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Emergency meeting approves Numo contract for short-term rental registration; fee, inspections discussed
Summary
At an emergency town meeting, members voted to accept an IT software and services agreement with vendor Numo to handle short-term rental registration after problems with the prior platform. Board members discussed inspection consent language and a proposed $200 registration fee; staff will return with fee options within 30 days.
The emergency meeting voted to approve an IT software and services agreement with vendor Numo to replace the town’s current short-term rental registration platform, board members said.
A staff member reported the town currently has about "480, which are, currently registered," and said Numo can accept cash with a printed numbered receipt and process credit-card payments in-house, which staff said addresses key limitations of the prior vendor. "They do have the ability to accept cash in house here with a printed numbered receipt, as well as being able to do credit cards in house as well," the staff member said.
Committee members said the change followed repeated failures with the previous system. One committee member recounted multiple unsuccessful attempts to register with the old vendor and said the support problems were ongoing, prompting the switch. "There was a problem and it was ongoing and ongoing," that committee member said of the prior platform.
The board also discussed how to count listings discovered on third-party platforms. A committee member urged care so that properties with an on-site front desk — such as hotels or motels — would not be counted as short-term rentals in the town registry.
Life-safety inspections emerged as a central concern. A committee member said they raised the issue with the state fire marshal and others, reporting that some listings advertise sleeping capacity inconsistent with tax records, and proposed including consent to local code-enforcement inspections as part of the registration form to allow inspections when necessary. "I agree to an inspection by the local code enforcement officer," the committee member said, urging that language be incorporated into the registration process.
The same committee member proposed raising the registration fee to $200 to offset staffing and enforcement costs, citing an average nightly rent figure for context. "I'm gonna propose we go up to $200," the committee member said; they estimated that if the town charged $200 and obtained about 500 registrations, the town would realize roughly $100,000 in revenue to help cover payroll and program costs.
The staff member said they have sample fee structures based on estimated staff time to process applications and perform inspections and will review options with Jade and Michael. "I can take that information back to staff... we can come forward with a couple different options as to what we might be able to do before we implement anything," the staff member said, adding that staff will present options to the board in the next 30 days.
The board then moved to formal action. A committee member moved "that we accept the IT software and services agreement from Numo for the short term rental registration," a seconded motion passed on a voice vote. Following that, the board approved a motion to authorize the town manager to sign the contract.
The staff member noted that Tammy had reviewed the agreement and was "good with everything." With no other business on the emergency meeting agenda, members adjourned after a brief public comment from an attendee.
What happens next: staff will return with fee and inspection-language options for the board’s consideration within about 30 days, and the town manager is authorized to sign the Numo agreement so the vendor can begin onboarding.
