The Laramie City Council will consider registration fees for landlords and complaint filing fees for rental tenants. The money raised will fund the enforcement of Laramie’s new Rental Housing Code.
Jeff - whose biased site doesn't qualify as "reporting" but rather as just another opinionated blog - apparently thinks that all rental property owners are rich. If this resolution is passed, and the courts do not promptly overturn the ordinance, my family - who are "small potatoes" and own only 20 units between us - would have to pay $400 in illegal taxes each year. That's enough to buy a new range. Or a new refrigerator. Or carpet for a room. Or a new window. We'd have to either forego maintenance and improvements or raise rents. We estimate that rents in Laramie will go up 10-15% during this coming rental season if the illegal ordinance is not voided as a result of the multiple lawsuits that are, justifiably, being mounted now to challenge it. So much for the "affordable housing" that the Council members who rammed this ordinance though, seeking revenge for past bad experiences that were due to their own ignorance of their rights and responsibilities, falsely claimed to be promoting!
What's more, the tax is double what city staff claimed when the ordinance was being discussed. When the bureaucrats spoke to Council (to whom, alas, they often lie), they presented inconsistent numbers, but verbally quoted a figure of $20 per unit every TWO years. Now they've drafted a resolution increasing that to $20 per year! Given the number of rentals in Laramie (more than half the housing in town), the illegal tax (it's illegal because Wyoming cities aren't allowed to impose taxes by ordinance) would put about a quarter of a MILLION dollars into the city's coffers every year, funding big raises for existing bureaucrats (the City Manger is already the third highest paid public employee in Laramie, behind the football coach and UW president) and bloating the city bureaucracy. City Council should vote down this illegal tax - which violates their oath to uphold the Wyoming Constitution - now.
Funny how the only fans Jeff seems to attract are uncivil, disrespectful, and ignorant.
The illegal tax is significant (again, it would cost Laramie tenants a quarter of a million dollars per year by itself) but is far from the only expense that landlords and tenants would have to bear if the ordinance were not voided (which, hopefully, will happen shortly). The inability to do repairs without hiring overpriced contractors, for example, would cost hundreds - often thousands - of dollars per unit each year. The 10-15% is a conservative estimate of the increases we'll see.
"Bad wannabe journalists rarely get a quote right. The phrase "palpably ridiculous" doesn't make sense, and no educated person would say that - certainly not a college level instructor. She would have said, "patently ridiculous." But then, as we have seen from other items on the site, that's the level of accuracy we can expect from this blog."
-All Time Favorite Civil, Respectful, and Smartest-Ever Comment by Brett (Obviously NOT a Slumlord)
Hi Brett. You two can carry on here, I’m just popping in to say I got that quote right. In fact, I aired that exact sound bite in a spot for Wyoming Public Radio. I would appreciate an apology since you claimed without evidence that I misquoted someone.
Lmao, sorry Jeff....but short of actually traveling back in time in order to be there to witness it himself, there's an almost 0% chance you'll get Brett to walk back anything he says. And even if said time travel happened, he'd probably plug his ears and go "lalala" the entire time to avoid being proven wrong.
It literally doesn't matter that you have audio.
He's been this way for AT LEAST the last decade+. The MOMENT he feels you've crossed him in any way...whether you have or not...it's game over, regardless of the subject at hand.
Old Boomerang readers/commentators are well aware of his shenanigans. I'm really sorry your site has become his new stomping grounds. RIP.
Jeff - whose biased site doesn't qualify as "reporting" but rather as just another opinionated blog - apparently thinks that all rental property owners are rich. If this resolution is passed, and the courts do not promptly overturn the ordinance, my family - who are "small potatoes" and own only 20 units between us - would have to pay $400 in illegal taxes each year. That's enough to buy a new range. Or a new refrigerator. Or carpet for a room. Or a new window. We'd have to either forego maintenance and improvements or raise rents. We estimate that rents in Laramie will go up 10-15% during this coming rental season if the illegal ordinance is not voided as a result of the multiple lawsuits that are, justifiably, being mounted now to challenge it. So much for the "affordable housing" that the Council members who rammed this ordinance though, seeking revenge for past bad experiences that were due to their own ignorance of their rights and responsibilities, falsely claimed to be promoting!
What's more, the tax is double what city staff claimed when the ordinance was being discussed. When the bureaucrats spoke to Council (to whom, alas, they often lie), they presented inconsistent numbers, but verbally quoted a figure of $20 per unit every TWO years. Now they've drafted a resolution increasing that to $20 per year! Given the number of rentals in Laramie (more than half the housing in town), the illegal tax (it's illegal because Wyoming cities aren't allowed to impose taxes by ordinance) would put about a quarter of a MILLION dollars into the city's coffers every year, funding big raises for existing bureaucrats (the City Manger is already the third highest paid public employee in Laramie, behind the football coach and UW president) and bloating the city bureaucracy. City Council should vote down this illegal tax - which violates their oath to uphold the Wyoming Constitution - now.
"But the proposed registration fee of $20 would represent a $1.67 addition to monthly rent if landlords pass the cost onto tenants."
-Jeff
"We estimate that rents in Laramie will go up 10-15% during this coming rental season if the illegal ordinance is not voided"
-Biased Slumlord Brett
Funny how the only fans Jeff seems to attract are uncivil, disrespectful, and ignorant.
The illegal tax is significant (again, it would cost Laramie tenants a quarter of a million dollars per year by itself) but is far from the only expense that landlords and tenants would have to bear if the ordinance were not voided (which, hopefully, will happen shortly). The inability to do repairs without hiring overpriced contractors, for example, would cost hundreds - often thousands - of dollars per unit each year. The 10-15% is a conservative estimate of the increases we'll see.
"Bad wannabe journalists rarely get a quote right. The phrase "palpably ridiculous" doesn't make sense, and no educated person would say that - certainly not a college level instructor. She would have said, "patently ridiculous." But then, as we have seen from other items on the site, that's the level of accuracy we can expect from this blog."
-All Time Favorite Civil, Respectful, and Smartest-Ever Comment by Brett (Obviously NOT a Slumlord)
See? You've made my point. Jeff can't get a quote right, much less write an unbiased article.
Hi Brett. You two can carry on here, I’m just popping in to say I got that quote right. In fact, I aired that exact sound bite in a spot for Wyoming Public Radio. I would appreciate an apology since you claimed without evidence that I misquoted someone.
Lmao, sorry Jeff....but short of actually traveling back in time in order to be there to witness it himself, there's an almost 0% chance you'll get Brett to walk back anything he says. And even if said time travel happened, he'd probably plug his ears and go "lalala" the entire time to avoid being proven wrong.
It literally doesn't matter that you have audio.
He's been this way for AT LEAST the last decade+. The MOMENT he feels you've crossed him in any way...whether you have or not...it's game over, regardless of the subject at hand.
Old Boomerang readers/commentators are well aware of his shenanigans. I'm really sorry your site has become his new stomping grounds. RIP.