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Council to place dispute-resolution contract on consent calendar for tenant-landlord mediation
Summary
Staff recommended the council place a two-year, $50,000 service provider agreement with the Dispute Resolution Center on the Jan. 21 consent calendar; the contract combines a conflict-resolution hotline and a tenant-landlord mediation program established under Tumwater's 2021 Housing Action Plan.
City staff asked the council Jan. 14 to schedule for consent a renewed two-year service provider agreement with the Dispute Resolution Center to continue a tenant-landlord mediation program and a regional conflict-resolution hotline.
Brad Madrid (staff member) said the mediation program originated from the city's 2021 Housing Action Plan and the council's follow-up work session in 2022. He explained the original allocation for the landlord mediation project was $50,000 annually and that invoicing and usage reduced the actual 2023-24 spend, leaving funding capacity to add a conflict-resolution hotline to the same contract.
Under the new draft contract described by Brad, the combined two-year agreement would total $50,000: $20,000 per year for the landlord mediation project (derived from prior invoicing and actual usage) and $5,000 per year for the conflict-resolution line (total $10,000). Brad said the $20,000-per-year figure is a reduction based on actual invoicing and usage by the Dispute Resolution Center.
Council members asked for clarifications about program access, who residents would contact, how the city tracks success, and whether mediation leaves a public record. Brad said residents would contact the Dispute Resolution Center directly; the citycontribution offsets the cost to encourage use. He recommended a performance check after one year and said the mediation process is confidential, not a court procedure, and is not placed on a consumer credit record.
Council members described situations where mediation had not been able to assist (two manufactured-home parks cited by one member), asked whether the contract addresses landlord retaliation, and whether repeated problems with the same landlord would trigger escalated city involvement. Brad and City Attorney Kirkpatrick said the service provider agreement does not include specific retaliation enforcement language; Kirkpatrick said the city does have code language addressing retaliation more broadly.
Brad asked the council to place the new combined agreement and an authorization for the mayor to sign on the Jan. 21 consent calendar for formal approval.
