Sec. 6.9. (a) For purposes of this section, in a county having a consolidated city, "county executive" refers to the board of commissioners of the county as provided in IC 36-3-3-10.

(b) The county executive may:

(1) by resolution, identify the property described in section 6 of this chapter that the county executive desires to transfer to a person able to satisfactorily repair and maintain the property, if repair and maintenance of the property are in the public interest; and

(2) set a date, time, and place for a public hearing to consider the transfer of the property.

(c) Notice of the property identified under subsection (b) and the date, time, and place for the hearing on the proposed transfer of the property shall be published in accordance with IC 5-3-1. The notice must include a description of the property by:

(1) legal description; and

(2) parcel number or street address, or both.

The notice must specify that the county executive will accept applications submitted by persons able to satisfactorily repair and maintain the property as provided in subsection (f) and hear any opposition to a proposed transfer.

(d) For properties that are not transferred when initially identified for transfer under this section, the county executive may omit from the notice the descriptions of the properties identified under subsection (b) if:

(1) the county executive includes in the notice a statement that descriptions of those tracts or items of real property are available on the Internet web site of the county government or the county government's contractor and the information may be obtained in an alternative form from the county executive upon request; and

(2) the descriptions of those tracts or items of real property eligible for transfer under this section are made available on the Internet web site of the county government or the county government's contractor and may be obtained from the county executive in an alternative form upon request in accordance with section 3.4 of this chapter.

(e) After the hearing set under subsection (b), the county executive shall by resolution make a final determination concerning:

(1) the properties that are to be transferred;

(2) the person to which each property is to be transferred; and

(3) the terms and conditions of the transfer.

(f) To be eligible to receive a property under this section, a person must file an application with the county executive. The application must identify the property that the person desires to acquire, the use to be made of the property, and the time anticipated for implementation of the use. The application must be accompanied by documentation demonstrating the person's ability to satisfactorily repair and maintain the property, including evidence of the person's:

(1) ability to repair and maintain the property personally, if applicable;

(2) financial resources, if the services of a contractor may be required to satisfactorily repair or maintain the property; and

(3) previous experience in repairing or maintaining property, if applicable.

The application must be signed by the person. If more than one (1) application for a single property is filed, the county executive shall determine which application is to be accepted based on the benefit to be provided to the public and the neighborhood, the suitability of the stated use for the property and the surrounding area, and the likelihood that the person will satisfactorily repair and maintain the property. The county executive may require the person to pay a reasonable deposit or post a performance bond to be forfeited if the person does not satisfactorily repair and maintain the property.

(g) After the hearing set under subsection (b) and the final determination of the properties to be transferred under subsection (e), the county executive, on behalf of the county, shall cause all delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest, and costs of sale to be removed from the tax duplicate and the person is entitled to a tax deed if the conditions of IC 6-1.1-25-4.5 and IC 6-1.1-25-4.6 are satisfied. The deed must provide for:

(1) the use to be made of the property;

(2) the time within which the use must be implemented and maintained;

(3) any other terms and conditions that are established by the county executive;

(4) the reversion of the property to the county executive if the grantee fails to comply with the terms and conditions; and

(5) the forfeiture of any bond or deposit to the county executive if the grantee fails to comply with the terms and conditions.

If the grantee fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the transfer and title to the property reverts to the county executive, the property may be retained by the county executive or disposed of under any of the provisions of this chapter or IC 6-1.1-25, or both.

As added by P.L.203-2013, SEC.12. Amended by P.L.187-2016, SEC.6.