Crescent-News.com - Counties get $1M

By TODD HELBERG

Part of the $700 billion bailout money approved by Congress last year will go to area counties to buy and resell foreclosed properties.

During Defiance County commissioners Thursday meeting, officials from Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Paulding, Van Wert and Williams counties and the city of Defiance approved a cooperative agreement to participate in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

Those jurisdictions will be awarded an allocation of $1,040,457 to purchase foreclosed properties, make rehabilitations and resell them.

According to Maumee Valley Planning Organization (MVPO) director Dennis Miller, the money is part of an $83 million allocation given to the states from the Troubled Assists Relief Program (TARP). Larger metropolitan areas with more than 50,000 residents received direct allocations through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Miller said.

All totaled, TARP made $4.3 billion available to states for mitigating foreclosed properties, he explained.

Allocations for the participating jurisdictions include Williams County, $145,841; Fulton County, $142,029; Defiance city, $140,093; Henry County, $136,281; Van Wert County, $135,694; Paulding County, $118,508; and Defiance County, $117,922.

Defiance County Commissioner Jim Harris said the county's $117,922 allocation will address properties in Hicksville and Ney.

The allocations, he said, are based on such factors as local foreclosure, unemployment and poverty rates.

Harris said program guidelines require that foreclosed homes purchased by the participating jurisdictions must be resold to a low- to moderate-income family.

According to Miller, the program will run through 2012, but funds generated through resale of properties can be used to purchase more foreclosed properties. Any leftover money must be returned to HUD in four years, Miller added, but he said there could be another injection of federal money into the program.

Dilapidated homes can also be demolished and the lot resold to a non-profit organization such as Habitat for Humanity for redevelopment, Miller indicated.

MVPO will help local jurisdictions administer the program, he explained.

"We will work hand-in-hand to administer the funds and put together their programs," said Miller.

In other business:

-- Recorder Cecilia Parsons provided her January report. She reported 146 deeds, 255 mortgages and 203 releases. Her office collected $27,268.25 with $13,643 going to the housing trust fund and $11,540.75 to the county general fund.

-- Public safety coordinator Julie Rittenhouse updated commissioners on her agency's activities. She told commissioners she has received certification for the advanced professional series for directors from the Emergency Management Institute in Emmetsburg, Md.

-- County administrator Laura Howell provided an update on the U.S. 24 marketing program. The program's mission statement is "Increase tourism and visitors to the historical, cultural and natural resources along the U.S. 24 corridor by developing a regional initiative that builds on and does not duplicate existing efforts." A steering committee, which will represent local governments and work with FLS Marketing Inc. to promote the program, was appointed. The next meeting on the subject is scheduled for Feb. 19.