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There are also issues where the owners have been deceased for years, and there are no records of <br />who has been paying taxes. These people do not answer their doors to tell me who owns the <br />house. <br />Tasha Reed Outlaw mentioned that there are plenty of properties where people come in for Code <br />hearings and talk about their landlords, and Code asks who their landlords are, and they are not <br />the people that are supposed to be the owners. They have utilities on illegally, and we have no <br />way to help these people who are being preyed upon. <br />Council President Scott stated that Fred Harris from the Human Rights Commission was unable <br />to attend tonight, but he has similar stories of tenants that come to him with issues, and all they <br />want to do is get them resolved, and it takes him days, sometimes weeks to figure out who the <br />landlords are to take care of Human Rights issues with these properties. I can talk to Penny <br />Hughes every day of the week if we choose to, but there are people out there that don't want us <br />to talk to them, and we need to have those relationships. This just levels the playing field. <br />Council Attorney Cekanski - Farrand reminded the Council Members that if anyone is currently a <br />landlord, they should make that declaration so we do not get into a conflict of interest situation. <br />She does not see it as a reason for them not to participate in the discussion or the vote, but it <br />would be appropriate under the Council Rules to state for the record if you are a landlord <br />currently. <br />Committee Chair Voorde opened it up to Committee Members for discussion. <br />Fred Ferlic, 1128 Georgiana, South Bend, hopes to remind all of the citizens how important Bill <br />No. 12 -16 is. There are three (3) things that make a great city: schools, crime, and quality of life <br />issues. My experience in Code Enforcement over the past four (4) years causes me to fully <br />endorse this. Rental properties get a bad reputation, because some people take advantage of <br />them. I'm not talking about the people who are present, people I consider my friends and <br />responsible people. The problem is that the law has to apply to everyone. We have speed limits <br />even though a lot of us don't speed. We have immunization laws that apply to everybody even <br />though some don't want to be immunized. My frustration originally was with the lack of <br />information when I went to the County offices. You don't have to record deeds in this state. <br />The problem is mainly with out of town owners. You can pay your tax bill through the <br />Treasurer's Office using a P.O. Box, but it may be your uncle that's paying for it while you've <br />already transferred the property to your son. <br />Mr. Ferlic described three (3) different property owners he tried to get in touch with recently. He <br />finally reached them, but they were examples of owners who either forgot that they owned the <br />properties, had no idea they owned them, or just weren't in town keeping the properties up. I <br />fully endorse Bill No. 12 -16, and I have no doubt that it will make South Bend a much better city <br />to live in. <br />Committeemember Broden made a disclosure that she owns a single property in South Bend that <br />she rents. She would like to tweak the landlord registry title to a more contemporary term: <br />Residential Rental Registry. I really appreciate the data and the accounts that were provided <br />7 <br />