Alachua County Commission begins repeal of rental unit permit and inspection program

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At their Special Meeting on August 1, the Alachua County Commission began the process of repealing their rental unit permit and inspection program, which was passed in September 2022.

Minimum wage increase, Affordable Housing Trust Fund

At the meeting, which was one of two Special Meetings on August 1 to discuss budget requests from County Departments, Assistant County Manager Tommy Crosby said the minimum wage for County employees for the FY24 fiscal year will be $17 per hour, which will also apply to County vendors.

Crosby also said that a million dollars from the General Fund will be used to seed the Affordable Housing Trust Fund that was approved by voters in 2020 but has not been funded. 

Aides for commissioners

Commissioners were interested in the possibility of adding aides to the budget. Commissioner Mary Alford said not every commissioner wanted or needed a full-time aide. Chair Anna Prizzia said that around the state, “almost every commission has aides, like, we’re rare in that we don’t.” She said aides could be helpful by attending events when commissioners are working at other jobs or attending other events and that they could help with policy research. Prizzia said she supported the idea of aides but thought they could start out as part-time with a pilot program. 

Commissioner Chuck Chestnut pointed out that aides aren’t currently in next year’s budget, but Crosby said it wasn’t an amount that would make him “not sleep at night.” Crosby pointed out, however, that when they add positions, those are ongoing expenses. Crosby also said staff would continue to do research, but Prizzia said she was thinking more about helping commissioners be more prepared with policy “so they don’t come forward with half-baked ideas.” 

Crosby also pointed out that the aides would report to the County Manager, not to the commissioners, because the Board only has two employees, a County Manager and a County Attorney. 

Chestnut said that because his job at a funeral home usually requires him to work on Saturdays, an aide who could attend Saturday events and “come back and report to me to let me know what actually occurred” would be helpful to him. He added, “I don’t know if I need a full-time or part-time person, but I just need somebody to fill me in on those events… someone that’s there on my behalf.”

Alford said aides could “encourage more people to get involved in politics at a younger age.”

Assistant County Manager Carl Smart offered to put together options for part-time pilot positions, research what other counties are doing, and bring it back for a future discussion.

Free bus fare

Growth Management Director Missy Daniels said the “Fare Free” service that would provide free bus rides for everyone is currently in the budget, but they need to make sure the City is also moving forward with that. 

Prizzia said the ability to make bus rides free is “a really important opportunity for us because we do want increased ridership on the buses.” She said the area could improve opportunities by making it easy for adults to accompany their children or elderly parents to medical appointments and reducing confusion about who rides for free. 

Rental unit permit and inspection program

County Attorney Sylvia Torres explained to the board that a bill passed by the legislature preempted to the state all residential tenancies and the relationship between landlord and tenant, and that affects their renters’ rights ordinances. The County’s inspections and landlord fees are currently set to start in October, and she said the County will likely need to refund the fees that have already been paid. She said her recommendation is to repeal the ordinance and “look at some other options for trying to meet your goals.”

Prizzia said the need to repeal the ordinance is “disappointing because I know our staff did a lot of work on this… But given the situation we’re in, it seems like we don’t have much choice. What I would hope is that… we could be a little more proactive in terms of inspecting properties for their adherence to our codes and just, you know, be on the spot in terms of trying to ensure that landlords are keeping their properties up to code and are providing that level of service to the tenants that are paying rent to them.”

“We can no longer have a Renter’s Bill of Rights, but we still have renters, and they do have rights.” – Commissioner Mary Alford

Alford said she supported “right now suspending the program” because it’s preempted by the state, but “you know, we can no longer have a Renter’s Bill of Rights, but we still have renters, and they do have rights.” She said she wanted to take some time “to see what ways we might be able to maybe creatively rethink how we’re looking at it.”

Alford made a motion to “suspend the current renters’ rights ordinance and suspend collecting the fees associated with that. And in the meantime, look at and watch what our neighboring counties are doing and how they’re managing this changed legislation and look at creative ways to protect our citizens, especially as we’re moving into a new rental season.” Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler seconded the motion.

Prizzia suggested an addition to the motion to look at the County’s building codes and maintenance codes “for opportunities to incorporate ideas from this ordinance into our building code and bringing those suggestions back,” and Alford and Wheeler agreed to modify the motion. 

Torres asked the board to direct her office to repeal the ordinance and bring back “some options for moving forward to meet your policy goals in a different way… [and] try to figure a way to roll the energy efficiency standards and the maintenance standards, possibly preemptively, into the property maintenance code.”

Alford modified the motion again to add direction to begin the process of repealing the renters’ rights ordinance “and bring back the changes that Sylvia recommended in terms of looking at our building codes and our code enforcement and other tools that we have to protect the rights of our citizens… If we have other creative tools out there that we see in other communities, we can look at applying those as well.” Wheeler seconded the modification.

“It seems like [the legislature is] taking all of our authority away, as elected officials locally. And if someone has a beef or some disagreement with the counties, they run to the legislature, and then the legislators do a preemption bill to free us from doing that. So it just takes away our home rule authority.” – Commissioner Chuck Chestnut

Chestnut said he was “getting really frustrated with the legislature because it seems like they’re taking all of our authority away, as elected officials locally. And if someone has a beef or some disagreement with the counties, they run to the legislature, and then the legislators do a preemption bill to free us from doing that. So it just takes away our home rule authority… I think it’s wrong and… somebody needs to step up and start saying something… We’re here to support our local citizens, you know, and it seems like they’re taking all of our authority away, we’re doing what’s right and best for our citizens in this community…”

Prizzia interjected, “What they asked us to do.”

Chestnut continued, “Right, but they’re taking it away, piece by piece, just because someone doesn’t like it. I just wanted to speak out on that. I just, I’m getting frustrated with this.”

The motion passed unanimously, with Commissioner Ken Cornell absent.