Our Observation

Freshman City Councilman Ivan Valdes said last month that he would like to see Maitland buy some of its foreclosed homes and rent them to police officers. It sounded like a win-win-win for the officers, the neighbors and city. He said it would improve property values, lower crime rates and give the police officers a chance to afford to live in the city they protect.

But the idea seemed to fall apart at the June 13 City Council meeting, as Mayor Howard Schieferdecker pointed out many flaws, including the use of taxpayer money to benefit just a few neighborhoods. While we admire Valdes’ proposal — the first initiative he’s floated since he joined Council in April — to help the city’s first responders, the city should not walk down this road, at least on its own.

Foreclosures are nowhere near an epidemic in Maitland — with only 13 active foreclosures on the property appraiser’s list. While there may be many more properties on the edge of foreclosure, the market is settling down and showing signs of hope.

Conversely to what would happen in Maitland, police officers have historically been moved into homes in high-crime neighborhoods, in an effort to reduce crime through a more consistent police presence. Maitland has the fourth lowest violent crime rate out of Orange County’s 12 cities. It saw violent crime fall more than 7 percent in 2010 compared to 2009.

Settling two or three police officers in Dommerich Hills is not really going to help that crime rate continue to fall. What could help is if the city uses the $1 million it was going to pump into the foreclosure program to give its public safety employees a raise. These officers are in their third year of salary freezes. It’s pretty obvious that employees that are paid better are more motivated and thus more proactive when it comes to nipping crime in the bud. A raise would also up the chances of an officer being able to buy a Maitland home.

It’s not fair for the city to spend the money of its 16,000 citizens to benefit just a few folks. Purchasing less than a handful of homes wouldn’t give them the biggest bang for their buck. But Valdes’ idea of fixing up foreclosures to raise property values in the long-term is a worthy one. Why not partner with a nonprofit organization? That would perhaps allow the city to keep its coffers out of the deal, but would allow it to offer tax credits or other incentives if the private organization leases to the city’s employees.

Maitland’s neighbor is doing something similar, with much success. Winter Park partnered with the Hannibal Square Community Land Trust in 2004. The nonprofit Land Trust operates within the city’s Community Redevelopment Area and leases land to very low- to moderate-income families — many single-parent-headed households. The families own the homes while the nonprofit owns the land. This program has allowed folks to realize the dream of homeownership — in Winter Park.

Police officers aren’t considered low income, but homeownership is still out of reach for them in many cases. A public-private partnership is worth looking into in Maitland’s case. Area apartment and condominium complexes, such as The Q, already offer discounted rates to police officers. Why not put them in foreclosed homes too? Maybe even extend the offer to veterans of the armed forces. That is, as long as the city doesn’t use its own pennies. That’s a better approach.