Council lays out 9-member Housing Stability Task Force; residency requirement, 30‑day kickoff and 120‑day report agreed

Schenectady — The City Council on Aug. 18 discussed and moved forward a resolution creating a nine‑member Housing Stability Task Force to review local housing trends, eviction filings, rent burdens and vacancy rates across the city and to recommend strategies to improve housing stability.

Charge and timeline: Council member Mancini (presenting the draft) described the task force as a volunteer nine‑member body, to include one council member as chair and eight appointed community members representing tenants, landlords, housing advocates, nonprofit providers and legal professionals. The resolution originally set a 120‑day window for the task force to deliver a report; council members agreed the task force should hold its first meeting within 30 days of appointment to start the 120‑day review period.

Residency and representation: Council members debated whether nonprofit staff, developers and other stakeholders should serve as voting members. After discussion the body agreed that all appointed members should reside in the city of Schenectady — including nonprofit representatives who serve as voting members — while outside stakeholders and technical experts can be invited to present without occupying a voting seat. Council members proposed ensuring strong tenant representation (multiple tenant seats) and landlord representation (multiple landlord seats) and prioritized including local nonprofit representatives with relevant housing experience.

Scope and expectations: The task force will review eviction- filing data, rent-burden statistics and vacancy rates and will consider interventions short of or complementary to “good cause” eviction legislation. Council members stressed the task force should produce actionable recommendations that the council can implement: rental-assistance strategies, mediation and eviction-prevention programming, and potential regulatory changes. The task force’s report will be advisory; the council retains authority to accept, modify or reject recommendations.

Membership selection and process: The council agreed to a public call for applications, a two‑week application window and to prioritize applications that show lived experience and expertise in tenant-landlord issues. Staff will circulate an application based on the changes discussed and the council’s corporation counsel will review final language before the resolution is placed on the consent agenda.

Formal action: The council amended the draft to add the 30‑day first-meeting benchmark and a residency requirement for the nine voting members and voted to approve the amended resolution in committee; staff said the legislative text will be finalized for the council record.

What’s next: Staff will circulate the revised application and begin recruitment; the task force is expected to convene within 30 days and deliver findings within 120 days of its first meeting. The council can then consider adopting recommended policy changes or programs.