Elkhart committee forwards rental-inspection ordinance and $95,000 funding request to full council after hours of public comment

The Elkhart City Health and Public Safety Committee voted to forward proposed ordinance 25-0-10, which would establish a rental-inspection program, and proposed ordinance 25-0-11, which would appropriate $95,000 for initial implementation costs, to the full City Council with a due-pass recommendation after a public-comment hearing that lasted more than an hour.

The action came after many landlords and tenants said the program would displace renters, raise costs and duplicate existing code-enforcement work, while some tenants and tenants’ advocates urged stronger oversight of rental housing. Councilman Brent Curry moved to send both ordinances to the council with a due-pass recommendation; the roll-call record in the committee shows Curry and Councilman Mishler voting in favor and Councilman Hankey voting no for the 25-0-10 motion. The committee chair said the measure will be considered by the full council, where final action will be taken.

The debate centered on competing concerns about safety, privacy, cost and enforcement capacity. Jennifer Haniel, a renter, told the committee she appreciated her landlord but worried the program would be “an invasion of…