A draft copy of a recently amended rental housing code for the City of Carroll drew in just shy of a dozen landlords to Monday’s Carroll council meeting. Building and Fire Safety Official, Greg Schreck, explained that feedback from property owners at a June open house revealed the majority would prefer an inspection fee broken out on an annual basis rather than a lump-sum fee every third year when they are inspected. Staff researched fee structures across the state to establish a plan for Carroll.
City Manager, Mike Pogge-Weaver, stressed this draft was being presented for public discussion and feedback. He also said the majority of property owners in Carroll are responsible and have the safety and well-being of their tenants in mind. However, there has also been a degradation of some rental properties and complaints have been on the rise. One attendee, David Farrell, wanted to know why the city would blanket all rentals when just a few are the problem.
Farrell and another landlord, Margaret Saddoris, suggested complaint-driven inspection as the model adopted. Farrell said as he tried to gather data on the code’s development, he was told by a staff member at City Hall the number of complaints was between zero and 10. However, no information was given over what span of time those were received. Others expressed concerns with the ability of a housing code enforcement officer to be unbiased. And Saddoris brought back the question of why the city will not consider other governmental and insurance inspections valid; accepting these instead of doing their own.
No action was taken on the draft code. The council and staff will take the suggestions into consideration and bring proposed changes back at a later date. Full audio of that conversation can be found included below.
Full audio of rental housing code discussion Carroll City Council Meeting 11-11-19
