Council Members to Publish Names of Cited Property Owners

by Stephanie CrosbyA new effort by some members of Louisville’s Metro Council would publish the names of property owners who have vacant houses or lots that have fallen into disrepair.Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin says the city has issued citations at more than 17-hundred vacant houses and nearly 600 vacant lots for improper upkeep of the properties.“We have one person that has been assessed of $104,854.91," says Shanklin. "That’s a lot of money to owe the city for citations for pieces of property that you don’t live in.”Shanklin says they either hope to collect the money to help with the city’s budget, or get the properties cleaned up so the values of neighboring properties won’t decline.She says they haven’t yet written the list, but each council member has agreed to contribute money for the newspaper notice.