By Jordan Gerard | Arizona Capitol Times
Key Points:
- A new law will give Arizona counties the ability to recoup money from cleaning up abandoned properties
- Gila County has spent about $250,000 from its own coffers in the past two years cleaning up properties
- Counties could use those funds for more beneficial things
Arizona’s counties have picked up the tab on blighted property cleanup for years. Now under a new state law, they’ll have a chance to recoup and reallocate lost resources sunk into cleaning up abandoned properties.
It’s something Gila County Supervisor Tim Humphrey has wished for since he was elected a decade ago. Gila County has spent about $250,000 in the past two years and introduced a line item in its budget to address blighted properties, Humphrey said.
The funds to clean up properties come from taxpayers and the county’s budget. That means the process pulls vital resources from other potentially beneficial programs, he said.
