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Updated Mailing Address
Landlords of Linn County
PO Box 202
Marion, IA 52302
May 2012:
FROM THE PRESIDENT: Laura O’Leary
April’s meeting was a lot of fun, and also very enlightening. Jenx the drug dog and
his handler Officer Bieber demonstrated how Jenx could sniff out drugs, and what
the actual procedures are regarding reporting and investigating drug use in rental
properties.
April vacancy rate, based on landlords reporting vacant units on April 12, 2012:
4080 units, 272 vacant = 7%.
Register today for our May meeting on this Thursday evening the 10th. Walter
Skrovonski, President of the Davenport Landlords Association, will be our speaker.
Davenport has established a model housing code to help resolve crime issues in
their rental properties. Intensive collaboration between the landlords, City and Police
Department has resulted in a very successful program.
Come at 6:00 for social hour; the program and meal will start at 7:00
Be sure to patronize the Clarion by registering for the meal; that is how we are able to
use their facilities each month.
Des Moines, May 7, 2012
Iowans who choose to represent themselves in small claims court will find it easier to do
so with the help of new, easy-to-use forms. The Iowa Supreme Court approved a large
number of new forms to help Iowans navigate the ins and outs of a small claims court
case, from beginning to end. The court also updated some existing forms by making
them easier to understand and use.
http://www.iowacourts.gov/news_service/news_releases/NewsItem522/index.asp
HF 2323, our bill which expands utility lien protections, was enrolled and sent to Governor Branstad yesterday. I have visited with the Governor’s lobbyist about HF 2323. We’re not expecting any problems. The Governor has 3 days to deal with the bill. We expect him to sign it. It will happen yet this week.
From Joe Kelly.
Here is a copy of the bill as it looks in enrolled form.
Register today for our April meeting on Thursday evening the 12th.
CRPD Officer Chris Bieber and his partner Jenks the Drug Dog will present our program.
Come at 6:00 for social hour
Meal and program will be at 7:00, at the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center, 525 33rd Avenue SW.
(Better leave your illegal drugs at home or Jenks may sniff you out.)
Be sure to patronize the Clarion by registering for the meal; that is how we are able to use their facilities
each month.
The event is free but we ask you register in advance.
Dinner is available for $13.00 per person and the menu this month is:
ROAST BEEF, POTOATE, VEG, SALAD, ROLLS
Please register by following the link below:
March was a fun meeting, as our roomful of landlords put our heads together to collectively solve common landlord tenant problems.
March vacancy rate, based on landlords reporting vacant units on March 8, 2012:
4255 units, 295 vacant = 7%.
Register today for our April meeting on Thursday evening the 12th. CRPD Officer Chris Bieber and his partner Jenks the Drug Dog will present our program. Come at 6:00 for social hour; meal and program will be at 7:00, at the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center, 525 33rd Avenue SW. (Better leave your illegal drugs at home or Jenks may sniff you out.)
http://landlordsoflinncounty.org/event-registration/?ee=19
Be sure to patronize the Clarion by registering for the meal; that is how we are able to use their facilities each month.
April is Fair Housing Month
Madison, Wisconsin: 25
Cedar Rapids, Iowa: 12
What score is that? Madison wins with the total number of fair housing protected classes.
If you have taken any Fair Housing seminars or classes over the years, you may have heard rumors of Madison having many, many more protections than required by the Federal Fair Housing Act, and many more than other states, cities or counties.
Here is our list in Cedar Rapids:
Race, Color, Creed, Religion, National Origin, Disability, Familial Status, Age, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Marital Status.
Here is Madison’s list:
Race, Color, Religion, National Origin or Ancestry, Sex, Age, Handicap/Disability, Familial Status, Arrest Record, Conviction Record, Marital Status, Being a Student, Physical Appearance, Sexual Orientation, Political Beliefs, Source of Income, Retaliation, Less than Honorable Discharge from the Military, Refusal to Disclose Social Security Number, Domestic Partners, Gender Identity, Genetic Identity, Citizenship Status, Victim of Domestic Abuse/Sexual Assault/Stalking, Credit History.
April is Fair Housing month. Be sure you know our ordinance, Chapter 69 of the Cedar Rapids Municipal Code. Did you notice that two new protected classes were added just this year?
Be sure to visit The Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission website for the latest information. (Although I noticed they have not added the two new protected classes on this site yet.)
http://www.cedar-rapids.org/government/departments/civil-rights/Pages/FairHousing.aspx
From Representative Nick Wagner’s March 15, 2012 Newsletter.
Several people and employers have contacted me concerning their recent property valuations. Many are concerned about the substantial increases that they received and have asked what can be done. There is a process by which you can appeal your property tax assessment to get it reduced. This can help keep property valuations at the right level. I find it odd that the same people who collect property tax revenue based on a valuation also set that very same valuation. I think we could reform this process and it would result in more equitable outcomes.
A property owner or taxpayer who is dissatisfied with the owner’s or taxpayer’s assessment may file a written protest against the assessment with the local board of review between April 16 and May 5 of the year of the assessment that is being protested. Also, any local government official or a taxpayer of the political subdivision where the property is located may file a protest to an assessment of property in the same manner as a protest by the owner or taxpayer of the property.
The grounds for a protest must be one or more of the following:
• The assessment is not equitable compared with assessments of other like property in the taxing district.
• The property is assessed at more than its actual value.
• The property is not assessable, is exempt from taxes, or is misclassified.
• There is an error in the assessment.
• There is fraud in the assessment.
