Carpentersville rental license fees back to square one

A misunderstanding between the Carpentersville village attorney and the village's audit and finance commission delayed changes to fees landlords pay for licensing and inspection.

Trustees on Tuesday were expected to approve an ordinance reducing the fee for a single family home rental property from $500 over three years to $125 per year for a four-year license. However, Village Attorney Jim Rhodes had set the new fee in the ordinance for single family properties at $170 per year.

In late 2008, the village raised the rental license fee from $175 for a single family home for three years to $500 every three years. A $75 fee every three years was also applied to attached units such as condominiums, apartments, townhouses and duplexes.

However, dozens of landlords converged on the audit and finance commission to express hardship at paying the $500 fee in one lump sum when some landlords operate several rental properties within the village.

The audit and finance commission recommended a $125 annual fee with inspections conducted every four years.

"When the ordinance was originally drafted, there was some discussion about the program not losing money," Anderson said. "When the attorney was working on it there was some confusion based on information from village staff. But the intent of the audit and finance commission was to set the fee at $125 per year over four years for a single family home."

In addition, Rhodes suggested the village complete inspections every year instead of every four years to remain consistent with other villages licenses, keep information on the rental properties current, and for ease of enforcement.

Audit and Finance Commission Chairman Paul Humpfer moved to delay the change to allow the commission to sort it out and meet again with landlords.

"I have concerns about the changes that have been made right now," Humpfer told the board and several landlords in attendance. "We spent a lot of time with the landlords finding out their concerns. We built a lot of good will ... that we don't want to lose ... We need to get a better understanding of these fees among all of us."

The village's next audit and finance commission is scheduled for Wednesday, June 9.