sj,

A thought provoking rant that has a solution with which I am in complete agreement. The only way to change the current direction of this city is to change everything about it from the ground up. I would say you have reason to be bitter; it's not like this city government has done anything to help you and your business. I only hope your business will survive until the rebuilding takes place.

greygoose,

It really isn't a matter of opposing EVERYTHING this council offers; it's more about the mixed messages that this council offers. If you listen to them, we have vague "problems" but are "moving forward". Nothing could be further from the truth in that regard; the region around Middletown is moving forward. This city is reaping what has been sown for the last 30 years of myopic vision and is now reeling from the effects of overtaxation and poor execution of previous economic development plans. While Mr. Adkins plan might look good on the surface, the track record of city government makes trusting any plan they come up with problematic. As for the out-of-town property owners, if you can't get them to clean it up under current laws, charging them a "registration fee" isn't going to motivate them to do anything more than they are doing now. It's just another revenue generator for the city which will be wasted on another half-assed attempt to maintain the status quo. Why not try boycotting those out-of-town landlords who won't repair their properties? Maybe that will motivate them to either sell or repair.

Vivian,

I am not here to serve as your personal statistician. You asked me a question and I did my best to give you a legitament answer. I'm not sure why, because after checking some of your posting history, I can tell that it wouldn't matter what I said.

The use of "Badlandlord LLC" was nothing more than a silly metaphor and I could have used a PO box in Springfield,Ohio just as easily. What is your point? If you know that a large percentage of landlords are from out of town, why did you ask the question? If you know this, then you should understand the difficulties in gaining compliance.

Rentals represent 40% of the city's housing stock. You do the math.

I am not saying that I like what I see in Middletown. I don't! But griping about the decisions of "past" city leaders and opposing EVERYTHING that is proposed from current leadership is not going to solve anything. I happen to think that Mr. Adkins has a better plan for the city's future than any city official that has been around in the past 20 years.

Now it's my turn to ask a few questions. I noticed in a prior post that you stated that Mr. Adkins hadn't reduced the number Section 8 of vouchers:

1. Do you think that it for the lack of effort on his behalf?
2. Do you think that he is in favor of 40% of our housing stock being rentals?
3. Did he cause the poverty & blight?

I do agree that the city needs to be held to the same standards. At the last council meeting, I thought that Walter Leap did a good job of getting that message across.

Ms. Moon
The most current numbers that I can find are two years old and are "approximate" because they were derived from percentages:

1. 3,600 subsidized rentals
2. 5,400 non-subsidized rentals
3. 2,100 non-subsidized rentals with out of town owners
Greygoose, that was not my question. We know that the majority of the rental property is owned by people that live in surrounding areas. My question was how many are out of state Badlandlord LLC that the City can not contact because they only have a PO Box number?
Then I have a few more questions.
How many homes are in Middletown?
What percentage of the total housing stock are rental properties?
What about the commercial properties?

I have no information concerning the trailer parks.

I do not see banks as a separate issue. They my not be rental properties but their abondoned properties are an eyesore to our community and they are related because the city has the same issue with them as they do with out of town landlords....."they can't be compelled to comply because they can't be served"
Are you sure you have been in Middletown over the past twenty years?
I just drove by the old library this morning. Has the owner been ordered to make repairs on that property? City now owns empty lots all over town with grass four foot high.
I believe you need to start with the problem property owners that you can serve and where improvements can be made before we impose more laws.

Vivian,

You mention that there are already laws on the books to deal with any rental property problem. With that said, I have a question: "How does the city compel Badlandlord, LLC to comply with building code violations if the only contact information they have is an out of state PO box and the property owner refuses to accept any correspondence from the city"?
Well Greygoose
In order to discuss and or solve a problem I believe one must have all the facts and numbers before them to evaluate. So please provide me with the following information.
How many rental units or homes does Middletown have that are NOT Public Housing and or on the Section 8 program?
Out of this number how many rental units or homes are owned by an out of state Badlandlord LLC?  Are we talking about 1, 10, 100 or 1,000 rental units?
Does this number also include the ongoing legal problems at the trailer park? How many rental units are from trailer parks?   

The same is true of out of state banks. Let say that JPMorgan Chase makes a determination that the value of one of their properties in Middletown insn't worth the cost of needed repairs and ongoing maintenance. What do you think that they are going to do? What law on the books allows the city to compel their compliance?
Greygoose
I see this as a totally separate issue. These are not rental properties.

The registration process is the "tool" that they need to enforce the existing laws. I do think that there is some merit to the belief that money and control are a motivation, I just don't think that it the primary driver.

Vivian,

You mention that there are already laws on the books to deal with any rental property problem. With that said, I have a question: "How does the city compel Badlandlord, LLC to comply with building code violations if the only contact information they have is an out of state PO box and the property owner refuses to accept any correspondence from the city"?

The same is true of out of state banks. Let say that JPMorgan Chase makes a determination that the value of one of their properties in Middletown insn't worth the cost of needed repairs and ongoing maintenance. What do you think that they are going to do? What law on the books allows the city to compel their compliance?

The registration process is the "tool" that they need to enforce the existing laws. I do think that there is some merit to the belief that money and control are a motivation, I just don't think that it the primary driver.

Why single out the landlords?   Why not all property owners?  There are plenty of property owners that don't mow their grass or take care of their houses as well.  

