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Councilmember Scott was contacted by several Council Members, they met and made major <br />adjustments after listening to the feedback of Councilmembers and concerned citizens, and he <br />think that what they have now is much better than what they had prior to the feedback. <br />Councilmember Scott stated that he looked at what NRC had written in 2010, and in 2012 when <br />he took it up it was a lengthy and cumbersome document. Councilmember Scott stated that he <br />and Councilmember White have always worked on quality of life issues within our <br />neighborhood, and what always comes up is how we can get in contact with landlords. That has <br />been the biggest issue with the Administration like with Code, Fire, Police, Legal and even <br />Human Rights. <br />The purpose of this program is a new system of equitable accountability. Landlord Registration <br />is designed for the City to have a quick, cost effective way to contact landlords regarding <br />anything having to do with the properties from Code violations to Human Rights. The ordinance <br />is narrowly crafted and consistent with the state law enacted in 2014. Between 2012 and 2014 <br />there was a moratorium on any landlord registrations, and some principles and guidelines from <br />the state came out of it. We've looked at best practices around the state and other places around <br />the country, including Indianapolis and Evansville to craft this legislation. The fees are used for <br />administration and the registration program. All fines go to the new curbs and sidewalks <br />program, which is handled by the Common Council. If there are any fines associated with this, <br />which we hope there are none, it goes back into the neighborhoods in the best way: <br />infrastructure. For greater transparency, we will publish a limited website with limited data. For <br />example, Tim Scott owns 711 Forest Avenue in South Bend, Indiana, or Tim Scott from <br />Kokomo, Indiana owns 711 Forest Avenue in South Bend, Indiana. Beyond that, we are not <br />giving away personal information like phone numbers or addresses, we figure the person and the <br />state in which they live is fine enough. That was something that came out of meeting with the <br />realty group. We do understand that there has to be transparency with the data, but the details of <br />that data would go to Police, Fire, and Code. They'll have that access to expedite any issues. <br />The registration cost is five (5) dollars. The registration period will open from September 15th to <br />December 30th, giving everyone time to register this year. We do want landlord (owner as well <br />as property manager) information. The IT Department has agreed to put up an online database <br />where you can register online without being kicked out of the website. You'll have time to <br />register all of your properties in one session. Code would also be available to assist in the <br />registration. Other cities charge five (5) dollars per property, but ours does not. Ours is five (5) <br />dollars per registration, whether you are registering one (1) property or ten - thousand (10,000) <br />properties. <br />We've dropped penalties down to three - hundred (300) dollars for not registering the property, <br />one - hundred (100) dollars for incomplete registration, one - thousand (1,000) dollars for <br />misrepresenting information. The first time you do that, which is fraud, you would be given a <br />warning. The second time, it would go to the prosecuting attorney. It would cost three - hundred <br />(300) dollars for failure to update registration within thirty (30) days, and three - hundred (300) <br />dollars for failure to renew any property on a yearly basis. <br />S <br />