A 2015 pilot project sponsored by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus demonstrated the value of filing higher priority liens and sharing costs to recover expenses associated with vacant property among several south suburban jurisdictions. Participating communities were able to streamline legal services and elevate actions to recover expenses, resulting in great efficiency, better allocation of resources and higher repayment by property owners.
As a result, owners started to take maintenance responsibilities more seriously. The costs recovered from three owners in Chicago Heights, one of the pilot communities, paid for the entire summer’s worth of notices and allowed code enforcement staff to step up the volume of inspections overall. As a result of the pilot, the Mayors Caucus has explored the creation of a software tool that could replicate these efficiencies and provide even greater benefits by cutting down on the amount of time it takes to research owners and create notices, which would yield additional savings for the communities. Armed with a software tool called the Administrative HUB by STR, Chicago area municipalities can take the next step to combat nuisance vacant properties.
The Administrative HUB by STR is sophisticated software that gathers disparate records on owners and other parties with interest in real estate into a cloud-based database. Using the database, code officials can research owners, create legal notices and liens, and document their expenses – all in a simple and easy to use system. The Administrative HUB by STR streamlines administrative processes and puts information— and the power to act, right at the fingertips of officials working in the field. The Administrative HUB by STR was developed by software company STR, which also makes the industry-leading ePropertyPlus software system for managing vacant property information. STR will serve as the system administrator, another benefit for municipalities seeking to get their staff out of the office and into the field.
Even for municipalities that have other software systems in place, the Administrative HUB can be a useful and cost-effective tool. The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus recently hosted two meetings to present the Administrative HUB with representatives of south and west Cook local governments, and the feedback received from municipalities in attendance was very positive. The Mayors Caucus will be conducting follow-up outreach in other counties around the region, as well as continuing to solicit feedback from Cook County government officials.
The attached flyer provides additional detail on the software program. For more information about upcoming meetings or to get additional information on the Administrative HUB by STR, contact Allison Clements at the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus – amilld@mayorscaucus.org or (312) 201-4507. You can learn more about the Mayors Caucus’ work on code enforcement here.