Unkept foreclosed homes create challenge in the City of Des Moines

Des Moines City leaders are considering ways to clean up neglected properties that are in foreclosure.  From the article written by Jason Pulliam it appears grass and weeds are the bulk of the problem. The solution seems to me to be with the unemployed. Pass a City of Des Moines ordinance and/or a state law that allows the governing body to hire an independent contractor to do the work and to levy against the property to pay for the work. That way when the property sells the independent contractor, who will more than likely be the next door neighbor or some kid in the neighborhood, will get paid from the sale proceeds. That way the unemployed can earn some money and the neighbors don't have to watch as their properties devalue. The County already has a similar mechanism in the Polk County Weed Commission. I'm sure many communities have similar issues and similar laws already on the books.

This past winter I received calls from two friends in Urbandale, Iowa needing snow moved off corner sidewalks where the City plows had pilled it up. Each friend is a good and responsible tax-paying citizen of that community.  The concern was that Urbandale is tough on enforcing the snow clearing ordinance against offending homeowners. Why does one community get tough with responsible citizens and yet the City of Des Moines is lax with enforcing the lawn ordinance with this who shirk their civic responsibilities? The answer is just getting tough.

We need to re-instill pride back into the community but more so into the individual community members. Common sense would be nice too. Get the mayor to call the owner and lender to ask them for the solution. This unkept lawn shouldn't be one more problem that lenders and borrowers create that ends up as a problem the responsible homeowner-taxpayers clean up.