A yearly Vacant Building Fee is hereby assessed to pay the Village's administrative costs for registering and processing the vacant building, the costs incurred by the Village in monitoring and inspecting the vacant building site, and all costs incurred by the Village performing any maintenance of the property necessary for the health, safety and welfare of the Village's residents.
(a) Upon registration, the Owner of a vacant residential building shall pay a fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00) for the first year the building remains vacant.
(b) For every consecutive year that the building remains vacant, the yearly fee will be assessed at double the previous year's fee amount, with for a maximum yearly fee equaling the five-year fee of three thousand two hundred dollars ($3,200). The fee for the sixth year and each year thereafter shall be three thousand two hundred dollars ($3,200).
(c) The first yearly fee shall be paid at the time the building is registered. The fees for subsequent years shall be due and payable on the anniversary of the building registration.
(d) The Village shall deposit all yearly fees in a segregated account, and such fees shall be used solely to defer and reimburse the Village's costs in administering this Chapter, including any costs in maintaining or demolishing vacant properties that are not reimbursed by the Owner.
(e) Unless exempted, the yearly fee shall be paid in full prior to the issuance of any zoning permits or the institution or resumption of any Village utility service..
(f) All delinquent fees shall be paid by the Owner prior to any transfer of an ownership interest in the vacant building. A lien may be placed on the property to collect delinquent fees. The Village may decline to transfer or activate Village utilities until all delinquent fees have been paid.
(g) If, subsequent to the payment of the yearly fee, the building becomes occupied, and if the building then is no longer deemed vacant under the provisions of this Chapter, any yearly fees paid for that property and not expended by the Village shall be refunded to the Owner of the property within thirty days of a written request for such refund.
(h) A late fee on any yearly fee that remains unpaid for more than 30 days after the date due is hereby assessed. The amount of the late fee shall be the amount of the unpaid yearly fee, up to a maximum late fee of one thousand dollars ($1.000) per year.
(Ord. 16-127. Passed 10-13-16.)