By Sara Strong
Landlords concerned that they could get stuck with tenants’ unpaid bills asked the Luverne City Council to reconsider its utility policy.
The council heard concerns from property owners Evy Vanden Berg and Mike Jarchow at the Tuesday, Nov. 26 meeting.
Other alarmed property owners and managers have been communicating with the council after receiving letters last week.
The letter explained the city policy on unpaid utility bills, which hasn’t previously been enforced according to code. That policy essentially calls for certifying unpaid utilities (except electric) to the property taxes of the owner, even though the actual utility user wasn’t the property owner.
The city will still go through collection processes, but in the end, the property owner is viewed as the utility customer, as interpreted by an assistant city attorney.
Landlords asked the city to clarify some of its policies before enforcing them as written.
For example, will the city notify property owners when utilities are not being paid so the landlord can intervene before the unpaid amount increases?
Vanden Berg said she had a tenant who paid rent on time, but ran up other bills. Vanden Berg worries that in that situation, she wouldn’t have known her taxes would eventually be assessed unpaid utilities until after the tenant moved.
Among other questions is this: Will the city continue to ask renters for utility deposits? If so, that could signify that the legal contract is with the renter, not the property owner.
Council member Keith Erickson said, "Maybe we need to hold a meeting on this to hear from the people it affects."
Mayor Glen Gust objected to the letter itself and the overall policy at a previous council meeting.
Matt Hylen, City Administrator, said that it’s well within the City Council’s rights to change the code, which hasn’t been examined for an estimated 20 years.
Concerns from landlords who didn’t speak out at the meeting were also shared with individual council members and the mayor.
Assistant City Attorney Jeff Haubrich first brought the issue to the council. He said it’s typical for city codes to call for landowners to pay utilities.
He said all Luverne citizens would, in effect, subsidize the business of renting to tenants if the city services weren’t paid.
The council will reopen the issue at a future meeting to allow for more feedback.