It sounds like yesterday's City Commission agenda meeting may have been productive.
They discussed the Lower North Side's serious problems with crime. Mayor Stebbins indicated that part of the problem has to do with absentee landlords. According to this post by Aaron Weissman, chair of Neighborhood Council #7, the landlords who own the properties, whose tenants are causing most of the problems in this area, seem to live right here in the city.
Kudos to the city manager for suggesting a "disorderly ordinance" that would hold landlords responsible for their crime causing tenants. And I do agree with Commissioner Bronson that the ordinance should apply to any residence. Whatever is decided, and hopefully soon, it will have teeth in it that holds people accountable for their actions.
What do you think of city manager, Greg Doyon, working on recommendations for the city commission to "decide where our level of involvement needs to be" with regard to the coal plant? It's better than what we've gotten in the past; spoon feedings by John Lawton and Coleen Balzarini that told us nothing but what Tim Gregori wanted us to hear.
We're in this thing up to our eyeballs and even though we had no business getting into it in the first place, we did. But just maybe, from now on, whatever transpires will be transparent.
Heck, for all we know, one of the recommendations may be to scuttle the whole thing!
They discussed the Lower North Side's serious problems with crime. Mayor Stebbins indicated that part of the problem has to do with absentee landlords. According to this post by Aaron Weissman, chair of Neighborhood Council #7, the landlords who own the properties, whose tenants are causing most of the problems in this area, seem to live right here in the city.
Kudos to the city manager for suggesting a "disorderly ordinance" that would hold landlords responsible for their crime causing tenants. And I do agree with Commissioner Bronson that the ordinance should apply to any residence. Whatever is decided, and hopefully soon, it will have teeth in it that holds people accountable for their actions.
What do you think of city manager, Greg Doyon, working on recommendations for the city commission to "decide where our level of involvement needs to be" with regard to the coal plant? It's better than what we've gotten in the past; spoon feedings by John Lawton and Coleen Balzarini that told us nothing but what Tim Gregori wanted us to hear.
We're in this thing up to our eyeballs and even though we had no business getting into it in the first place, we did. But just maybe, from now on, whatever transpires will be transparent.
Heck, for all we know, one of the recommendations may be to scuttle the whole thing!
16 comments:
If he does not include withdrawal as an option, he is not doing his job.
One question. If the people that are getting in trouble all the time OWN the home, then what? They don't have anyone to turn to to kick these peoblem makers out. I don't think the landlord should be held accountable for these people....fines fines and more fines, then warrants when fines arent paid, then jail time. If they can't figure out how to tone down, make them pay.
The law makes it so hard for a Landlord to to anything without getting sued, that most just collect the rent, and try to stay away.
Landlord,
Commissioner Bronson suggested that the ordinance include ANY residence, which should be the case. We know that not all crime is committed only by renters.
I agree with your statement that tenants should be held accountable. Just because one is a renter that doesn't give them the right to destroy a neighborhood.
You make the statement "that most just collect the rent, and try to stay away".
I suggest that is part of the problem. What would you do if you lived a couple of houses down from your rental where the tenants were committing crimes? Would you be so apt to "stay away" when it would be YOUR neighborhood being adversely affected?
Let me see if I have this right . . . the landlord is responsible for the tenant hmmm does not make an ounce of sense. That would be like making the person next door responsible.
When you rent a dwelling the tenant has possession and and the property is theirs for the length of tenancy it takes a 30 day notice to evict and can take more than 90 days to finally vacate the property. The landlord cannot enter the property unless a 24 hr notice is given.
So what the heck is the landlord able to do to keep tenants from doing bad things?
The tenants need to be held accountable for their actions NOT the landlord.
But the landlord still OWNS the property and wouldn't you agree they still have a responsibility to that property and neighborhood, just like any property owner?
I'm not disagreeing that it isn't a long, drawn out process to evict, but what I think I'm hearing is that because of this process, some landlords may be turning a blind eye to problem tenets.
If that's the case, perhaps they shouldn't be landlords.
I thought when a person reached "majority" they were responsible for their own actions and agreements they make. So now we want the Landlord to become the parent again?
