By Brian McBride
Associate Editor

A Kissimmee ordinance that would have allowed the city to hire a firm to establish a contact registry for homes in foreclosure to remedy any code violations that might arise failed to pass Tuesday after the City Commission agreed to explore an alternative option with a local Realtor's group.

The ordinance would have called for charging property managers a $200 fee to register a home. But the Osceola County Association of Realtors, which didn't support the ordinance, said it had the resources to act as a contact point for the city, if needed. According to the ordinance, the $200 fee would be paid by banks or mortgage companies, not Realtors. But association officials said they feared that it would somehow be passed down to the real estate community.

“We just want to make sure we don't put additional fees on properties that aren't needed,” association President-elect Tim Weisheyer said Tuesday.

The commission agreed to continue the item to discuss the association's offer after it approved a first reading of the ordinance Oct. 5.

City officials said previously that the proposed ordinance would ensure that the city's concern for correcting code violations would be addressed and it would protect the banks and lending companies from unwanted liens, city officials said. Oftentimes, properties in default or foreclosure are left unattended and result in code violations, city officials added. And difficulties arise when searching for a person to contact to have the violations corrected since the owner often abandons the property or refuses to take responsibility because it's in foreclosure.

In addition, the banks and lending companies often refuse to take action because they say they don’t own the property until the foreclosure is complete, officials said.

One of the more prevalent problems involves lawns not being mowed, city officials said. Of the 478 lot-mowing cases related to foreclosures during the last 19 months, 111 required the city to step in and resolve the issue.

“What we have in place now is not working,” Mayor Jim Swan said.

Commissioner Cheryl Grieb, the sole opposing vote during the first reading, said she didn't think that the problem was significant enough to warrant charging a fee. Plus, there was no guarantee that people would voluntarily register homes with the city. In addition, she said it wasn't fair to make those abiding by city code to pay a fee.

“I almost feel like we are penalizing those that are following the rules and regulations,” Grieb said.

The matter will return to the dais at the Nov. 16 City Commission meeting.

“The problem has to be resolved,” Commissioner Art Otero said. “We have to find a solution.”