The Superior Express -

A planned changed in a City of Superior ordinance which would make landlords responsible for their renters’ delinquent utility bills has again been delayed.

The proposed change was passed on first reading about two months ago but has yet to advance to the second reading

The second reading was scheduled at this week’s council meeting, but after devoting nearly 40 minutes to discussing the question with landlords, a vote on the change was tabled.

Five landlords, Dan Scott, Paul and Nancy Sauvgeau, Diane Berkley, and Brian Blevins, were present and spoke against the proposal.

Under current city rules, landlords may not check on the status of their tenant’s utility bill. The city does collect a deposit before the utilities are turned on and that deposit can be used to pay a delinquent bills. However, the utility department said the deposit is often not enough to cover the delinquent bills.

There are times when the utility department is not allowed to stop providing utility service.

Blevins told of an instance when he spent more than $8,000 trying to evict a tenant. With six rentals located in Superior, he said he could not afford to assume responsibility for the utilities.

Diane Berkley agreed and said the last thing the tenants stop paying is the utility bills. She said the tenants know the system and know it can take months for a landlord to have them evicted for failure to pay rent but skip a utility bill and the utilities are turned off.

The landlords said there is a shortage of rental housing available and this shortage stops some people from moving to Superior.

If the utility change is implemented, the landlords agreed it would further reduce the number of rental properties available and increase the number of uncared for properties the city must pay to care for.

In another matter which directly relates to new home construction the council and utility department reviewed the fees charge for tapping utility lines. Andrew Brittenham, utility manager, said recently purchased equipment had reduced the time required to tap water and sewer lines. After reviewing the charges, the charge for tapping water and sewer mains was reduced slightly while the fee for a gas main tap remained unchanged.

Two traffic ordinance changes passed on the third and final reading. The speed limit on East First Street, near the Aurora East Elevator, was reduced to 20 miles per hour and language pertaining to the former North Ward School was eliminated.

As the city’s current IT service provider is discontinuing the service, the council selected Turner Technologies as the new provider. That company will begin serving the city in early February. Once the conversion is completed, the city will pay approximately $25 per month for each computer served.

The council approved loaning $30,000 collected by the city sales tax to an unnamed company planning to open a coffee shop in Superior. It was noted this would be the company’s third location. The term of the loan will be 7 years at 1.5 percent interest. It will be secured by equipment and inventory.

The council also agreed to continue the policy of using sales tax funds to guarantee the deposits the utility department requires from new businesses, provided the applicant for service passes a credit check.

The council approved the possible participation in a Rural Prosperity intern program. Program sponsors will attempt to match qualified program applicants with projects proposed by the applying communities. If Superior is selected, the 10 week summer program has the potential of costing $12,000. However, if selected, the city may qualify for grants that would reduce the cost. If the city participates, funding would come from the LB840 share of the sales tax collection.