Sheila DeForest presented minutes to the summit meeting she and landlords attended together with the city of Beloit, 5/24/12.
- It was agreed that BPMA will produce a brochure of itself which will become available to walk-ins at the city and perhaps as enclosures accompanying violation notices sent out by the city.
- Enclosed with the rental permit renewals for 2013, the city will inform landlords of upcoming WAA Workshop Series.
- Newer water meter reading devices will be phased in which will perhaps make checking meter readings possible by electronic means, via internet. The newer meters is something the city had already planned for. The ability to check on utility bills and make payment by credit card is available at this site: Utility Bills
- A possibility exists of reducing renter permit fees for landlords who complete specific training such as the Workshop series. The city manager will explore that possibility and get back to us.
- Minimum criteria will be followed for sellers entering into land contracts. The city will notify such sellers in the future of the those criteria.
- Electronic renter permit applications and issuance was discussed. Options are on the table and they will be reviewed.
A snapshot of Beloit:
- There were about 1300 landlords in Beloit for 2011, less than in previous years
- 6021 rental units in the city, about 500 more than 6 years ago
- there are less landlords owning more units
- the city is possibly missing rental unit registration when one compares the number of rental units with rental permits issued
- out of 2899 rental buildings, about 55% are duplex or single residence
- most landlords, 72%, own 2 or less units
- 64% of landlords live in Beloit, 81% in the Beloit area
There was also brought forward discussion on the city creating a new ordinance that would allow a resident to keep up to 4 female chickens on a residential zoned lot within the city limits. The proposed ordinance is still in the discussion phase. Stay tooned.
