Yesterday I blogged about the city report on the Impediments to Fair Housing and the Housing Strategy Committee strategies. Today, lets take a look at the City Equal Opportunities Report from June that has its own policy recommendations. Will this get us closer to ending racism and all the other ism’s in housing in Madison?
First of all, here is the report. This report seems a little more down to earth and more suited to get to the issues of the every day person who rents in Madison. I’m not sure how realistic some of the TIF recommendations are or that they fully understand some of the processes and laws the city already has in place (but might not be fully used), but I think they have some good ideas that will be more effective on the ground.
OVER ARCHING GOALS
The Commission has identified a number of goals that they feel will help improve some of the housing disparities existing in the City, and is committed to pursuing the following approaches to address these issues.
The greatest overarching goal the Commission identified was accountability. The Commission would like to see collaboration between City services that touch the area of housing such as Building Inspection and Public Health to ensure that members of the community are being served in an effective manner. This may require a restructuring of CDA and Building Inspection, because as they currently exist, there are apparent conflicts of interest in the reporting mechanisms available under these agencies.
The Commission would also encourage education and outreach opportunities for the community on issues that surround housing for both property owners and tenants. There are a number of Ordinances in place right now that do offer some protections to tenants in the City of Madison, notably rent abatement and chronic nuisance ordinances. The Commission would recommend increased tenant education surrounding rights and responsibilities, how and where to report problems, and what services and support are available to tenants through the City (i.e., Section 8 and 42 rights, responsibilities, and paths forward; remedies available through the rent abatement procedure, etc.).
The City of Madison currently has a Landlord Tenant Committee to address housing issues in Madison. The Commission understands that this body is in the process of outlining a landlord “best practices” or “gold star standard’ for landlords who provide housing in the City of Madison. The Commission would propose that the City use these “best practices” as an education and enforcement tool, and that the use of these “best practices” be incorporated into contracts for housing providers requesting TIF funds from the City.
The Commission would also encourage more aggressive TIF contracting to help ensure inclusive, affordable, accessible scattered-site housing developments exist in the City, and use of the TIF process to include establishing an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, as well as standards for TIF funds being directed to blight remediation efforts versus new housing construction.
The Commission heard repeatedly from the community that the City has a number of landlords ineffectively taking care of issues of pest infestations in tenant’s homes, as well as issues of mold and other public health issues. The Commission would recommend strengthened enforcement mechanisms for Public Health to be able to hold landlords accountable for the public health issues facing the community. The Commission would recommend putting a process in place for Public Health to declare an emergency if necessary, allowing the City to step in to treat pest issues for landlords who fail to do so after repeated reports of pest infestation by their tenants. The Commission would propose establishing enforcement procedures that could include a fund for public health or pest issues, and fines or forfeitures for landlords that repeatedly fail to remediate pest issues.
The Commission would recommend authoring policy for special assessments on the property tax roll for landlords who fail to pay fines or forfeitures to the City. ACA Zilavy informed the Commission that there are mechanisms in place to collect fines and forfeitures from property owners, but that the process can take several years and may require an action or judgement to be filed in Circuit Court.
The Commission would like to see the City itself take a more active role in addressing the housing issues discussed above, and would recommend having an individual in the City Attorney’s office with expertise in housing, and/or having an individual within City government act as a liaison between the public and the various City agencies that touch housing as a public facing employee to guide residents to the appropriate agency to have issues addressed in a timely and effective manner. The Commission would recommend increased use of the Racial Equity and Social Justice (RESJ) tools being used in decisions made and policies implemented surrounding housing in Madison, and would like a role in and revitalization of the Housing Strategy Committee.
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Immediate Wins:
1. Landlord/Tenant Committee “Best Practices” standards incorporated into TIF contracts.
2. TIF contracting that more aggressively includes scattered site affordable/workforce housing and blight remediation funding for existing properties.
3. Pursue more effective utilization of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund established through use of TIF.
4. Increase accessible unit requirements in City funded projects from the current 2% and 5% thresholds for sensory and physical access to 12% and 15% thresholds respectively.
Short Term Strategies:
5. Establish stronger enforcement mechanisms for Public Health.
6. Establish a process for the City to cure repeat offender pest remediation.
7. Establish the ability to collect fines/forfeitures from landlords through special assessments attached to property taxes.
8. Create a position for a public facing Housing Specialist/Liaison for community assistance with housing issues.
Long Term Strategies:
9. Create an independent Building Commission.
10. Set forth recommendations on realigning the CDA/Building Inspection relationship to eliminate apparent conflicts of interest and barriers to the community in resolving housing issues within the purview of those agencies.
a. Identify and implement best practices for equitable housing policies through Madison’s CDA, including a review of local strategies in screening and eligibility, background checks, wait list management, guest and key policies, and resident feedback mechanisms.
Education and Outreach (Ongoing):
11. Education/outreach to property owners (with emphasis on those receiving City funding) – Best Practices/Gold Star Standard.
12. Education/outreach to tenants – Section 8 & 42 – rights and responsibilities/paths forward/remedies available