Tony,

Observer,

The city has expressed many "strong desires" in recent years. Actions speak louder than words. All you have to do is look at the track record of Middletown in the "desires" vs actions category to see where this is headed. This will do what the "Master Plan" has been unable to accomplish to date: reduce the population to around 25,000! When property owners can't rent without the consent of government, more houses will be abandoned and demolished. High taxes, no jobs and overpriced and over regulated housing will insure the continued death spiral. BTW, doesn't the already have housing inspectors? Aren't their already laws on the books to deal with this problem?

Gentlemen

This has NOTHING to do with any HUD program or Section 8…and by the way Mr Adkins has NOT reduced the Section 8 vouchers program.

This is about charging to inspect each and every piece of rental property in Middletown no matter how large or small. This is about the City and Mr Adkins wanting control and power over privatey owned property. The City already has laws on the books to deal with any rental property problems.

Take a look around the City at all the property that the City now owns and tell me why they won’t clean up their own property before making demands on the citizens. Tell me again how well they used the millions of dollars in NSP and CDBG funds. I can tell you where it wasn’t used….It wasn’t used in the high poverty high crime areas.

This is all about money and power…..This is about feeding the BEAST called City Hall.

Let me play devils advocate for a moment as I'm not convienced either way on this one.  If I had to read between the lines on this one I suspect this is one way that Adkins and the admin is trying to run off some of the section 8.  Whats one of the fastest ways to deter a business to leave or not come to your town...tax it.  Since Middletown can't just call up HUD and give back vouchers they have to show that the demand isn't there.  If landlords don't want to pay the $25 or be  have an aversion to being registered then take your business to another city.  I haven't talked to anyone with knowledge of the situation but that's my guess as to the real reason behind this plan.

Property registration proposal draws opposition from landowners

By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer 10:50 PM Tuesday, May 15, 2012

    MIDDLETOWN — The city this week will begin to form a panel to develop a program to register rental and vacant properties, but opponents say the program is a bad idea.
    More than 100 people packed council chambers Tuesday night. Some were turned away as people dressed in red inside the room voiced opinions against the proposed registration program, which is designed to make property owners and landlords more accountable.
    As it stands now, the proposal is offensive to landlord Missy McCall.
    “It’s not us,” she told city officials. “We’re the investors, we’re your friends. We’re the ones that are going to improve the blighted properties.”
    The idea of registering vacant and rental properties was first presented to council in January, and a progress report was given early this month.
    Landlords and property owners say the program as discussed two weeks ago adds unnecessary bureaucracy and is a blanket that will address the core issue, but will also hurt those who follow city regulations.
     “I really don’t want you to punish the masses for the mistakes of the few, and that’s what this type of legislation would do,” McCall said. “We’re investors and we’re a financial benefit to your community. We are your largest small business.”
    But near the end of Tuesday’s meeting, and about 90 minutes after the red-clad group left, City Law Director Les Landen said, “One of the things that is important is the information we got tonight.”
    Landen plans to meet with Community Development Director Doug Adkins — who presented the registration program May 1 — to form the committee that will address a proposed rental and vacant property registration program and help develop legislation council will consider. Adkins said any proposed legislation could be presented to council in August and - if approved - implemented by Jan. 1.
    Landen said the input from the landlords, property owners and their supporters “will help that committee start to define both sides of the concern out there. Just because people initially respond to something negatively doesn’t mean there’s not a solution.”
    The program that has landlords and property owners so upset would require them to register — something they say they already do with the Butler County auditor — and pay a fee that could be as much as $25 per mailbox. Some said that fee would simply be passed on to the tenants, which Janie Quinn said she can’t afford.
    “I’m doing all I can to make it,” the tenant said. You have people that makes money; I’m retired. I’m broke down, so please don’t raise my rent.”
    Adkins said the city has various programs and ways to work with homeowners to get voluntary or forced compliance with the city’s regulations. However, he said gaining compliance with owners of vacant and rental properties has been an issue in recent years.
    There are 15 cities and one county in Ohio that have rental property registration and 25 cities that have vacant property registration, Adkins said. In those communities, penalties for rental property registration range from imposing a fine to making it a misdemeanor charge in municipal court. In addition, vacant properties not in compliance could have penalties and registration fees are assessed as a lien.
    “We want to have a process that gives us everything we need and be as minimally intrusive as we can to the business owners in the city,” Adkins said.
    Rachel Lewitt, a property owner and real estate agent, said this is not the time to impose such a program.
    “In this unstable economic climate, investors and property owners are either running at a loss or stabilizing and hoping for a brighter future,” she said. “Property values are down 30 to 50 percent, and tenants face similar issues and are on a limited income and are simply maxed out.”
    Lewitt said the city doesn’t maintain many downtown properties it has acquired in recent years.
    “I was told by a city staff person if you can’t maintain a property, don’t own a property. I repeat the same words to you,” Lewitt said. “As the city acquires more real estate and a land bank portfolio, you too should be on a budget and should maintain the same level of standards as you require all property owners.”
    McCall said if the city goes forward with the program that resembles any part of the May 1 presentation, she and possibly other landlords and property owners will simply leave the city and county.
    “I object to registration,” she said. “Sex offenders are registered. I’m a landlord. I’m a business person. I don’t need to be registered.”
    Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or michael.pitman@coxinc.com. Follow at twitter.com/mdpitman.