Boston bills owners of problem properties

A new city ordinance allows Boston to bill the owners of crime-ridden buildings for the cost of having a police officer stationed on the property.

The ordinance, approved by the City Council on July 13, augments the role of Boston’s “Problem Properties Task Force,” created earlier this year by Mayor Thomas Menino. The task force, which includes the police commissioner, the public health commissioner and seven other city officials, is intended to give the city more leverage to persuade owners to address widespread code violations.

Boston is using the new ordinance to target a building that has been the object of more than a dozen complaints of serious criminal activities in a year, including five reports of assault and battery with a weapon, according to Christopher Loh, a mayoral spokesman. The property is also the site of code violations such as inappropriate disposal of trash, he said.

City officials said police will use the opportunity to remove illegal materials from the building, impound vehicles that are found to be used in criminal activities, and increase the police patrol presence in the immediate vicinity. A large, lighted board will display the phone number for the city’s 24-hour hotline.

The owner, who is listed as having 16 other properties in the area, “will be charged for the expense of having an on-duty officer monitoring the property until the city is satisfied with his response,” according to a statement issued by Menino’s office.

The task force will be investigating seven other “problem properties,” defined as any site to which police have been summoned four or more times within the previous 12 months.