The Marion Chamber of Commerce and the Marion Economic Development Company are hosting an educational forum to learn more about the process of how to appeal recent property tax assessments with the Linn County Assessor at 1:00pm, Monday, March 19 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 8300 C Avenue in Marion. Local business owner Keith Smith will be leading the discussion. There is no cost to attend and no RSVP is necessary. If you do attend please park in the north parking lot and the meeting will be held in the Life Worship Center. (This is an auditorium with theater seating.)
The municipal utilities are making a late attempt to defeat HF 2323, the city enterprise services bill. Attached is a revised information sheet on the bill. I’ve made one change to counter an argument the municipal utilities are using. They are complaining that they will have difficulty indentifying the user of the enterprise services. Their first hope is to kill the bill. Their second objective is to keep the requirement that landlords have to notify the municipal utility each time a tenancy changes. The reason for that objective is they know most landlords won’t do the notification in a timely manner, if at all.
Some of you have asked me what do we do know. The answer is to make your contacts with your Iowa Senator, either the Senator whose district you live in, or the Senator who represents a district where you own some properties. Some of you will have more than one Senator that you can contact.
Ask for their support of HF 2323.
Joe
There are only two bills on the Senate daily debate calendar today, and SF 2300 is not one of them. Therefore, SF 2300 is now dead for the year.
- HF 2323, the city enterprises bill, is on the agenda for the Senate Local Government Committee today at 1:00 p.m. We know that the 3 subcommittee members voted for the bill. We need 3 more committee votes to get the 6 votes necessary to get out of the committee and stay alive for the session.
Let’s make the final push this morning! If you have one of the Senators in your district that is on the Local Government committee, please call them this morning to support HF2323.
[private]Here is the list of Senators on the Local Government Committee. Senators Wilhelm, Bartz, and Bowman were the subcommittee members. The rest of the list are open game for your calls!
Senate Members
- Mary Jo Wilhelm (D, District 8), Chair
- Daryl Beall (D, District 25), Vice Chair
- Merlin Bartz (R, District 6), Ranking Member
- Robert Bacon (R, District 5)
- Tod Bowman (D, District 13)
- Thomas G. Courtney (D, District 44)
- Joni Ernst (R, District 48)
- Shawn Hamerlinck (R, District 42)
- Herman C. Quirmbach (D, District 23)
- Tom Rielly (D, District 38)
- Brian Schoenjahn (D, District 12)
TALKING POINTS FOR: HF 2323 City Enterprise Services
HF 2323 is the same language that was in HF 783 from 2007.
HF 2323 does the following:
- It changes the registration of tenancy in the code (384.84 [4][d]) with a one time registration of the property. If the property is registered with the city utility, the landlord would not be responsible for paying the tenant’s bills and the property could not be subject to liens by the city.
- HF 2323 also expands the list of protected city enterprise services in the code from water to all pertinent city enterprise services such as sewer systems, storm water drainage systems, sewage treatment, and solid waste collection.
Governor Culver vetoed HF 783, citing the security deposits granted for the extra city enterprise services.
Since landlords believe that city enterprise services should be managed like a business, we believe that municipal utilities must have the option for a security deposit. A 90 days’ deposit was suggested because some municipal utilities need this amount of time in that they bill only on a quarterly basis.
If the law does not provide for a security deposit for municipal utilities, then all taxpayers would have to pick up the tab for delinquent renters. We don’t believe this is good public policy.
Landlords believe it is good public policy to require residents, including renters, to be responsible for their usage of city enterprise services.
The legislature in 2007 agreed. HF 783 was voted on twice in the House. Each time in the House, no Representative voted against the bill. The first vote was 98-0. The Senate passed the bill with an amendment. The vote was 48-2. When the House voted again, the vote was 94-0.
HF 2323 passed the House 97-0 on March 7, 2012.[/private]
1. HF 2323, the city enterprise bill, is on tomorrow’s House debate calendar. Every indication is that the bill is in good shape and should pass.
2. Senator Danielson is holding another meeting on SF 2300, the occupancy bill, tomorrow. I had a chat with Senator Danielson this afternoon. He moved SF 2300 through the Senate State Government Committee. He did that in order to keep it alive so that there would be a chance to have more discussions about the bill. One possible result of tomorrow’s meeting is that Senator Danielson will have me show him proof that we have a minimum of 26 positive votes for the bill before he brings it up. This is not an unusual request for a controversial bill. It would be even better to have about 30 votes because Senators do sometimes change their minds.
3. If we are facing a scenario of proving votes, we need to get our work done as quickly as possible. Therefore, I’m asking you to do the following:
Either phone (515-281-3371) or e-mail your Iowa Senator and ask him/her the following: If Senate File 2300 were up for a vote on the floor of the Senate today, how would you vote, yes or no? If you get a definitive answer either way, let me know. It will save me time. I will be canvassing Senators myself, but if I get a definitive answer from you about a Senator, I won’t have to contact that Senator.
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/senate.aspx
4. Let’s get started.
If you get your Senator on the phone, be prepared to tell your Senator what SF 2300 is about. They have scores of bills they’re dealing with and don’t always know them by number. If you send an e-mail, they obviously can look it up. But, even in an e-mail, you would take the opportunity to point out why you think SF 2300 is so important to pass. Then you would ask your Senator the question of how he/she would vote if SF 2300 were up for a vote on the floor.
REMINDER: Register for our March meeting this week!
We will have our round table discussion this month which has been a very popular meeting in the past. Bring your ideas/questions and comments to the group to discuss and this can help us with idea for future speakers/topics.
The event is free but you can order dinner for $13 per person.
Please click this link to get more details and visit our registration page
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Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved
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