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Isanti council favors outsourcing rental inspections, shifting to three‑year cycle and raising fee to about $200
Summary
After hearing staffing and fee analyses from Rum River Consultants and city planning staff, council members signaled consensus to move Isanti’s rental inspections from a two‑year to a three‑year cycle, contract Rum River to administer the program, and raise the per‑unit fee to roughly $200 so the city retains its current revenue share.
Isanti City council members signaled a consensus on Tuesday to move the city’s rental‑licensing inspections from a two‑year cycle to a three‑year cycle, hire Rum River Consultants to administer the program, and raise the per‑unit fee to about $200 so the city preserves its roughly 15% revenue share.
The proposal emerged during discussion of agenda item E4, when city planning staff and Carrie Levinsky of Rum River Consultants reviewed the current licensing program and fees. Planning staff told the council the permit technician position has been vacant and the associate planner has absorbed permitting and inspection duties, limiting the department’s ability to perform broader planning and community‑development work. “If we did bring them in house, we will need would need a full time building inspector,” planning staff said, noting workload and burnout concerns that make a single in‑house inspector impractical.
Levinsky explained the city’s current program runs on two cycles (A and B) so each rental property is inspected every two years when its license is renewed. She told the council the current adopted fee schedule (set last fall) is $160 per unit for single‑family rentals every two years; multifamily fees are $250 per building plus $65 per unit. Rum River said full administration would require a minimum per‑unit collection of about $170; if the city keeps its 15% revenue share, the effective fee would be closer to $200 per unit under full administration.
Several council members and residents raised objections to inspecting every rental every two years. An unidentified resident said biennial inspections “seems very excessive” and suggested complaint‑driven inspections or a much longer cycle. Planning staff and the consultant pushed back, saying inspections protect tenant safety and landlord property values and that inspection reports can be used in court in eviction or nuisance cases. Planning staff cited the program’s origin after a wave of foreclosed homes became substandard rentals and noted the current licensing ordinance has been in effect since 2008.
Council discussion focused on balancing cost, enforcement authority and staff capacity. One member ran a rough comparison: $160 every 24 months is about $6.66 per month per unit, while $200 every 36 months would be about $5.55 per month — a slightly lower monthly burden even if the per‑cycle fee rises. Council members also discussed whether an owner could pay for an out‑of‑cycle inspection; Rum River said it would not offer private inspections for the city contract owing to perceived conflicts and must follow city ordinances when acting as the designated building official.
By the end of the discussion the presiding council member summarized a working consensus to move the inspection cycle to three years, contract Rum River Consultants to administer the program, and set a fee in the neighborhood of $200 per unit with staff returning to council with ordinance language and a final effective date for formal action.
The council took no immediate ordinance vote; staff said they will bring the recommended ordinance and an exact fee back at an upcoming meeting for formal consideration.
