Q&A
Discussion on uncollected revenue and enforcement challenges
2:58:59
·
4 min
Council Member Gale A. Brewer inquires about the amount of uncollected revenue from the Department of Buildings. Commissioner Jimmy Oddo reveals a significant amount of uncollected fines and discusses the challenges in enforcing compliance and collecting penalties.
- The total amount of uncollected revenue is closer to a billion dollars than zero
- The department is drafting a plan to address the uncollected revenue issue
- Challenges include the need for additional enforcement tools, such as expanded lien powers
- The commissioner emphasizes the importance of achieving compliance rather than just generating revenue
Gale A. Brewer
2:58:59
Some year or so ago, I asked I'd be able to do what is the dollar amount of uncollected.
2:59:06
I don't know.
2:59:06
They only did, like, 3 agencies, but it was 2,100,000,000.
2:59:09
Oh.
2:59:10
So my my question, of course, is And then I felt I didn't realize this.
2:59:14
So you're returnable to oath, but if the money is not collected, they obviously get a judgment.
2:59:20
It goes back to finance, I think.
2:59:22
The figure out how much is actually owed.
2:59:24
So but do you have any sense of what is unpaid revenue from your agency?
2:59:29
Or is that just fine?
Jimmy Oddo
2:59:30
I most certainly do.
2:59:32
1 of the last meetings when I was with deputy mayor Joshi, the former deputy commissioner for administration of budget at DOV used a number in a meeting that knocked me out of my seat.
2:59:45
So The moment I got to DOB, I've been asking about that.
2:59:51
And the number is closer to a billion than it is to 0 council member.
Gale A. Brewer
2:59:56
That's over 1 year, 2 years, 5 years.
Jimmy Oddo
2:59:58
This is the total amount of
Gale A. Brewer
3:00:01
absolute total.
Jimmy Oddo
3:00:02
So madam chair We are in the process of trying to draft a plan to address that.
3:00:12
When that plan is more fully baked, we'd like to come to present it to you.
3:00:18
It it it underscores a couple of things.
3:00:22
That's money on the table that we as a city should not be using.
3:00:28
It's money frankly that I envision as money that maybe could protect from a future peg.
3:00:36
Yeah.
3:00:37
But it also underscores for us one of the weak spots that this agency has, and something that we need to work together, Madame Cher, and that is, after we give out violations, and they ignore our violations, what do we do then?
3:00:55
We need some additional sticks.
3:00:57
We need to expand lean power so that although putting a lien on a property is not a panacea, it's another tool.
3:01:10
We need to consider, and I know it's been bandied about.
3:01:12
And I'm sorry, the public I know the public advocate was here earlier.
3:01:16
But we need to put on the table again.
3:01:18
I know it's not widely popular in all circles, but it's a discussion we need to have, and that's the general contractor licensing again.
3:01:28
And I will ask Count I will ask Guillermo.
3:01:32
We have seen he may have the numbers off hand.
3:01:34
We have seen in the last year, Department of Finance take some of our violations and turn them into property liens and begin to collect that money.
3:01:44
Correct?
3:01:45
Yep.
3:01:45
That's something that we need to expand to.
3:01:47
But there comes a point in time when we have bad property owners like 1915 or Davidson in the Chairs District or 117 dash 23322nd Street or whatever it is, and and council member Williams District that she just talked to me about in the last week, where there's all these outstanding violations, and we are left unable to to achieve compliance.
3:02:23
I will end my little rant with a line that I heard our climate chief use in reference to local o 97, and the System commissioner for revenue could hold her ears.
3:02:35
I'm not interested in your revenue.
3:02:38
I'm interested in your compliance.
3:02:39
We are a compliance agency.
3:02:42
And when we can't get compliance, when we run out of sticks, we need bigger sticks.
3:02:47
And that's why when I heard the chairs, comments, with respect to the HVD commissioner and bad actors and what she wants to do in terms of holding more bad actors accountable.
3:02:57
It's it's consistent with what we are trying to do, and we need your help.