Brandon may drop rental code
Toolbox
By Gordon Dritschilo Herald Staff - Published: January 7, 2009
BRANDON — In an effort to trim down a draft budget proposal, Selectman Richard Baker has suggested repealing the town's rental property code and eliminating the position of enforcement officer.
Baker raised the subject during a budget workshop held by the Select Board on Monday. The board is reviewing a draft budget proposal with an amount to be raised by taxes of $2,079,443, up $74,443 or about 3.7 percent from last year's $2,005,000.
"I think the most the budget can be is the same tax rate as last year and I would advocate for a reduction," Baker said.
With increases in the grand list, Baker said maintaining the tax rate at $1.46 per $100 of property value required cutting the draft budget by about $39,000. Baker said the town could get $11,000 of those dollars by cutting the rental enforcement position.
"I wonder if the voters of the town of Brandon can afford their own rental housing code and their own rental housing officer," he said.
Baker said there was little enforcement of the code and that it was the state's responsibility in any case. He said the code had its origins in a fatal fire during the 1970s.
"It was done in a catharsis of emotion to solve a problem that was perceived 35 years ago," he said. "The problem is gone. We have responsible landlords. … If we had enforcement authority, if it were taken seriously, if we had value added, that would be one thing. As a former landlord, I don't see value added to the community."
Selectman Mitch Pearl asked if the town code helped, given that state enforcement was lax, and had the potential to become more lax in the future. Brown said that if the code does benefit the town, its cost should at least be borne by landlords with a per-unit fee.
The board took no action on the issue Monday.
Dale Creeley, who serves as the enforcement officer as well as the town's health officer, said he sees value in the code. Creeley was not at the meeting, and was reached at home Tuesday.
"We've had other towns that have contacted us," he said. "In fact, I went to Bellows Falls and they adopted our rental codes. It would seem to me like it's a valuable thing to have. Of course, I'm the guy that does it so that would be my opinion."
Creeley said he inspects apartments before they can be occupied, using criteria similar to those of the state. He disagreed the code was unenforced, saying he sends out letters on violations like missing carbon dioxide detectors or improper outlets and landlords always comply.
"Most of the landlords, they grumble a little bit, but they comply," he said.
Vermont League of Cities and Towns executive director Stephen Jeffrey said he did not have readily available data on towns with their own rental codes, but there were not many in the state.
Contact Gordon Dritschilo at gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com.
11