Wilmington council OKs interior assessment plan, foreclosure moratorium

Late last month, Mayor John Carney announced the city’s plan to hire a third-party company to conduct samples of interior assessments and appraisals of residential properties on a block-by-block basis for neighborhoods that were assessed “too high” by Tyler Technologies, the contractor that completed the assessment earlier this year.

The proposal to allocate the money, brought forward by Councilwoman Michelle Harlee on behalf of the city, splits the funds into two parts: $425,000 will be used to hire the third-party company and complete the city’s assessment and the remaining  $75,000 will be used to create a grant program to assist low-income homeowners who are filing property tax appeals with the New Castle County Board of Assessment Review. 

Filing a reassessment appeal with the county was free of charge for property owners, but the funds will be used to help homeowners pay for things like professional appraisals and legal assistance as they move through the process, according to Walker.

Wilmington Mayor John Carney points out areas that were disproportionately impacted by the reassessment that he wants to reach with a new initiative to improve their accuracy. | SPOTLIGHT DELAWARE PHOTO BY BRIANNA HILL

Before the proposal passed, the council approved an amendment that broadened the ordinance’s language and ensured the company conducting the assessments wouldn’t be limited to interior inspections, but could also use other methods to collect data and complete the evaluations.

Councilwoman Christian Willauer, who helped propose the amendment, told Spotlight Delaware last month that reviewing building permits could be a good first step before entering anyone’s home.

But Walker confirmed that interior assessments will still be part of the data collections.

“We still believe interior condition data is necessary,” he wrote in a statement to Spotlight Delaware. 

Some residents have already expressed hesitation to allow city employees into their homes, but Carney has emphasized that the appraisals would not result in any code violations being reported to the city. 

Both the funding proposal and its amendment passed unanimously, with several city council members emphasizing the importance of correcting the errors that resulted from the recent reassessment.

“I don’t care if it’s half a million or if it was $25 million, because this has affected individuals throughout the state,” Councilwoman Zanthia Oliver said.

Councilman James Spadola said he was initially skeptical about the project, noting that it could inconvenience homeowners and require the city to spend time and money collecting data that the county might not ultimately accept. However, he emphasized the importance of gathering the data for future use.

“I look at this as an investment in getting the next reassessment done in a much better way. This will show us how much of a boondoggle Tyler put us in, and ideally help us deal with the headache, the heartache, and the pocketbook-ache that a lot of our residents [have] dealt with thanks to Tyler,” he said. 

City officials have maintained that New Castle County has been supportive of Wilmington’s plan, but the county will not be able to decide whether to accept the city’s data until after the work is completed, according to Carney. 

New Castle County did not respond to Spotlight Delaware’s request for comment.

Council backs property tax foreclosure moratorium

The city council also approved a separate proposal, brought forward by Councilman Coby Owens, which creates a temporary moratorium preventing the city from foreclosing on homes or commercial properties due to unpaid property taxes. 

The rule will only apply to property owners who have experienced a tax increase of 25% or more and are enrolled in a payment plan with the city.  

Owens said the bill will ensure that no one who is actively working with the city to pay their bill will be at risk of losing their home. 

“Over the last few months, I’ve heard from seniors, working families, lifelong Wilmington homeowners who are scared and frustrated about their tax bills coming up, and we know that their property values have jumped overnight, which means their tax bills jumped overnight,” he said. 

During an Oct. 6 committee meeting, J. Brett Taylor, the city’s finance director, noted that Wilmington generally does not pursue foreclosure on properties enrolled in a payment plan for delinquent taxes, focusing instead on properties that have gone years without payments.

Still, many council members noted that it was important to take the extra step to codify the policy. 

Owen’s ordinance also passed unanimously, with a floor amendment introduced by Willauer extending the moratorium to 18 months rather than the originally proposed 12. 

City property tax payments are due on Oct 31.