Property Owners Should Be Required To Declare All Rental Units

While the City of Huntington Housing Authority works to add more affordable apartments, the City of Huntington must start cracking down on property owners who do not keep their rental units "livable." In addition, some Huntington property owners are renting space to multiple families in the same house, although they are paying property taxes based on single-family dwellings. We propose that the City of Huntington strengthen its efforts to identify all rental units, building code violations and unsafe structures and prosecuting property owners who do not make corrections in a timely manner.

We should start by creating an ordinance that requires any property owner renting-for-profit to declare the location, and mailing address, for every rental unit they own. This would establish a public record, and failure to list a rental unit on the "declaration of rental units" ordinance should include a fine of up to $5,000. The required declaration would make it possible to prosecute and fine landlords who rent illegal apartments, as well as any real estate brokers who advertise them. A telephone tip line for residents to turn in suspected violators should be considered. The downside to this would be the monumental task of providing housing for the scores of families that may be left homeless resulting from the crackdown on illegal apartments.

Funding for attractive, livable and affordable housing must be found. The City of Huntington Housing Authority, under the able leadership of William "Bill" Dodson, is diligently seeking funding for future affordable public housing development. The City of Charleston has developed complete neighborhoods of public housing that are modern looking and attractive. Everyone agrees that we need to get rid of our worn out and drab public housing units and replace them with whole developments that are architecturally attractive, yet affordable for our citizens.

Let's start by identifying all rental housing units and ensuring that our local building codes meet the standards of the national building codes - for the safety and protection of our Marshall University students and our citizens who are forced to live in substandard housing.

Raleigh County School Recycling Program is Working

My good friend, Sherri Hunter, who is the Director of Education and Outreach for the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority, issued this report on the county's school recycling program:

"Thirty-four schools in Raleigh County recycled…1,051,973 pounds of paper/cardboard and 6,529 pounds of aluminum. A Grand Total of 529.2 tons of recyclable materials did not enter the landfill during the 2007.08 school year.

Crowned champion at the School Recycling Awards, which took place today at the E. Paul Barley Recycling & Education Center. The Second Semester Recycling Champion is Marsh Fork Elementary. Mabscott Christian Academy relinquished the coveted Stanley Cup of Recycling to Marsh Fork Elementary for recycling the most weight of aluminum Second Semester. For achieving this goal, an award of a $500 bonus will be given to a teacher at Marsh Fork to purchase school supplies for his or her classroom.

Thirty-four schools earned a combined $6,501.23 from the materials recycled during First Semester. The thirteen schools recycling the highest weights for the school year were awarded portions of the $10,100.00 Corporate Green Team Monies. Those schools were:

$2,000 Mabscott Christian Academy ~ 204,248# recycled
$1,750 Fairdale Elementary ~ 120,122# recycled
$1,500 St. Francis de Sales ~ 80,397# recycled
$1,250 Marsh Fork Elementary ~ 55,731# recycled
$1,000 Shady Spring Middle ~ 50,120# recycled
$ 750 Daniels Elementary ~ 47.885# recycled
$ 500 Ghent Elementary ~ 44,293# recycled
$ 400 Shady Spring Elementary ~ 42,205# recycled
$ 250 Shady Spring High School ~ 27,260# recycled
$ 200 Crescent Elementary ~ 26,993# recycled
$ 175 Liberty High School ~ 25,575# recycled
$ 125 Independence Middle ~ 24,800# recycled
$ 100 Greater-Beckley Christian ~ 23,936# recycled

Corporate Green Team Sponsors for the 2007.08 School Year Include:
1. Alliance Consulting
2. American Electric Power
3. Beckley Loan Company
4. Aftermarket Specialists
5. The Register-Herald
6. Walker Machinery
7. Raleigh General Hospital
8. Sam’s Club
9. United Bank
10. First Community Bank
11. MCNB Banks
12. City National Bank
13. Raleigh General Hospital
14. Rist, Higgins and Associates
14. REIC Labs
15. Doug & Shelley Harper

Sherrie A. Hunter, Director of Education
Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority
P.O. Box 989
Beckley WV 25802
Office: (304)255-9335
Cell: (304)573.5194
Fax: (304)255-9336
www.raleigh-swa.org

If Raleigh County can do it, why can't the citizens and businesses in Cabell County get things going? When we recycle - Everybody wins!

