Prison inmates could become the clean-up crew for abandoned properties in Houston County neighborhoods.

County leaders say they need an inexpensive way to maintain yards, especially on foreclosed properties.

They say prison labor may be the most cost-effective solution, but it’s just one option to help solve the problem.

Captain Alan Everidge with the Houston Sheriff’s Office says he fields constant calls from neighbors about neglected properties, mostly foreclosures.

RealtyTrac.com says banks took 124 Houston homes in October. It listed a total of 711 foreclosures in the county. 85 of them were in the City of Warner Robins. Everidge says often mortgage holders live out-of-state, with no legal requirement to keep the grass cut and bushes trimmed. He said state law does not allow the county to force the mortgage holder to appear in court.

Pointing to a foreclosed house in Granville Drive in Bonaire, Everidge said, “When these houses get overgrown, it creates a haven for crime.”

He said they are also eyesore, that can lower surrounding properties’ value.

Everidge told the Vision 20-20 board, composed of leaders from all three Houston cities and the County, that prisoners from the McEver Detention Center in Perry, could possibly maintain the yards for a tenth of the cost that contractors would charge. He estimated a half acre yard that’s grown over with grass and weeds, might cost the $250 for prison labor.

County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders said they are considering setting standard fees for inmates to clean-up the properties. Then, that fee will be tacked on to property tax bills, which the mortgage holder is responsible for paying.”

Everidge said, “Most of the time, these mortgage company’s will pay their taxes. So, we get the money back.”

Sanders said the option could keep foreclosure costs from falling on tax payers. He said, “Is it fair to put that expense on the back of taxpayers, when really somebody else owns that property?”

He said they also have to consider how the cost of clean-up will affect the selling price of the foreclosure at auction or on the market. Sanders said if it’s too high, potential buyers won’t purchase the foreclosure, and it could stay vacant, affecting property values.

Adding to Sanders comment, Everidge said, “Many times, you get the value up so much, it won’t sell. All of the sudden, you own property as the county. We can’t get money out of it, and were made to take an expenditure out of taxpayer funds.”

Warner Robins attorney Jim Elliott said that city already has a system in place for cleaning-up foreclosures that “works fairly well.” He said people sentenced to community service often do the work, costing taxpayers only the price of a supervisor. That cost is also added to tax bills and repaid by the mortgage holder, but Elliott said sometimes the system does not hold up in court.