By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com

Violators of the Property Maintenance Code beware: the City of Bucyrus will now have a way to prosecute you.

The Bucyrus City Council Health and Safety Committee adopted Section 1355.03 of the Bucyrus Codified Ordinance during its meeting Monday night.

The newest section is the enforcer of the provisions found within the Property Maintenance Code, city Law Director Rob Ratliff explained. “(It) provides avenues for the city to step in and correct,” Ratliff said.

The code places civil and criminal liabilities on those people who own vacant and derelict properties. Violators can be cited civilly, with fines ranging from $25 to $1,000, or criminally with a sentence of imprisonment up to 90 days.

Ratliff said the code targets violators of the Property Maintenance Code that are nuisances and blights on the city. The addition will cover both individuals and corporations that violate any part of the Property Maintenance Code.

Ratliff also discussed bonds being placed on foreclosure properties with the committee. The issue was brought up recently by Council member Bruce Truka concerning an article in The Columbus Dispatch where some cities are requiring banks to post bonds on homes they are foreclosing on. The cities are then able to access that bond money to help maintain the property as it goes through foreclosure.

Though Ratliff said there are a lot of options available, he didn’t believe that foreclosures were as big of a problem in Bucyrus as bigger cities. He saw vacant and derelict homes as more of a problem.

The issue was put on hold until the committee had time to review information given to them by Ratliff.

The Service Committee met earlier in the evening to discuss seeking legislation for material bids. The legislation would allow the Service/Safety Director to advertise for bids for the purchase of various materials and supplies for the Water Filtration Plant and Water Distribution. The material bids would run from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015.

After receiving approval from the Finance Committee, the Service Committee will be seeking legislation.

The Finance Committee met shortly after the Service Committee to discuss the 2014-2015 CHIP Grant and the annual Enterprise Fund reimbursement.

The Finance Committee voted to seek legislation for the mayor to enter into contract with the Ohio Regional Development Corporation, who will administer the upcoming CHIP grant. The CHIP grant helps needy people maintain or fix up their homes.

Auditor Joyce Schifer said Enterprise Fund reimbursement will be a little less than expected this year. Schifer combs through the expenses of various departments that do work for the Enterprise Funds and reimburses the expense to the General Fund. This year, $66,118.54 will be charged to four Enterprise Funds to defray operating costs.

The Finance Committee also approved the Service Committee’s request for material bids.