The Daily Chronicle reports on the mayor’s formation of a housing task force:
The Task Force for Safe and Quality Housing will ensure that housing units in the area are up to code and safe to occupy, Povlsen said. It is important that the city make public safety a high priority, he said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
It’s sad we need this, having a paid code enforcement crew. I’m wondering if it’s a back door attempt at reintroducing the unconstitutional yet temptingly dollar-riffic Rental Inspection Program.
The plan is also inconsistent with other stated objectives. We were told a few months ago that several committees and commissions were to be eliminated or consolidated as a means to save money. How is that project coming?
Lastly, it’s breathtakingly hypocritical for the city to talk about public safety as a top priority as long as the Council continues to smear lipstick on the downtown despite likely first responder layoffs come January, and tolerates the riven strands in the local social safety net.