Logan passes first reading of ordinances on renter licenses and municipal fees
- Robert Fields
- 3 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Robert Fields | WVOW News
LOGAN Discussions continued this week in the City of Logan as officials debate how to secure delinquent fire protection and garbage collection fees.
The Logan City Council had its first reading of two ordinances Tuesday afternoon. The first establishes a process by which the city can take delinquent fees directly to municipal court to apply a lien on property. City Attorney Kendal Partlow told council members that the process bypasses the need for the city to spend additional funds to take an individual through the county court system.
“We’ve now kind of eliminated the process of having to go to magistrate court and suffer court costs there all in order to try and get a lien on something. What we’ve done here is make what we call an administrative procedure – a process of our own – and by state code we’re allowed to do that as long as we give due process,” he said. “Essentially, it’s going to go through our municipal court system and that’s how that’s going to work out. So, in terms of 'it takes money to get money,' we tried to eliminate that one step – at least we’ll be self-contained in municipal court.”
The second ordinance is more simple at first glance. It requires a form of business license to be filed in the city by any landowner that wishes to rent out one of their properties. That would give the city an additional piece of leverage when attempting to collect those delinquent fees. When dealing with a utility, like water or electricity, a company can simply cut off service when a customer fails to pay. It’s not that simple with something like trash, which can accumulate and become a problem in and of itself for the city if service is halted. What the licensing ordinance would allow the city to do is revoke the renting license or prevent a landlord from renting a property out until those delinquent fees are paid.
The debate, which took up a large chunk of Tuesday’s meeting, was whether to apply a filing fee for that license. The fee would be the same required by the city when applying for a business license. The ordinance is based off of a similar one passed in Charleston, which does not include any additional fees. That remains under debate, however council members voted to approve the first reading without adding any additional fees.
Both proposed ordinances will have to undergo a second reading before the council can vote to pass the measure. However, if city officials decide to include a license fee in the second ordinance, they will have to put it to the floor for a public comment hearing following its second reading.
The next meeting of the Logan City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10th, at 4:00pm at City Hall.
PHOTOS | Robert Fields - WVOW News