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Borough director says rental renewals and inspections gaining ground; checks held until documents and passing inspections are submitted
Summary
The director reported progress on SmartGov rental-license renewals, an increase in recorded inspections from about 56% in January to nearly 77% now, and that the borough will not accept payments as proof of compliance: checks will be held until tenant/landlord forms and passing inspections are on file.
The borough’s director delivered a detailed building and housing report on June 11, saying the administration began rental license renewals for the 2025–2026 season on June 1 and is urging all landlords to create SmartGov portal accounts to complete their filings.
“We started the rental license renewals on June 1,” the director said. She told the committee the borough will hold mailed checks and will not cash them until a tenant/landlord form and either a passing inspection from the previous one to two years or a scheduled inspection are recorded in SmartGov.
Nut graf: The effort follows a push to reconcile historic inspection records and clear backlogs. Staff reported inspections recorded in the system rose from about 56% in January to nearly 77% at the time of the meeting. The director said code enforcement issued 140 tickets in May and closed 71 cases; building‑permit inspections numbered about 100 in May.
Staff said the borough has placed holds on properties with outstanding collection actions by Portnoff; those holds block issuance of rental licenses, building permits and parking permits until debts are resolved. One property account identified in recent collection work carried roughly $20,000 in back taxes, staff said, and the aggregate accounts flagged in recent outreach were described as “close to $50,000.”
The committee asked how mailed checks that lack the new portal documentation will be handled. The director said staff maintains a spreadsheet of received check numbers, verifies missing items and emails templates to property owners explaining what’s needed; if staff cannot reach an owner, the check will be mailed back and the owner will be asked to reapply with proper documentation.
Ending: The committee thanked the director and staff for the workload management; members said the rental licensing and enforcement work will continue while the borough completes recruitment for a permanent director.
