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Township considers rent-tracking software to enforce short-term rental rules; board says ordinance must come first
Summary
Barrett Township supervisors discussed purchasing a commercial STR monitoring platform (vendor quote: $2,500 setup and $3,320/year plus $60 per unit beyond 55) that would be paid by STR permit fees; board members emphasized revising the STR ordinance before committing to procurement.
Supervisors discussed a commercial short-term rental (STR) compliance platform at their June 17 workshop and asked staff to delay procurement decisions until the township has an updated STR ordinance.
The presenter described a platform that identifies short-term rental listings, continuously monitors advertising websites, provides a 24/7 complaints hotline, supports permitting and payment processing, and routes data to the tax-assessment office. The vendor’s illustrative pricing shown to the board included a $2,500 setup fee, an annual base fee of $3,320 and a $60 per-unit fee for each additional property beyond 55 identified units.
The presenter said the platform’s costs could be covered by STR permit and registration fees rather than general-tax revenue. The board noted that the township has identified about 35 properties recently and that the vendor estimated the platform could identify as many as 150 units in the township.
Michael Aliggretti, who said he has sold technology to governments, described the vendor as “a reputable firm” with municipal customers of varying sizes. The board agreed the software could expand staff capacity — one supervisor described it as “almost like having another two or three employees” — but several members insisted the township must finalize an updated STR ordinance before buying or configuring compliance software so the vendor’s rules follow the township’s ordinance rather than the reverse.
Board members also discussed options other municipalities have used, including temporary holds on issuing new permits, caps or nonrenewal for recurring violators, and stronger permit conditions tied to septic/occupancy limits. Staff said Advance (the town’s building/inspection contractor) is not currently performing STR compliance work and inspects only permitted properties when a building permit is submitted.
No purchase decision was made. Supervisors asked staff to pursue additional vendor quotes, gather referenced model ordinances from neighboring jurisdictions and return with draft ordinance language and cost comparisons.