Slumlords Taint Our City's Image

According to one on-line source: "A slumlord (also spelled slum lord) is a derogatory term for landlords, generally absentee landlords, who attempt to maximize profit by minimizing spending on property maintenance, often in deteriorating neighborhoods. They may need to charge lower than market rent to tenants. Severe housing shortages allow slumlords to charge higher rents."

mag posted this comment in our posting about local slum lords. Here's their comment:

mag said..."I recently returned to Huntington after a 25 year absence. I needed a short term furnished apartment while more permanent arrangements were worked out. From the day I moved in there were serious issues with the apartment -- I documented each contact with the landlord and kept a running list of the issues. After two months in an unlivable situation, I moved out and am now fighting to get my damage deposit back.

This couple takes advantage of uneducated and down and out people who don't know they have the right to decent treatment and living conditions. Count me in on any activity to change the ordinances. I am appalled to have returned to a city demonstrating that it doesn't care about less fortunate people." 9:19 AM, May 20, 2008

mag's experience with an unscrupulous property owner is very common in Huntington. Again, it is high time to identified these landlords who are tainting Huntington's image. They must be legally forced to bring every single rental unit up to acceptable living-conditions and be forced to bring all of their units up to the existing building code standards.

What do you think?

New Ordinances Could Eliminate Slumlords

C. Richard Cobb: New ordinances could eliminate slumlords
May 18, 2008 @ 10:06 PM
The Herald-Dispatch

It is time for Huntington's slum landlords to be identified and vilified. The city of Huntington is in the process of hiring additional code enforcement officers. I hope the city will move to begin prosecuting rental property owners who refuse to bring their substandard real estate up to code.

I visit the homes of some of our most vulnerable citizens, many of whom are members of our volunteer litter abatement program called "Adopt Your Block -- Be a Litter-Gitter." Many of these folks help to keep their blocks free of street litter. They are vulnerable because they cannot afford to live in more stable neighborhoods. This makes them targets for some unscrupulous landlords who prey on the unfortunate in our midst.

Frankly, many rental homes and apartments in Huntington are not livable. There are hundreds of cases where the plumbing does not work, the floors are rotting, the windows barely keep out the cold and the structural integrity of many is obviously suspect. In many cases, there are infestations of rodents, roaches and black mold.

There are several slum landlords in Huntington. They go about the business of collecting rents while refusing to keep their unlivable properties repaired and safe. Building codes are being violated, but the renters are powerless to force their landlords to make repairs and correct building code violations. Many of these renters receive subsidized rental payments through the Section 8 housing program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. These subsidized housing units are regularly inspected for HUD compliance. However, many times the landlord fails to take corrective action in a timely manner, and the tenant is required to move to another substandard rental property.

Finally, Marshall University students are being victimized by unscrupulous landlords who charge exorbitant rents for off-campus housing. They charge rent per person to maximize the units' income while doing very little to keep their properties livable.

I would like to see a new city ordinance that requires anyone renting property to have a city license. The ordinance would require the registration of every real estate unit a property owner plans to let for rent. This would identify all rental property owners in our city. Landlords would pay a yearly license fee and be required to have each rental unit inspected and re-inspected each time a unit is rented. These licensed landlords would be subject to heavy penalties if they allowed occupancy before an inspection and certificate of occupancy is issued by the city. There would be additional penalties if landlords failed to keep their lists of rental properties current and on record with the city.

In 1959, Huntington was honored with the title of All-American City, and during the submission of the lengthy application process, the lack of affordable housing was identified as a major issue that needed to be addressed during the decade of the 1960s. Almost 50 years later, it is still an issue, and our elected officials continue their long history of diverting their eyes from the victims of unscrupulous slumlords.

Our city should begin the process of re-gentrification by strengthening all ordinances related to building codes and landlord and tenant laws. As Cicero said, "The welfare of the people is the highest law." He meant all of the people, not just the more affluent ones.

On to November and the General Election!

With the primary elections concluded, it's on to November and the General Election! So, each of us has a responsibility to become familiar with all of the candidates for office and the issues that are of importance to the future improvement and growth of our Cabell County cities and neighborhoods.

Remember, if you don't make the effort to vote, you really don't have the right to complain! When the November elections come and go, we must get behind our new leaders and work in a positive way to give them our full support. Get involved! Together, we will accomplish anything we can imagine.

