NewsLocal News

Actions

Mayor plans to veto Landlord Registry if talks end

Posted at 5:37 PM, Apr 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-17 16:44:02-04

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) -- — Mayor Jean Stothert has indicated she'll veto the landlord registry passed by the city council in a 4-3 vote on Tuesday.

Since 500 people were told they couldn't live at Yale Park Apartments because of dangerous and deplorable living conditions the city, tenants, landlords, and local organizations have worked to create a landlord registry and inspection program.

Mayor Jean Stothert says she plans to veto the ordinance because it includes mandatory inspections for all rental properties every 10 years.

"This administration is not serious and it's obvious to me that this administration is not serious. What we passed yesterday was a weaker version of what she had originally put forward herself so if she's not interested in this I'm not interested in it,” Council President Ben Gray explained.

Mayor Stothert initially proposed inspections every 3 years, but good landlords could get exemptions if there were no problems. She's talked to lots of people and read hundreds of emails and says she realized a complaint-based system for problem landlords will work better because the planning department has been re-organized over the last 2 years. She wants the city council to work together and come up with a compromise before she signs the veto.

“I said I was much more willing to compromise what I originally proposed to get something that I thought what would really focus on the problem and not punish those who are not a problem," Mayor Stothert described.

Council President Gray says he personally contacted State Senator Justin Wayne about moving forward with LB 85, which would create a state law for Omaha to have a landlord registry and be inspected once every 3 years.

Jean Stothert's reaction to the vote