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VOL. VI NO.1. MA CH 7 -13, , •••
o
The goal of Benton Harbor com­
munity development doe not trans­
late from the job into his private
investments for Community Services
Department Director William Lilly,
if a fOI:'J11er tenant and the camera Y
eye are to be believed.
According to courthou record,
Lilly is purchasing the property at
679 and 701 Territorial from Ben
·Butzbaugh, legislative a . stant for
the T in Cities Chamber of Commerce
and a member of die city's Enterpri
Zone and Do ntown D velo nt
uthority committees.
Lilly drnitted to The Citizen that
he had not had the 679 Territorial
property inspected by the city prior
to rental, required by th code.
ccording to the former tenant,
Lilly a charging $300 per month
for the t 0 apartment in the conver­
ted frame hou .
The tenant . d th re was only
one ga ce heater fo th entire
hou .
• Lilly flatly denie that ying
there is furn ce in the ba ment
which he t the first floor, and the gas
ce heater i for the cond floor
apartment.
Lilly said he did not know why
the tenant did not have the furnace
on.
The pipe froze over the winter,
the tenant said, which Lilly confirmed.
The tenant, who lived there from
October of 1982 until December of
1983, said that she called Lilly many
time but got no r spon ..
Lilly is also li ed in court house
records s pure sing 119 Sixth Street
from Rex Sheeley. According to the
record, Lilly paid $300 down and
promised to pay $ lOOper month on
the $4,200 balance.'
Lilly re ponded to The Citizen
th t "the court hou record need
updating." He said he was in the pro-
Co . eel on P e 3
2Se
By Terry eUy
In California communities lose their
housing stock to mud slide and earth­
quakes. In Benton Harbor the force is
Action Rentals.
rie of publio action by de ign
and by default add impetus 10 the de
truction:
-The ab nce . of code enforcement
by the city of Benton H rbor.
-State la allow the Department of
Social Service (DSS) to send rent pay­
ments directly to the landlord even
though the landlord may be a much
four years delinquent on taxe. Only
hen the property revert to the ate for
nonpayment of taxes will DSS cut off the
rent.
-The Department of Social Service
practice of paying rent money directly to
to the landlord without guaranteeing the
living quarters meet b ic health nd safe­
ty codes.
-Inaction by the city of Benton Har­
bor allows the landlord to walk away
from substandard property that they have
not paid taxe on. The city squanders
HUD funds on demolition of the proper­
ty though in some ca s the landlord
could ill be held legally responsible for
the demolition co ts.
MANY 0 ACTIO
Action RentaJ IS listed Berrien
county clerk's office as owned by Dwight
RA. Lane Rt. 2, Box 605 Grange Road,
Buchanan. The office addres is listed a
1889 -139 Room 208.
Also operating out of that same add­
ress and collecting rent and managing
property under the name Action Rentals
are Robert Bapti t, rai Lane and Dick
Lane.
The Lane and B ptist 0 n 97 prop­
erties ith close to 200 rental unit in the
city of Benton Harbor.
Owen oore, the original cti n
Rentals, who said he old his interest
in Action' two or three" year ago. owns
another36 pi ce of property with an
unknown number of rental unit .
oore admits be till ret in a finan­
cia) interest in me f the ction Rental
.property.
Action Rental owes 105,756.25
in b c taxes, pe alties and intere t
according to records n the county trea -
urer's office. Owen 0 re owes an ddi­
tional 16 065.11 in taxes penalties nd
intere t. .
The 1983 tax figure are not includ­
ed. The amount are for 1 80 through
1982.
Between them, me 68 f the prop-
erties were put up for bid at the ay,
1983 tax Ie for non-p yment of taxe .
The site of the February 25 fatal
fire in which three young children and
their b by itter were killed is on of
tho propertie.
co
CTIO
Though Fire Chief David lin­
coln reaffirmed tliat " e, our de­
partment wa aware of g problem
at that ddre 248 Bellvie ')," Th
Citizen erred in reporting that the
in pection department had found
the leaking value on a sp ce heater.
reported in the Feb. 29
Cit' en, the inspection report of
June 22 did list for correction:
worn out iring; defective vent
pipe from s he r: no valve of!
ga line to ga nge; and other
code violation.
Community. Service Director
Bill Lill also reaffirmed that no
tickets were issued, or other action
taken to correct the hazards.
According to obert B ptist, ho
managed the 248 Bel view house that
had been converted to four apartment
the monthly rents totaled 960. The
back taxes for three years, with interest
and penalties amount t 1,808.61
-or roughly two months ren I income.
t is not known how much rent is
being collected by Action Rental.
uch of it is 'vendored' by D
OVE DOR, ORE
Tenants of etion Rental complain­
ed at a meeting of the Concerned Tenants
Associ tion held arch 3 that the only
way to get an apartment i to promi to
"vendor' the rent. I
Under the vend r tern, the ten nt
sign an agr ement a 1 wing D S to nd
the mount llocated in th monthly aid
grant dire tly t . th landlord
S m Webb po e per n for Berrien
County Department .of Sial
id DSS could not r ve th
vendored for any gi � addre .
relea would b 'a breach of onfidcn-
tiality. ' .
Baptist did y that Debbi Alli n.
mother of he childr n killed in tlie fir .
had her rent vendored at her pr vi u
addre - 202 La Street. 1
tion Rental property al put up
Co tin ed 0 P
