Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter says he has since he took office in 2020 wanted to see beautification of the City of Williamsport and one way for that to happen is to remove the worst-of-the-worst of its blighted properties.

This past week, City Council passed a resolution for what is known as an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement for Blighted Properties Enforcement with the Redevelopment Authority/Land Bank.

City Bureau of Fire Chief Tracey Harer worked hard on the proposal along with the Redevelopment Authority/Land Bank, Slaughter told council. The authority has money (unrestricted funds) that it needs to spend by the end of this year, specifically Dec. 31, he said.

The resolution grants the authority the ability to contract with a third-party codes enforcement company, expedite the enforcement on blighted properties across the city alongside the city codes department – expanding their capacity to spend the money by the end of the year.

The authority can’t circumvent any process, as blighted property review still would come before the blighted property review board. City ordinances will continue to be followed.

August “Skip” Memmi, executive director of the authority, said the authority would be using their own funds, independent of any federal dollars. These will be “unrestricted” dollars, he said.

Joe Lyons, representing the Codes Assessments Professionals, said the codes company works closely with each individual client to ensure proper communication.

The city will be looking at blight that is the worst, not the homeowner whose house paint is peeling or something like that and the estimated cost of the program would be in the $100,000 range and it would be strictly authority funds, Memmi assured council.

Regular updates on the progress will be provided to city administration through the fire chief, codes officers and city codes enforcement and council.

The contract will continue through the end of the year and can be reviewed then depending on the council wishes, he said.