CROWN POINT | The January rollout of newly enacted rental housing regulations will include the hiring of an inspector.
Hiring to fill the $47,000-a-year position is under way, city officials said.
Applicants will be sought internally, at least to start, and several resumes already were submitted, officials said.
The jobholder will be called on to inspect, verify and enforce rental housing regulations set out in an ordinance that went into effect Jan. 1.
The position is to be funded equally from inspection fee revenue generated as a result of the rental property ordinance and revenue from the city water utility, city officials said.
The City Council this week amended wording in the rental housing ordinance to retitle the position, changing it to rental compliance inspector from rental housing officer.
The new job title more accurately reflects a role that calls for working through issues, Mayor David Uran said.
Nearly 1,500 rental housing units had been registered with the city by a late December deadline, generating fees of just more than $49,000, according to officials.
The ordinance calls for the annual registration and inspection of every rental unit in the city, estimated at 2,500.
In adopting the ordinance, city officials said the rules were long overdue and will protect against poor housing conditions and overcrowding, and ultimately will protect the city's overall character and value.
Uran this week stood by the ordinance in the face of a potential move by state lawmakers to ban fees for rental inspections and registration. The proposal is part of House Bill 1313, which was being held in committee for a vote next week.
"We have a good working document," Uran said of the city ordinance."We're doing it for the right reasons."
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