Monday morning for syracuse.com advocating for the city of Syracuse to change how it addresses seizing tax-delinquent properties, urging the council to support the legislation.

In his letter, Hogan emphasized the importance of the Greater Syracuse Land Bank, a not-for-profit organization that enables the return of vacant and abandoned properties in the city to “productive” use, according to its website.

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“Since its inception, the Greater Syracuse Land Bank has been … working in tandem with the city and its housing partners,” Hogan wrote. “It has helped rehabilitate over 1,200 properties, stabilizing many neighborhoods and adding substantial tax revenue to the city coffers. It has also demolished more than 500 properties deemed too far gone to save.”

The council passed the amendment unanimously.

The council also authorized a memorandum of understanding between the Greater Syracuse Land Bank and the city. The not-for-profit organization will now use the surplus and seized properties to help rebuild neighborhoods in Syracuse, Hogan wrote in the letter.

The Common Council also authorized a memorandum of understanding between the Syracuse Police Department and LeMoyne College. LeMoyne will receive a crime analyst and anti-violence coordinator and $281,760 for further investment in campus safety, according to the meeting agenda. The agreement will run for one year.

The memorandum comes out of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination Initiative. In June 2023, Hochul announced nearly $36.2 million for law enforcement agencies participating in the state’s initiative, which includes Onondaga County and SPD.

Fifteen people were killed with guns in 2022, according to syracuse.com. Eleven-year-old Brexialee Torres-Ortiz was killed outside of Dr. King Elementary School in January 2023.

Syracuse University agreed to a similar memorandum of understanding with the Syracuse Police Department in December 2014. The stated intent of the memorandum was to “establish, promote, and maintain a continued, harmonious working relationship and cooperative effort” between the Syracuse Police Department and SU’s Department of Public Safety, according to the 2014 memorandum.

The memorandum details the responsibilities and duties of DPS officers and their relationship to the SPD, including the jurisdiction of DPS officers on SU’s two Syracuse campuses.

Other business:

The council agreed to fund the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Urban and Community Forestry Program with $500,000 over three years for the planting of new trees and maintaining of trees in Syracuse.