City of Reno: Making Landlords' Responsibilities Disappear
Our Town Reno just pulled back the curtain on the City's ReStore program, and what do we find? A spectacular show of making property owners' basic responsibilities vanish into thin air - using YOUR tax dollars as the magic wand.
First let us say, this is no reflection on Crak N’ Grill, we’re on the side of small business owners, and if the program and the money is available, go for it. What we question is the thought process of our overly-paid City of Reno elected officials.
At Crak N' Grill, for instance. Broken windows? Leaky roof? