Council hears urgent concerns about renters rebate operations, fair-rent outcomes and clinic closure after flooding

Multiple council members used the health department presentation as an opportunity to press for immediate fixes to resident-facing services: the renters rebate process, fair-rent complaint follow-up, and continuity of clinical services after flooding.

Council members described seniors and other residents being turned away, long waits for walk-ins and language-access failures. One councilor said a Spanish-speaking senior was told "you need to learn English" when seeking help. Dr. Rodriguez described the department's interpreter line (Proprio), available on city phones for Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Mandarin and other languages, and outlined temporary operational changes: senior applicants are being rerouted to Eisenhower and other centers and certain house managers will collect applications for processing.

Renters rebate and fair-rent details: Dr. Rodriguez said the department is processing applicant intake despite a recent administrative-leave personnel change in the clinical-services leadership; she reported the department had 87 renters-rebate applications this year and that only a small subset reached formal fair-rent commission hearings because many disputes were resolved informally between landlord and tenant. Council members disputed whether the process is transparent and asked for clearer staffing and scheduling to reduce walk-in turnaways.

Clinic displacement: Jody, a clinic representative, described flood damage to the Middle Street clinic and said clinic operations remain displaced. "We have been out of the clinic ever since then," she said, and staff are referring STI patients to other providers and conducting more home visits and outreach. The department is negotiating a new lease and said it is working to reopen a clinic at a new location with better parking and facilities.

Relocation funding and emergency response: Dr. Rodriguez described the department's limited relocation budget and said the Uniform Relocation Act obligations mean the city sometimes must provide up to $4,000 per individual in emergency relocation aid; she called the lack of a relocation pool a constraint and listed operational priorities if budget allowed — additional nurses, three environmental health inspectors, another relocation officer and increased relocation funding.

Next steps: Council asked for immediate operational fixes: clearer appointment-only instructions for renters rebate (to reduce walk-ins turned away), improved on-site Spanish-language capacity, and a timetable for returning clinic services. The department agreed to present a follow-up plan and staffing timeline.