Hall hopes to improve rundown areas by purchasing vacant property

But there are concerns about granting the agency too much power.

Counties and municipalities across the nation have set up what is known as a Land Bank Authority, which allows government to secure blighted residential and commercial properties, and county officials want to do the same.

Those properties are then rehabilitated with the use of federal and state funds, resold and placed back on the tax rolls, which proponents believe will benefit local schools and spur additional redevelopment.

There are a few ways such an authority can act, including seizing property as a result of back taxes owed.

Commissioner Jeff Stowe said the county is interested in partnering with local cities to create the authority, though several matters still need to be worked out.

For example, the makeup of the board and some of its powers remain to be determined, and it will likely be several months before the authority is up and running, Stowe said.

Gainesville Mayor Danny Dunagan said the city asked the county to pursue creating the authority, which he calls a “win-win situation” for both governments by making it easier to acquire property.

However, some officials are wary that the authority might exercise eminent domain, wherein government can usurp private property for public use.