DERBY – The city’s corporation counsel said the city has collected about $1.3 million in blight fines since Mayor Joseph DiMartino took office in December 2023.

Derby Corporation Counsel Richard Buturla shared the information during the Sept. 24 meeting of the Derby Community Relations and Blight Committee, a subcommittee of the Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen.

Buturla highlighted a few recent examples of money collected from problem properties.

6-8 ELM ST.

He said the city was recently paid $173,986 after selling a long blighted foreclosed multi-family house at 6-8 Elm St. 

The property’s history with Derby goes back to at least 2014, when a blight inspector sent the homeowner a letter saying there was plywood, broken furniture and aluminum shelving in the driveway.

The city documents don’t explicitly state the owner lived on the property, but the letters were delivered to the address using certified mail.

The Elm Street house was placed on the city’s blight list in January 2015. Properties on the blight list are fined $100 a day until the problem is addressed.

Almost $388,000 in blight fines were owed as of December 2023, at which time Derby started the foreclosure process. The property also owed the Derby Water Pollution Control Authority money. The blight fine rose to about $405,000 by March 2026.

The city foreclosed and the house was sold to a new owner for $178,000. About $4,000 went to a lawyer handling the case (not Buturla).

The foreclosure and sale were finalized in August with the payment to the city arriving Sept. 18.

77 MINERVA ST.

The apartment building with retail on the first floor has been on the Derby blight list since 2009.

It accumulated $607,000 in blight fines, plus about $44,000 in back taxes and WPCA fees.

The city placed a lien on the property in 2020. That lien was assigned to a private company to collect. The collections company started a foreclosure action in 2022, court records show. 

The city started a foreclosure action in 2024, according to the state’s judicial database.

Buturla told The Valley Indy the city received about $426,000 through the court action. 

201 HAWKINS ST.

Buturla also said the city was getting ready to take possession of 201 Hawkins St.

That property has about $40,000 in blight liens, and was first mentioned as a blighted property in 2015.

The city assigned the liens to Tower DB XII, a firm that cities partner with to track down money the city is owed.

Tower DB started a foreclosure in 2023 and was the lone bidder on the property at an auction. Tower DB bid $17,6000. 

Tower DB has asked the court to allow Derby to be substituted as the buyer, with the plan being the city would sell the property. That motion is awaiting a judge’s approval.

REACTION

Mayor Joseph DiMartino said fighting blight is tough and requires solid legal representation. He credited the corporation counsel and the city’s blight officers and building department for their work.

“For too long the blight issue was neglected, and that’s not fair to the neighbors who live next to these properties,” he said.

Some of the blight fines the city collected has been used for worthwhile projects, including the replacement of an old and unsafe playground at the Bradley School.

“It’s a win-win for everyone,” DiMartino said.