ROY -- The city will spend $17,000 to have an outside firm conduct a residential fee study that officials hope will kick-start a good landlord program.
City Manager Chris Davis said cities such as Ogden and North Ogden successfully use outside firms for such a study.
Along with the residential fee study a business license study will be done to help determine if the city is effectively handling the way it charges for and enforces business licenses.
The decision to have the study comes after council meetings and work sessions to streamline code enforcement issues and clean up the city while still being a good neighbor to businesses.
Davis explained the changes for business licenses wouldn't necessarily go into effect until 2011 because the 2010 notices for renewal are already going out to businesses. The goal is to have the study complete by May so it will give the code enforcement officer time to have a plan by next year.
"It will help the process go as smoothly as possible," Davis said.
Councilman Michael Stokes is looking forward to the study and would like to see a good landlord program go in place soon.
"I see how it has moved over into other communities and they have put the process in place," Stokes said.
He thinks giving landlords incentives to make their properties look good will in turn make the city look better.
"If we have rentals, we need to make sure they are maintained," Stokes said.
Councilman Willard Cragun agreed and said if the rentals are going to stay in the city there needs to be some kind of checks and balances in place to make sure areas are kept nicely and maybe incentives and rewards are the way to go.
Findings from the study will include those ideas as well as a fee schedule for landlords who do not comply and then the city can decide what route it wants to take. Results from the residential fee study will be complete before the business license study.
"I am glad to see we are moving forward with this," Stokes said.
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