More than 50 foreclosed properties that Belchertown owns may finally get sold at public auction.
BELCHERTOWN - More than 50 foreclosed properties that Belchertown owns for nonpayment of taxes that have been sitting around for a year may finally get sold at public auction.
At Monday's meeting, selectmen authorized the tax collector to begin the process of selling them.
Gary L. Brougham
Town Administrator Gary Brougham told the board that the large volume of foreclosed properties on the town books have become "a liability" and said the municipal bond rating will suffer unless something is done.
He said they have a combined assessed value close to $1.5 million, with a low of $2,800 up to $706,000.
Selectmen also said they are facing funding requests about $1 million more than current spending that includes school department requests for a "level services" budget. The money is sorely needed to avoid layoffs and budget cuts, selectman Ron Aponte said.
"We should have sold these a year ago," said Selectmen Chairman George "Archie" Archible.
He and Selectman Ken Elstein were at loggerheads related to Elstein's proposal to delay the auction of two properties that used to have houses on them.
Elstein persuaded three other selectmen to delay authorizing auction for the pair of tax title properties until next month, when he said Habitat for Humanity would make a presentation to possibly make a purchase.
The chairman of the town's needs assessment committee, Matt Charette, told the board, "Habitat would not be able to pay the taxes."
Elstein asked Charette to refrain from discussing what Habitat might say as they would be present at the April 8 meeting to make their own case.
In another matter, selectman William Barnett said the town needs to vote at an election to approve of something that Belchertown has been doing the past 52 years.
A state law passed in 1961 allowed employees to purchase more liability insurance, out of their own pocket, than the amount the town was providing. And, according to Barnett, there should have been a townwide vote to adopt the law. He said Belchertown never did that. Officials said an affirmative vote by residents would not cost the town any money.