Nelsonville committee backs ad hoc review of rental-registration policy and temporary pause on $30 fee

The Nelsonville judiciary committee on June 2 discussed forming an ad hoc committee to review the city's rental registration policy, vacant-property fees and how inspection programs are funded. Committee members said the city must clarify how much it has collected and what remains outstanding, and asked the code enforcement officer to provide a monthly accounting to council.

A committee speaker summarized the policy history: the planning commission spent two-and-a-half years drafting Title 31, the council adopted it on a 6-1 vote, the registration fee began at $20 per unit, a later referendum overturned Title 31 and the fee persisted and was later increased to $30, even though an inspection program was not fully implemented. "Landlords have been assessed a fee all this time for a program that was never implemented," a council member said during the meeting.

Committee members said the city currently lacks sufficient funding to hire a second code inspector needed to run an inspection program. Several speakers said the ad hoc commission should examine whether fees are being used as intended, review the vacant-property fee and recommend a sustainable funding approach for inspections. One public commenter urged a monthly spreadsheet showing collections and delinquencies for rental-registration and vacant-property fees to improve transparency.

The meeting also addressed practical enforcement issues. Speakers suggested the commission consider whether the city can accept HUD inspections for units already covered by HUD, whether police or fire personnel could assist on inspections, or whether the city should contract inspections. The group discussed residency eligibility and potential conflicts of interest for commission members; several members said they would consult the city attorney before excluding landlords from applying.

Committee members noted a motion at the prior full council meeting to suspend the $30 annual registration fee until an ad hoc commission could review the policy. The committee asked the code enforcement officer to appear at the next full council meeting with figures on outstanding fees and collections to date. Committee members framed the suspension as temporary while the ad hoc commission studies options; the meeting record does not include a council vote tally or final action taken at this committee meeting.

Next steps: the committee will recommend that the full council (1) formally establish an ad hoc commission to examine rental-registration policy, vacant-property fees and inspection funding; and (2) request that the code enforcement officer deliver a monthly accounting of rental and vacant-property fee collections and delinquencies at the next council meeting.