Tuesday, July 7, 2015

The council approved new rental regulations including rent mediation and eviction protections by a 5-1 vote, with Pimplé voting no and Mayor Butt abstaining. The city is reviewing two approaches to regulate rental housing, with Option C creating a mediation board for tenant-landlord disputes.

The council approved 18 routine items on consent, including a $600,000 contract with Richmond Police Activities League for youth programs and $200,000 to purchase 7 used BMW police motorcycles. Other notable approvals included $467,420 for railroad crossing safety improvements and $447,191 in liens on properties with unpaid garbage bills.

A contract with the county for a dedicated prosecutor assigned to Richmond was approved unanimously. The prosecutor would focus on community-based prosecution rather than handling cases from multiple cities.

The council also approved introducing a law to create a master fee schedule for all city services and selected a lobbying firm to help secure federal and state funding. Both measures passed unanimously.

Discussion of a 45-day freeze on all rent increases and a review of whether eliminating 2 city committees improved operations were continued to future meetings.