Milwaukee council vowed action on electrical fires. Then came finger-pointing.

Nearly a year after proposing changes to help combat fire risk for renters in Milwaukee’s most vulnerable areas, the city’s Common Council members say they still don’t have the answers they need to be able to move forward with solutions.

Much of the blame, members of the city’s Zoning, Neighborhoods amd Development committee said this week, falls on the City Attorney’s Office for not providing the needed legal opinions.

In early 2022, the committee considered several measures, including resurrecting a rental inspection program and a new ordinance that would require landlords to carry liability insurance on rental properties.

The proposals followed an investigation in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Wires and Fires,” that exposed how electrical fires hit Black renters in Milwaukee hardest and that little was being done to address the issue. The news organization found that suspected electrical fires often are not thoroughly investigated and are classified as accidents, even when properties have a history of open electrical code violations. When the cause and origin of fire aren’t determined, renters have no legal recourse, and landlords who have failed to maintain their properties aren’t held accountable.

Mandating that landlords have insurance could increase the likelihood that suspected electrical fires are fully investigated with conclusive evidence as to the origin of the fire because insurance companies have a vested interest in determining the cause. Cities such as Erie, Pa., and Waterloo, Iowa, have successful programs requiring owners of rental properties to carry liability insurance, and there are many others, according to Greg Miao, an attorney with ChangeLab Solutions, a California-based nonprofit that advocates for equitable housing.

Concern over workload

Erica Roberts, commissioner of building inspection with the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development, told committee members on Tuesday that implementing such a requirement would “drastically increase our workload” and would be “very difficult to manage with existing resources.” She said the department’s budget had been cut by 10% in the last budget cycle.  She said the department registers roughly 4,300 rental properties every year, essentially collecting property owners’ names and phone numbers.

Committee members said they had not seen a legal opinion in writing on whether they are allowed to require landlords to carry insurance. Wisconsin state legislators began gutting the cities’ abilities to regulate rental properties over the last decade, limiting fees the department can charge and imposing other restrictions.

Ald. Scott Spiker asked Deputy City Attorney Odalo Ohiku why there was never anything communicated to the committee in writing. Referring to upheaval in the office over the last couple of years and a lack of continuity, Spiker said: “I’ve heard this multiple times with the City Attorney’s office: ‘Well, this happened before I got here. I didn’t know.’ Presumably, if you gain legal knowledge you record it in a form that you can then pass on to other people.”

Ohiku responded by calling Spiker’s comment a “fair point.” Ohiku said some of the problem has been related to turnover in the office. “We needed continuity,” he said.

The City Attorney's office has been in turmoil since the election of Tearman Spencer in 2020. More than 25 employees have left the office, citing allegations of harassment, a hostile work environment and other complaints.

Theresa Montag, who joined the City Attorney’s office last year, was recently briefed on the landlord insurance proposal and said she thinks the ordinance is legal and enforceable. Ohiku said he would make it a priority in the office and get a written legal opinion to committee members.

Despite introduction of the ordinance nearly a year ago, several council members still appeared confused by the details, and ultimately the committee chose to put the measure on hold.

Discussion around reinstating a pilot residential rental inspection program centered on similar legal concerns and costs, though those who spoke said they believed such a program would be beneficial to the city.

Inspection program dismantled

Milwaukee had a limited residential rental inspection program, but it was dismantled in 2016 after state lawmakers — many of whom were landlords at the time — forbid cities to collect the fees needed to cover the cost. As it stands, city regulators can only inspect rental properties following a complaint. Tenants are at times hesitant to complain because they fear being evicted or having their rent raised in retaliation.

“It puts us in units that we otherwise wouldn’t see,” Roberts said of inspection programs. Roberts said running a pilot inspection program would require an additional two to three staff members.

The committee decided to hold that proposal as well.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee electrical fire action stalled in council