CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou City Councilors took criticism during their last meeting for the way they’re handling properties the city acquires after owners have failed to pay taxes for three years.
Caribou residents who’d had their properties foreclosed upon due to failure to pay taxes were given about four days to come up with the long overdue funds or lose their homes earlier this year, and one such foreclosed property was returned to its owner after TD Bank — who owns the mortgage on the Hammond Street address — interjected with a request to pay the costs by Friday, March 13.
The criticism was aimed at council by a couple who placed a bid on the Hammond Street property.
“Why do you put those things in the paper if they can’t be bid on? This is the second time we’ve been kind of screwed, if I may say so — the first time it was because of crying people and this time, it was because it was in the paper and it shouldn’t have been,” the man said.
Citing previous cases where the city let tax-delinquent owners buy back their properties, the couple described how they’d lost money paying for title searches on homes that the city ultimately decided not to sell.
“Title searches cost money, and we lost that money because at the last minute people come in crying because they want to pay their taxes,” the man added. “We bid over $10,000 over the bid that was asked for that property, like on Wright street, and what’s the best interest for Caribou? To give it back to the people when they haven’t even attempted to pay taxes for three years?”
Caribou’s Mayor, Gary Aiken, acknowledged that the system was not perfect.
“At some time, everybody looks and says ‘maybe it’s not what’s in the best interest of Caribou, it’s what’s in the best interest of the people,” he said. “It’s very tough.”
The couple’s point did spur discussion between the councilors on options to prevent similar circumstances in the future.
Councilor David Martin suggested placing a disclaimer on properties placed out to bid.
“It’s a problem the way we’re doing it,” he acknowledged. “Whether we have a disclaimer when we put these out for bid that we’ve been [allowing previous owners to purchase the properties by paying in full], or we work with them so they can get the title search after the bids.”
Aiken suggested changing the time frame to get a title search done from 30 days to 60 days, but no action was taken on the subject during the March 9 Council meeting.
The council also introduced a Manufactured Housing Ordinance that will be discussed during a public hearing on Monday, March 23.
“For the most part this ordinance requires construction to be done according to state standards. It requires a list of mobile homes to be presented to the assessor by April 15 of each year. This will be helpful in the assessing process and also help the city to keep track of the movement of trailers,” City Manager Austin Bleess explained.
Council also introduced an ordinance amending downtown parking lot restrictions, which will be discussed during a public hearing on March 23.
Bleess explained that changes to the ordinance would allow for overnight parking in only two parking lots — along the fence of the South Hatch Drive parking lot and along the back wall of the north Downtown Mall parking lot. Changes would also allow the city manager and police chief to designate handicapped spaces in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, rather than currently having the spaces designated by the city ordinance. A change is also proposed to place responsibility for removing snow from sidewalks onto property owners rather than the city.
The next meeting of the Caribou City Council takes place on Monday, March 23, at 7 p.m. in the Councilors’ Chambers.
