Thread by @shayshinecastle

How about a new thread?

Council members thanking Tom Carr for his service; he announced his retirement this week.

Well, he's retiring in June, not this week. Just announced this week.

First order of business: The update on NEWR implementation. Staff presentation: www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/Eviction_…

Reminder: Voters passed this in November. To provide rental assistance to low-income tenants and legal representation to any renter in Boulder facing eviction.
boulderbeat.news/2020/12/18/uti…

It also will establish a board of renters to provide oversight to the program. That won't be for awhile yet: likely 2022; staff recommends folding into boards/commission appointments by council, but that may change.

The city has already started providing some services. In early January, city did contract with Bridge to Justice for services on an as-needed basis ($50,000)

Since Jan. 1
33 eviction cases - 4 residents have shown up in court
12 clients served - 4 legal + rent help; 3 legal + rent + mediation; 2 mediation + legal

Services to publicly launch in February. Full-time coordinator hired winter/spring

That will be called the eviction serviced coordinator, and it will live in the Housing and Human Services Dept. (Also, a hire will be needed in the finance dept. to collect/administer the $75/yr tax on rental units that will pay for all this.

New city website created: bouldercolorado.gov/community-rela…
And phone number: (303-441-3414)

Tenant will call; Eviction Services coordinator will screen and direct to appropriate resources
Also available the day of court

Also as part of this legislation, Eviction Prevention Services info to be included with summons for eviction

Landlords also required to notify tenants of eviction/rental assistance through Rental Lease Disclosure Form, which has been updated

All this work being done now will be reimbursed when the tax is collected. Rental licenses are renewed on four-year cycles, so every property owner who has a rental license up for renewal this year will pay it.

As of Jan. 2021 there are 9,500 active licenses for 20,500 dwelling units. So the tax will raise $1.3M - $1.5M

As mentioned, every renter (regardless of income) will be eligible for an eviction attorney. But rental assistance will be means tested, and funneled through existing partners.

Anyway, Carin Armstrong, an official mediator, is going over the process. She keeps talking up mediation which... I have just not heard good things about (except from the city). It existed before NEWR, so I'm not sure what impact it has on evictions.

It can come in handy, Armstrong says, when evictions are not preventable. The mediator can connect ppl with services so they don't end up homeless.

Kristin Hyser, from HHS, says that a mid-year check-in on Eviction Services is likely for council. To see who is using it, how it's working, etc.

RE: the aforementioned renter's committee. The ordinance as passed by voters doesn't say who appoints those members. Staff needs clarification on that.

Just FYI, what I mean by renters' committee is that it will be a group of renters — NOT property owners. The hope is that they can suggest changes for the program as needed, and/or collect data on evictions.

Very little data on local evictions exists. NEWR actually did some of the best study of this, by attending eviction court for a year(!) 490 evictions.

Wallach Sigh-O-Meter: 2

Wallach: What do we anticipate the % of revenue will go toward administrative costs? Can we make those less expensive so we have more $$ for rental assistance / legal services?

Carr: Our whole plan has been to try and maximize the $$ available. ... "This tax is unprecedented" in collection. So "significant" resources needed for that.

"This is one of the areas where cost of enforcement can exceed collection."

"That will probably be the most expensive part," Carr says. We're looking at ways to do that in the most cost-effective manner.

Wallach: Thistle has asked for an exemption. (BHP got one, because they're technically the city's housing authority, so it would be the city paying itself.)

Carr: The charter says there's a limitation on how much the city can change a people's ordinance (one that came from a petition) "This is not, however, a people's ordinance. So I believe we do have some leeway to alter the ordinance."

Even though this DID start with a petition, council actually placed an amended version on the ballot with the OK of the petitioners. So it's not a legal question, Carr says, it's one of policy and politics.

Hyser: "We've never had a steady stream of rental assistance. ... This moves us forward ... (toward) providing rental assistance for the long run."

This will bring in more than $1M (though for lawyers and rental assistance) but compare that to Boulder's spending for rental assistance before this. boulderbeat.news/2020/05/16/bou…

(In case you don't want to read that story, the 2020 original budget for rental assistance was ~$320,000.)

Young asks for examples of cases where rental aid or legal representation wouldn't prevent eviction.
Armstrong: If there was a violation of the lease that doesn't relate to nonpayment. (Just FYI, nonpayment is the most frequent reason for evictions)

Carr has his own answer: "Even for nonpayment of rent, even the best lawyer can't really necessarily win at trial ... Lawyers can help, and they do help in a lot of cases (with) technical defenses."

Carr says he learned this by interviewing lawyers who handle eviction cases.

That's exactly what I did for this piece, which Carr could have just read. But you do you, boo. boulderbeat.news/2020/07/25/bou…

My least favorite thing is when council / city officials don't know stuff that they *would* know if they read the news (not just BB; the Camera, too). Happens more often than you'd think.

Brockett: I understand why we're means testing rental assistance, but what about crises or changes in circumstances? How will we handle that, where people have lost their jobs and so their income is now drastically lower (or non existent?)

Hyser: This allows us to be "flexible. ... We're looking at income limitations" but we can also consider medical crises, or financial ones, other circumstances.

Those details will be "worked out."

Brockett asking where info on eviction services will be required.

(As previously stated) Landlords will have to include it in the lease disclosure.

It will also be available "at the logical places a tenant might go" if they're in trouble, Armstrong says. "If they don't find out about it beforehand and they are facing eviction" it will also be included in the summons.

Brockett: What about the notice that starts the process? (10 day notice before the eviction actually starts)
Armstrong: "That's under state law; that's not something that's under the jurisdiction of the city."
Carr: "I don't think we can affect those notices."

Tenants often mistake this for an actual eviction notice. It's not.

Swetlik: What about revision to the city's generic lease agreement? We discussed that at last year's retreat.

Armstrong: "It has not been updated, but that's a great idea. We'll go ahead and add that."

That was a Swetlik suggestion last year. I wish I could remember what that lease is... I think it's like, if you're a landlord in Boulder and you just want a boilerplate lease, you can use this one from the city....?

Anyway, all lease disclosures will now have to include info on eviction services. So check yours (in the future) and make sure it does.

First q for council: What do we want to call all of this? Right now, it's Eviction Services.
Weaver suggests adding in something about rental aid.

Young suggests Housing Retention Services.

No other suggestions coming forward. Brockett pushing council members, "I know this is a group that has opinions."

Run tell dat.

Brockett suggests Eviction Prevention and Rental Support Services

Accurate but wordy

Joseph and Weaver both support.
I think that gives people who need help exactly the idea of what it's about, Joseph says.

Oh, wait, sorry, got one word wrong. Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Services.

Apparently a Wallach suggestion, not Brockett.

Huzzah! a name. (Albeit a boring and lengthy one)

Young: This info will all be available in languages other than English?
Yes, says Hyser. We have "a pretty robust strategy to reach all parts of our community."

Weaver has praise for staff and NEWR, the petitioners who got this on the ballot: I'm amazed at how quickly you got this stood up. Only passed in November; it will be up-and-running by Feb.

"This is all headed in the right direction. ... All the heavy lifting was done by the people who brought this forward," Weaver says.

Brockett: "Now is a time we need this more than ever."

Brockett wants the tenant committee created earlier than March 2022. "As the program is forming would be the great time to get input from a tenants' committee."

The city manager could appoint members, Brockett says; it doesn't have to be council. He would like to see it done by mid-year 2021.

Young agrees. So that's all for this one.

@threadreaderapp please unroll. Thank you!