Backlogs and bad actors: Candidates discuss red-tags

City Pulse reported last month that the city was making progress on red-tagged properties — but slowly. Additionally, it reported that a $165 monthly monitoring fee for red-tagged properties was being applied even when owners were making measurable improvements. Dale Schrader, one such owner, is being charged the fee despite putting $150,000 and years of his time into a house and never encountering an inspector.

City Council President Ryan Kost is working on getting fee breaks to people who just bought or are making tangible restoration efforts, he said.

City Pulse asked mayoral and Council candidates how the city could get red-tagged units back on the market more quickly amid a housing shortage, as well as about the monitoring fee.

Mayor Andy Schor touted efforts underway at Sycamore Townhomes and Autumn Ridge Apartments that will bring hundreds of red-tagged units back online. He added the city has been pushing property owners to repair their properties rather than demolish them when they end up on the “make safe or demolish” list, to avoid demolitions decreasing available housing.

He said the red-tag fee has been applied to all owners equally after the Council felt too many owners were evading it by “just pulling a permit and beating the fee, and then not doing anything.” He said he would like to see a middle-ground solution.

Asked about Schrader’s never encountering an officer, he said he would “look in to see what we’re defining as monitoring.”

His opponent, Kelsea Hector, suggested “an accountability dashboard of landlords that are frequent flyers on the red-tag list” to disincentivize poor property maintenance and help renters choose a safe home.

She said the fee piles extra difficulty on those already struggling to fix their home, and that she would like to see data on whether the fee is correlated with owners making fixes.

At-large candidate Clara Martinez said she would focus on providing resources and assuming positive intent, while still holding bad actors accountable. Regarding the fee, she said she was open to a conversation on “how we can reward the positive behavior.”

At-large candidate Julie Vandenboom said the city should “incentivize and reward good landlords,” especially given how many landlords live out of city, state and even country.

“We should give grace and incentives to people trying to make their neighborhood a better place,” she said.

Jeremy Garza, running at-large after two terms in the 2nd Ward, said constant turnover and a huge backlog in the code enforcement department are the culprits for Lansing’s current problem. He said there should be “some wiggle room and some leniency” for owners of red-tagged properties who are acting in good faith, and that the monitoring fee should not affect those owners, just “the people that are disregarding it.”

Peter Spadafore, running in the 4th Ward after two terms at-large, suggested “a sliding scale of violations” rather than the catch-all red-tag. He additionally suggested a fund the city could use to repair the properties of neglectful owners after they fail to do it themselves, the cost of which could then go on their taxes. He said the code enforcement department’s backlog is improving, which will facilitate more proactive interventions.

On the monitoring fee, he said he is happy to reexamine the ordinance but for now supports applying it equally to comply with the law.

His opponent, Heath Lowry, suggested temporarily hiring workers on a contract basis to work through the current backlog so that red-tags can be removed as quickly as possible. He would like to ensure the monitoring fee is not used punitively, but for the cost of monitoring.

In the 2nd Ward, Erik Almquist said he had to cancel an inspection in July for a house he rents, only to learn the next available appointment is in November. That means more inspectors are needed to make properties available, he said. He added he was shocked to see the city take legal action against property owners near Dietrich Park who allowed a homeless encampment on their property before it took action against developers “who are not doing what they’re supposed to.”

His opponent, Deyanira Nevarez Martinez, suggested a system to create “flexibility in enforcement.” She said she worked as a consultant with the Tohono Oʼodham Nation in Arizona to create a small loan program for housing upgrades, which helped residents fund repairs without having to pay exorbitant interest rates on small loans.

She said she supported applying the fee on a case-by-case basis.

“If you’re already poor to begin with, and we give you a fine, you’re just gonna be more poor and less able to do the thing you have to,” she said.