We the People vs Our Local Governments - Reconciliation is Important

Our city and county governments cannot change unless we the people re-establish the link between ourselves and the City of Huntington City Council and the Cabell County Commission and rebuild the bond of trust between citizens and political officeholders.

With the upcoming election right upon us, each of us should commit to supporting our two local governments by becoming fully involved in the political and civic life of our communities.

Do you feel that we can improve the cooperation between our citizens and our city and county goverments?

Where have all our people gone?

I thought this posting, by an anonymous reader under our "Task #1" posting, was important enough to share with everyone:

"I was born and grew up in Huntington. I graduated from Marshall. I then moved to Fl to work and make my life. Each time I return to Huntington I am horrified with the conditions which I find. It seems simple to me that the answer is HIGHER TAXES.

The residents do not want to pay for more police protection, better city services, and neighborhood clean up. I am nearing retirement and my husband (also from Huntington) had planned to return to spend our best years in Huntington but are rethinking this because of all the conditions mentioned in your blog. We donate money to Marshall and wouldn't mind paying higher taxes to live in the city we love so much. Good Luck, Former residents."

Wc can, and must, do better!

Task #1 - Identify present and future problems; make a plan; work it!

TASK #1 - To educate all of the residents of Huntington and to encourage their participation in a community-wide discussion of Huntington's present and future problems.

We must first identify our problems and ensure that all citizens have a thorough understanding of the facts regarding each issue - and the financial burden associated with resolving each. You can't have a plan of attack without possessing a thorough knowledge of each issue, and just as important our citizens must have the will to get involved in the development of a strategic plan for overcoming our critical quality of life issues.

Here are some of the critical issues that the citizens of Huntington must address (not in priority order):

Loss of population

Loss of businesses

Loss of industrial and manufacturing jobs

Deteriorating housing inventory

Condemned and fire-damaged structures

Infrastructure: combined sewer system; closure of landfill by 2017; establish new solid waste landfill; condition of streets, curbs and gutters; condition and care of trees throughout the city and removal of hundreds of large tree stumps

Litter elimination through re-education and equipping all city streets with trash and cigarette butt disposal equipment

Negative impact of Business and Occupation Tax; seek and obtain Home Rule status for the city

Establish multiple historic preservation districts and emphasize preservation of significant residential and commercial areas and structures

Recover brick streets on shorter streets to recover their beauty and elegance

City government's union contracts, pension plans, self-insured insurance program; city's inadequate workforce in all departments

Investigate benefits and pitfalls of departmental privatization

Solid waste and litter removal and lack of recycling system

Low voter registration, turnout and the participation of citizens in their government; citizens have "detached" and do not stay informed about the issues that affect present and future residents

Aging of population and the inability to retain young people and the "creative class"

Lack of enforcement of all city ordinances related to private and commercial properties

Drug use, drug market and crime

Continued development and expansion of the core business district

Community and business development

Qualified candidates running for government leadership positions

Improved education; emphasis on stronger teacher standards and development

How about adding additional issues that you have recognized. You can do it anonymously.

Just click on "Post Comments" at the end of this posting. Then, click the button beside "Anonymous" and list additional issues that need to be addressed. Your name will not show up, so go ahead and have your say!

We don't need laws; we already have them! We Need Enforcement!

The ordinance regarding littering and the mishandling of household garbage for the City of Huntington appears in another posting below.

State of West Virginia Law Section 20-7-26 Unlawful Disposal of Litter: Any person who violates the litter control law is guilty of a misdemeanor. Violation in an amount less than 100 pounds or 27 cubic fee. First conviction: Fine of $50 to $500 or 8 to 16 hours of community service, or both.

Violation in an amount of 100 to 500 pounds or 27 to 216 cubic feet. First conviction: Fine of $500 to $2,000 or 16 to 32 hours of community service, or both. Violation in an amount of over 500 pounds or 216 cubic feet.First conviction: Fine of $2,500 to $25,000 or confinement in a jail for up to 1-year, or both.

Any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation is subject to double the authorized range of fines and community service for the subsequent violation. Any driver of a motor vehicle or other land conveyance convicted of violating this law, shall have three points assessed against his or her driver's license.

It is time for our public officials to announce publicly that they will begin, on a date certain, to enforce this state law. We don't need more laws! We need enforcement!

We should hold political officer holders responsible for their failure to have citations written for any violator observed to be littering. It's election time! It's time to give a grade to those office holders who have failed to enforce our anti-litter and illegal dumping laws during the last two years. What do you think?