CRIM to hire 2 employees per town to address untaxed properties

Orocovis Mayor Jesús Colón Berlingeri, who chairs the governing board of the Municipal Revenue Collections Center

By THE STAR STAFF

Jesús Colón Berlingeri, who chairs the governing board of the Municipal Revenue Collections Center (CRIM by its acronym in Spanish) announced Wednesday that the agency will hire two employees in every municipality to address untaxed properties, parcels listed without an identified owner -- known as “John Doe” properties -- and the so‑called “semilleros.”

“These are properties no one has claimed,” said Colón Berlingeri, who is also the mayor of Orocovis. “They appear in the cadastral map as having no owner, but we believe they do.”

He noted that the Financial Oversight and Management Board has approved the initiative, which is expected to begin in September. Each municipality will receive an investigator and an appraiser tasked with identifying the properties in question in the field.

Colón Berlingeri said the teams will determine whether a property is tied to an inheritance, a family dispute, or other unresolved matters.

“We will try to contact the relevant parties, see how the situation can be resolved, and eventually register the property under the appropriate association or individual,” he added.

CRIM Executive Director Javier Cintrón García said the agency will allocate $7 million to the effort, which includes identifying owners of the untaxed parcels in question.

Cintrón García noted that properties often remain unidentified due to the death of an owner without a completed declaration of heirs, pending probate proceedings, homes occupied by individuals who may qualify for exemptions, or parcels that may belong to the government or municipalities.