Today's
Feature
Many Voiced
Concerns.
City Council
member Cyndi Curry presented her proposal for a
Renter’s Council at the Public Works
Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon. A crowd was
present in City Hall consisting of approximately
30 people, of whom a large proportion were
landlords owning property in Carthage.
Curry spoke first,
outlining the proposal (see Proposal) and
citing feedback from citizens and presenting to
the committee a sample certificate for occupancy
from St. Peter’s, MO and one from Nixa, MO.
After the plan was
outlined, committee chairman Tom Flanigan asked
for public input on the proposal.
Property owner
Linda Bailey said she agreed that something needs
to be done with some property, but added that not
all property is in disrepair. Bailey said that in
some cases damage is done by the tenants, and she
felt that the landlords should not be singled
out. She also said that if the proposal is passed
and a fee is added for each inspection, most
landlords would either get out of the business or
pass the cost along to the tenants.
Property owner
Greg Rogler asked if the current system for
property maintenance was failing. Public Works
Director Chad Wampler said that the current
system was failing in some respects. Wampler said
that if an inspector is invited inside the house
by a landlord or tenant, they may conduct an
inspection inside. Otherwise, according to
Wampler, the power of enforcement for code
violations inside property was limited.
"Unless we
can see it from the curb, we can’t do
much," said Wampler.
Property owners
Carolyn Wyatt, David Thorn and Greg Putnam
expressed concerns about the cost of hiring an
additional building inspector and the added cost
of a permit fee. Thorn added that the current
system was effective, but needed fine-tuning.
Property owner
Judy Wampler said she did not feel that all
landlords should be subjected to punishment for
the few that do not take care of their
properties.
Property owner
Joyce Rogler expressed concerns about the amount
of time that would be lost waiting for
inspections. Rogler said she felt it would be
better if the current codes were more strictly
enforced.
Property owner
Leon Walker commended the inspectors in Carthage,
and said that we should use the current staff to
enforce the regulations.
Property owner Jim
Curry said that his primary concern was for
children living in rental property kept in poor
condition. He said that the few landlords who
allow deterioration could not be targeted
specifically, and that he felt a new set of
regulations across the board would improve living
for everyone.
Chad Wampler said
he felt a good starting point would be to educate
the renters about what to do if conditions are
poor, and to focus on the issues that can be
enforced under the current codes.
City Administrator
Tom Short said he felt everyone agreed that there
are areas which need attention and said he felt
the committee should continue to monitor the
issue and look for solutions to poor living
conditions.
The committee
thanked Curry for taking a step towards resolving
a problem within the City.
Tom Flanigan said
that he felt the process would take time to find
any proper solution.
"I think
it’s going to be a long process. I
don’t think it has an easy fix," said
Flanigan.
Proposal
for Renter’s Council.
The
following is Cyndi Curry’s proposal for a
Renter’s Council submitted to the Public
Works Committee on August 1, 2006:
"Formal
body consisting of 5-6 members, preferably one
from each ward and a representative from the
Public Works Committee. Members would be
appointed by the Mayor as other committee members
are. I would also suggest a City Council liaison
be appointed as well.
"Committee
would meet monthly and all meetings would be
posted and the public would be encouraged to
attend. Citizens could being their complaints
and/or concerns to the committee for action,
discussion, etc.
"Committee’s
focus would be the recommendation of the issuance
of a "certificate of occupancy" for the
rental of a property. This recommendation would
come after an inspection and approved by Public
Works Department that property in question is
‘fit for human habitation.’ Once
recommendation given the property owner would
proceed on to the City Clerk’s office for
the actual certificate. A fee of $25 or $50
should be considered for the certificate to
offset expenses and to fund the salary for
another building inspector. If an owner has
multiple properties and if it could be arranged
to have them inspected on the same day, it may be
a consideration to offer a reduced fee for group
of properties. It should be noted that the intent
is not to overburden property owners with
unnecessary regulation or fees, but most
importantly to insure public safety, set a
standard for and equalize maintenance of rental
properties community-wide, promote beautification
of our City, and increase property values as
well.
"Once
certificate is obtained, owner can proceed with
rental of property. A certificate would have to
be shown to have electric service changed over to
a tenant’s name.
"This
certificate is not intended as necessary for that
housing, whether a multi-unit housing, apartment,
single family dwelling if such is federally
funded, in whole or part, as standards are in
place for those units and the monitoring is
already being done.
"If
an owner fails inspection, certificate would not
be issued, but owner would be given a listing of
deficiencies and upon reinspection, if same
occurs within 30 days, only areas that are found
deficient would be reinspected.
"An
owner need only reapply for permit if there is a
change of tenants.
"A
random check of rental property could be done by
building inspectors to insure that no change of
occupancy has occurred without obtaining a
certificate."
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