A request by landlords to create an advisory board related to rental property was met with a mixed response Tuesday by Poplar Bluff City Council members.
Proponents believe it would create better communication between city departments and landlords. Others said it would create an additional expense for the city, when these matters can be brought to council members and the city manger.
The proposal was made by Felix Baker, president of the Butler County Landlords Association. Baker discussed the matter during the public comment portion of the council meeting.
Council member at large Ron Black asked city manager Mark Massingham to gather more information and bring it back to the council.
Black is a member of the Butler County Landlords Association, but said he did not feel he had a conflict of interest in trying to move the matter forward.
City attorney Mark Richardson agreed, indicating because the matter was a request and not a motion there was no conflict at this point.
The city incurs expense in creating these boards, said Susan McVey, Ward 1 representative. A clerk has to attend the meetings, and they have to be advertised, she said.
"I'm just trying to find what the needs are and what the benefits would be, that you can't already do," she said, earlier telling Baker, "I feel like Mark (Massingham) has an open door policy."
A board would give more credence to discussions between the board, the police department, code enforcement and other city groups, Baker said.
"We need to work with code enforcement better, interested of having, I would say, an adversarial relationship at times," he said, adding later, "If we understand what your needs are and you understand what our needs are, everybody works together to come up with a common solution that everybody would benefit from."
This could be an asset to the city, said Philip Crocker, of Ward 4.
"We would have direct communication with the landlord association on our needs," Crocker said.
The city of Perryville meets quarterly with a landlord group and has seen positive results, said Massingham.
Baker used the city council's approval of a low income rental property project for veterans as an example. The landlord group argued at the time there was already a surplus of rental property.
The group also has worked with Municipal Utilities to develop procedures that help prevent utilities from being turned on to homes where the resident already has outstanding bills, according to Baker.
"I think it would be just good communication," he said, adding, "You would have input from more people than just our group."
The proposed board could also include representatives from city departments, landlords who are not in the group and others, Baker said