Last Council Meeting Before Election

'tis Autumn

Twenty-two of 34 resolutions on Tuesday's agenda are slated to be passed in one vote, which makes one think the City Council meeting will be short. Not so fast - it's the last council meeting before the Nov. 4 election, so it may be more of a slugfest than a snoozefest.

Expect some zingers from the council members and then some more in public comment. The camera will be rolling and the chance to be seen and heard on local television channels seem to bring out the bombast.

The meeting is 8 p.m. in Municipal Court at 325 Watchung Avenue, but if you need to register to vote in the general election, you can stop in at the City Clerk's office at City Hall, 515 Watchung Ave., any time between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 14).

Most of the council topics have been covered in previous posts, but there are a few odds and ends of interest. For example, the city is foreclosing on several properties and some of the numbers are amazing. The owner of a North Avenue property owed $22,011.59 when a tax lien sale was held in 1998. The liens kept accruing, including costs for demolition when the building was deemed unsafe, and the total now owed is $464,958.70.

Two properties owned by a well-known church are on the list. One can be redeemed for only $8,901.57 and the other for just $21,179.75. The latter was also on a list of properties that had to be cleaned up at public expense, resulting in a lien of $236.65 for cutting the grass. It seems odd that a church would just let things go like that.

Another property on West Front Street that was touted for redevelopment in 2009, but by December 2011, the owner owed $13,683.59 in back taxes. Liens totaling $73,299.77 accrued over the years and now it will take $86,982.86 to redeem the property.

The city will benefit from the special tax lien sale and maybe the properties will be put to better use.

The once-a-year regular tax lien sale was held on Oct. 9. For that one, most of the liens were for charges owed to the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority. There were some large amounts owed in taxes to the city, including more than $40,000 by "Muhlenberg Medical" for Randolph Road property. Investors buy the liens at up to 18 percent interest and can move to foreclose after two years.

--Bernice.