Ritzville City Council discusses prevention of utility bill delinquency

The Ritzville City Council continued the discussion of tenant and landlord responsibilities pertaining to utility bills during their meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 1.

City Attorney Mark DeWulf informed the Council of a request he received from a local landlord to not put the landlord’s name on the bill and have it strictly be the tenant’s responsibility.

To avoid the Council from intervening in the relationship between the tenant and landlord, the ordinance would require the utility bill be in the landlord’s name unless the landlord is delinquent then the tenant has the right to transfer the bill into their name.

The ordinance will be presented to the Council at the next meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

In order to prevent tenants from taking advantage of this system by constantly changing the name after being delinquent, the city will require a utility deposit minimum of $300.

The deposit will allow some coverage for tenants who are delinquent on their bill and reduce the number of unpaid utility bills to the City.

It will also benefit the landlords so tenants cannot continue to accumulate bills and move out, leaving the landlord with a lien on the property.

DeWulf advised the Council Avista utilities had signed the franchise agreement so the recently approved ordinance has gone into affect. He announced he would present the Council with a gas ordinance at their meeting on Nov. 15.

Mayor Gary Cook said he is working with several locals on planning a Christmas festival during the weekend of Dec. 2. He hopes to coordinate with local business about including a variety of activities for community members to enjoy, including a film viewing.

He said they also hope to enhance the community’s holiday spirit by decorating various locations in town such as sections of First Avenue, the Zip’s Drive-In parking lot and possibly the “Welcome to Ritzville” sign.

Clerk/Treasurer Kris Robbins presented a fireworks ordinance they had began discussing in August. She said since they last spoke, the License and Permits Committee had made some modifications to the current ordinance, including the timelines the fireworks could be set off.

As a representative of the License and Permits Committee, Scott Yaeger informed the Council the ordinance states the times fireworks would be allowed during holidays such as Fourth of July and New Year’s.

Robbins announced the Council would have the opportunity to discuss the specifics of the ordinance and approve it at another time.

Ritzville City Fire Chief Bill Banner provided an update that the department has received 64 calls so far this year.

Banner advised the department has been repetitively responding to false alarm calls from reoccurring locations.

He suggested the Council draft an ordinance to establish penalties for emergency response to multiple false alarm calls within the year.

Regarding drafting an ordinance pertaining to false alarm calls, Robbins said she has been researching other city’s ordinances in order to provide the council with an idea of what they should include.

Banner then informed the Council starting Nov. 1 the fire department will have a set payroll amount for the year and every six months the payroll dollar amount would be cut in half.

They also will establish a point system where the employees will have a limited number of points with a cap of the $16 hourly wage in order to prevent going over budget on payroll.