Logan City Council tables landlord licensing ordinance for second time

City Council members in Logan once again have tabled an ordinance that would require landlords to obtain a license to operate in city limits.

Logan City Council members (left to right) Donna Willis, City Attorney Kendal Partlow, Mayor Serafino Nolletti, Donsil Jay Mullins, Basil Ken Lee and BJ Picklesimer

Robert Fields | WVOW News

CITY OF LOGAN Special Counsel Paul Ellis recommended tabling the issue again until proper conversations can take place between the city and the Housing Authority of Mingo County (HAMC). He told council members during their meeting Tuesday that he had been trying to arrange those talks since late February.

"I attempted to contact Mingo Housing — and I'm gonna say no less than ten times — I mean, I started about three weeks ago," Ellis said.

He told the City Council about a back-and-forth he had with a person who works for the HAMC, in which he was able to get the number of the person with whom he actually needs to have a conversation about any regulations that may affect or interfere with the ordinance.

Attorney Paul D. Ellis, Special Counsel for City of Logan

"Since then, I've called up there about eight times, including yesterday, and I haven't been able to reach either of those people and they haven't called me back... Maybe they're really busy," he said. "I'd like to talk to them to make sure that we do anything that helps them help us, or don't do anything that causes them any issue — I don't think we will, but, set that aside for a minute. At the end of the day, the owner landlords, as Councilman [Ken] Lee of course said last meeting, at the end of the day, they need to be responsible."

He proposed the possibility of adding provisions to the ordinance that would specifically allow landlords to include refuse fees in the renter's lease. Factoring the fee into the lease could simplify the collection process if the housing authority includes the lease amount in its rent subsidy calculation, which determines how much the tenant has to pay the landlord and how much the housing authority reimburses the landlord.

"It would be reasonable under those circumstances — more than reasonable — for us to expect the landlords to pay us correctly, then we don't have to worry about any of these tenant issues. As between us and the landlord, if one of us is not gonna get paid or one of us is gonna to have to initiate some sort of court action, it should be the landlord, not us. I mean, we don't have a lease with these folks, and if they don't pay their portion, then they're in violation of their voucher program, and there's a lot of opportunities for folks like that. If they get behind or something, there are a lot of third-party non-profits out there that will do one-time assistance payments to catch them up. There's a whole bunch of help for folks like that out there. There isn't any non-profits out there helping us with our trash."

The HAMC works with landlords, manages properties and gives housing assistance to low-income or disabled renters in Mingo, Logan, Wayne and Wyoming counties. The authority’s programs are funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD lays out strict guidelines for what landlords are allowed to charge their tenants, meaning the landowner would have no way of recovering the cost of the fees without prior approval.

The landlord licensing proposal is tied to a separate administrative procedures ordinance addressing delinquent municipal fees, including unpaid city trash bills. That measure passed its second reading and would allow the city to pursue delinquent accounts through Logan Municipal Court rather than the county Magistrate Court system.

The renter’s license ordinance would allow the city to hold landlords responsible for unpaid fees by requiring those bills to be settled before a property could be rented again.

Councilman Lee previously indicated that he would be pushing for passage of the licensing ordinance, arguing that the city can't keep footing the bill for the unpaid garbage fees.

During discussions on Tuesday, City Council members debated whether or not to pass the ordinance and amend it later. Councilman Ken Lee initially opposed tabling the ordinance again, leaning instead towards passing the ordinance with an effective date of July 1. Ellis, however, explained that passing the ordinance would open the council up to a longer process should the language need amended.

Non-material language, or language that just clarifies rules and has no impact on financial fees or requirements, wouldn't raise an issue; however, if an amendment would create or alter the material requirements established by the ordinance, it would then require an entirely separate ordinance, readings, hearings and all.

The decision to table will allow for quicker passage should there be any amendments or changes to the language.

"Under the circumstances, the timeframe is not gonna be that much, and we don't have to go through the advertising and all that again, so yeah, I'm good with tabling it one more time," said Councilman Lee.

The Logan City Council's next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, at 4:00 at City Hall.

PHOTOS | Robert Fields