Council weighs compensation and court‑reporter funding for mobile‑home rent review commissioners

The council considered whether to establish compensation for the Mobile Home Rent Review Committee and whether the city should pay for court reporters at rent hearings.

Chris Gabriel of CAUSE urged the city to budget for court reporters so that transcription is available for evidentiary hearings and to protect tenants and the city in potential litigation. Gabriel argued that the current practice—where homeowners must pay for a reporter if the commission has not pre‑authorized one—creates unfair procedural hurdles.

Staff (James Mason) explained the municipal code identifies the mobile home rent review committee as a body eligible for compensation but that no resolution currently specifies the amount or structure. Staff recommended a per‑meeting stipend (similar to the planning commission, historically $50 per meeting) because the committee meets sporadically; staff said over the past decade the rent review committee averaged about eight meetings.

Councilmembers discussed equity across commissions, suggested increasing the per‑meeting stipend into the $75–$100 range given inflation and workload, and asked staff to return with a resolution to formalize compensation for both the rent review commission and planning commission where appropriate. Council signaled support for a flat fee rather than mileage reimbursement to limit administrative overhead.

The council reached consensus to direct staff to prepare resolutions setting compensation levels (and to consider how court‑reporter needs will be funded for future hearings). Staff will return with formal language and proposed amounts for council adoption.