LETTER TO THE CCO EDITOR: Proposed City Council Ordinance Will Require Every Rental Property To Be Inspected, Regardless Of Age Or Condition

By MONTE FETTER

Managing Broker And President (POMA) Of Property Owners and Managers Association of Evansville

MAY 31, 2023

The Property Owners and Managers Association of Evansville was formed in 2010 by a group of local landlords who wanted to promote better relations between landlords and the city. Our motto is “Promoting Professionalism in Rental Management”. We meet regularly with our members for education and membership networking. Oftentimes, at these meetings, one will find guests such as city officials, inspectors, and candidates. We have always promoted a good working relationship with the city, department heads, and elected officials. We repeatedly tell our members that the city has many resources that can help us and they should look to the city as a partner in our efforts to provide rental housing.

Rental ownership has many hurdles and an owner needs a lot of help if he is to survive this tough business. A rental owner is assessed at twice the rate of property taxes as a homeowner, receives very few exemptions, invests his own time and money in what is often a thankless business, and then has to re-invest if his property is damaged. He also pays a higher mortgage interest rate, higher insurance costs and seldom is eligible to receive any grants or credits from the government. Despite this, if one can last, it does offer some long-term equity advantages for retirement.

Evansville has over 36,000 rental units (over half the city is rentals) and government cannot provide that amount of housing. We have to rely on the citizen investor to provide that level of housing and he needs to be encouraged, not obstructed. This is not a bad person, this is a good citizen, a city asset, and should be promoted and encouraged.

There is now a proposed City Council ordinance being promoted that will require every rental property in the city to be inspected, regardless of age or condition, at a cost to the owner of $50 per unit every year. Within the proposal is a 3-tier program that offers self-certification over a 3 or 5-year period to certain properties. This is a massive shift in the relationship we have had with the city where, now, instead of being looked at as a partner to work with, we are looked at as the opponent. The good landlords, instead of being promoted as a good example, will now be punished for the sins of the few.

This proposal will cause a needless increase in rents to the renter, a tremendous amount of work to the owners and city inspectors, and will result in a massive expansion of the Building Commission. But, worst of all, will be damage to the relationship between the city and local landlords. We have worked very hard to build that relationship over a number of years and, while it is still growing, it has resulted in some very progressive changes in our relations with the Building Commission, Health Department, Human Resources, Evansville Water and Sewer, and other departments. The proposed ordinance will damage that relationship. While the motive behind the proposal may be pure, the method is too great a burden to pay. There are other ways to deal with code violators and POMA is willing to work with the city to those ends but this proposal is just a bad idea. A good ordinance will result in a win-win but everyone will lose if this proposal becomes law.

Respectfully submitted.

Monte Fetter, President

Property Owners and Managers Association of Evansville (POMA)

 Vanderburgh County Health Department and NAACP Evansville Branch Announce Community Lead Screening 

MAY 31, 2023

(Evansville, Indiana) The Vanderburgh County Health Department and NAACP Evansville Branch, #3048-B announce our joint community health initiative, “Get the Lead Out,” an opportunity for families with at-risk children to become more informed about lead exposure and its consequences, to be screened for lead, and to receive essential information for following up on results. 

Many in the community know of the risks from lead through exposure to paint chips or dust in houses built before 1978. But there are other ways families have been exposed. Lead poisoning has had devastating effects on children and families in Flint, Michigan, for instance, as a result of poor decision-making and systemic biases. Locally many in the Jacobsville area of Evansville have seen the Superfund effort to remove contaminated soil from yards and lots over the past decade, again a result of decisions made not by those living in those homes but by business and civic leadership decades ago. We at NAACP Evansville Branch and the Vanderburgh County Health Department take seriously our charge to elevate heath equity and environmental justice. 

Why does lead matter? Lead is a heavy metal used for centuries for a number of purposes, including plumbing, and in the past century as a fuel-additive. Lead is relatively easy to extract and use for industrial purposes. But lead is not easy on the human body. Lead plays NO role in normal human metabolism and is, in fact, toxic. Acute lead poisoning can result in muscle pain, weakness, difficulty concentrating, abdominal pain, constipation, anemia, and seizures. Lead exposure is potentially devastating especially for young children, whose brain development can be critically harmed by the metal. It was only over the late 20th century that compelling evidence on lead’s harmful effects finally resulted in to policy change. Communities are still dealing with the legacy of lead contamination across much of the environment. 

Why does screening for the lead matter? There are several risk factors in addition to the age of the home in which a family presently resides. Despite the various symptoms some may show from lead exposure, many children with elevated lead levels may look and act healthy. Identifying those cases and taking corrective steps may prevent long-term health consequences. While lead screening is recommended for all children under 7 years age and while Medicaid requires screening for all participating children at 1 and 2 years, there are still families who may have not had updated testing. We recognize some families may have not had the chance for well-child visits lately for many reasons, including the pandemic. This community screening event sponsored by VCHD and Evansville Branch NAACP and hosted by Zion Missionary Baptist Church is the opportunity for all families to be checked. 

This free event will be 6 pm on 15 June 2023 at Zion Missionary Baptist Church. Advanced registration/parental consent is encouraged. Vanderburgh County Health Department staff will be there to answer additional questions you may have about potential lead exposure. On-site testing will be provided for eligible children and results will go to the parent/caregiver within minutes. The health department will notify doctors’ offices of test results and coordinate with families on follow-up for any abnormal results. NAACP Evansville Branch Health Committee will also be there to hear family’s additional concerns and connect them with the advocacy work of the NAACP. 

Families interested in having their child tested at the event should complete the online consent form – https://www.cognitoforms.com/VCHD3/CommunityBloodLeadTesting 

Please address inquiries regarding this event to Thomas L. Stratton, MD (812)550-6180, tlstratton2009@yahoo.com, or Joe Gries, 812-435-2468, jbgries@vanderburghcounty.in.gov