Demolition of blight is reasonable use of funds. Very often these folks abandon and go bankrupt in property they cannot sell.
If they could collect money from them, they would. But when blight comes in, its also a fire hazard among other property problems.
Better to just tear the things down asap. Because squatters will go in and crime rates would rise otherwise.
Make it feasible to sell the properties. As is, buyers are subject to back taxes, toxic waste cleanup, onerous zoning restrictions, etc. Handle “blight” by getting red tape out of the way.
Why not have the property transferred to the town before demolition or have the cost of the demolition a lien against the property to be repaid when the property is sold or developed?
I’m guessing most of these buildings are in ‘the black community’ and those community or the cities they’re in - should pay. This isn’t a ‘shared responsibility’ problem..