The "dwelling" does not commit the crime, the person does. This idea to transfer responsibility for maintaining order in society from the government to the property owner is just not right.
I used to be a landlord, but never again!!!!!!!!! You think we have a homeless problem now, wait and see what happens if you pass this law.
Look, I have a great deal of sympathy for those that have put their assets on the line to rent residential property in Great Falls. However, I have a bit more sympathy for the teenage girls that have had to find dead bodies in the street at 5th Street and 5th Avenue North.
Whenever I rent my property to anyone, I do a comprehensive background check. I simply do not rent to those that do not meet my minimum standards.
If you choose to rent to a bottom of the barrel tenant, please do not be surprised if your neighbors begin complaining to you about the problems your tenants are causing. Its your business, but also do not be surprised if your property becomes damaged by your tenants.
We are not going to accept violent crime in our neighborhood. We are going to take back the Lower North and South sides, even if it is only one block at a time.
I dearly hope that the result is that you will be able to charge more rent for your property. I hope you will work with us to make this idea a reality.
Aaron Weissman, Chairman
Neighborhood Council 7
What if they have a loan? Then it's the banks fault.
What a bunch of horse hockey.
The only people at fault are the law breakers and nobody else.
There is a difference between responsibility and fault.
I do not claim that any landlord is at fault for his or her tenants illegal activity. However, I do assign some responsibility.
After all, it is the landlord that let the tenant live in the property.
The landlord definatly needs to do background checks, and get referances, and go thru all the nessasary mediums to make sure he has a good tenant, but, not all negligent tenants start off bad. I just don't possibly see how a law could be passed that would make a landlord even partially responsible. I guess if the tenants are that bad they probably are doing something that they said they wouldn't do when they signed their lease, and SHOULD be evicted.
Hopefully these terrible people don't decide to be vengful and take out their evictions on the landlords or their familys.
" ...that most just collect the rent, and try to stay away..."
The truth ... spoken in plain English.
There are quite a number of good slum-lords here in Great Falls, and yes, it's true, they collect the rent, and I don't blame them for "trying to stay away" ... They know who they've rented to, and short of the money? They really don't care, just so long as they don't have to look at them.
There never is any follow-up, reference checking, criminal background checks or anything ... Most of these "would-be" landlords aks "slum-lords", would rather spend the money on their own home/property, or be found in Mexico during the winter months.
Blame everyone else but the police. Just what are they for anyway? Are landlords to take the law into their own hands?
I have a feeling many of the voices on this subject starting with Stebbin's have no clue how the world works.
This in effect is the same misguided approach some lawmakers tried to apply to firearms manufacturers. Don;t deal with crime, pass the buck up to the deep pockets.
Now we have a mental midget of a mayor that wants to punish evil landowners.
Let's see if the chamber of commerce and commission can help get a grocer back into downtown..please. Why should we have to spend more on fuel to go to all mall to get food staples? Let's focus on basic city services and 'jettison' the coal plant and get real objective staff recommendations.
Why stop with landlords. Let's take Ms. Stebbin's and Mr. Doyon's crime fighting to the next area of concern.
Casinos cause loss of income. People steal and hock property to replace the loss of income. The irresponsible casino owners are at fault, probably absentee owners no less. They should have stopped the gambler before they lost the mortgage money that forced foreclosure of the family home. It happens under the absentee casino owner's roof, right?
Now the poor innocent victim of the capitalistic businessman must rent from the evil slum lord and the cycle continues. Next thing you know they getting drunk from large beer containers and full of drunken behavior and loud noises.
So here's the plan. Casino owners must run regular credit checks on all customers to monitor their risk. It's their responsibility, we know the gamblers have no self control. Perform credit counseling every Friday night at the casinos.
Madam Mayor, Mr. City Manager. You want to cut crime in Great Falls, there's your new plan. The cops will then remain free to do the important stuff like dragging people out of commission meetings and writing speeding tickets.
I agree with the casino remarks. On the flip side I don't think all of us landlords have a program to dig into peoples lives like you do Aaron. Most of us try to trust people and believe the application that they have filled out. I realize that not everyone tells the truth on paper, but some do.
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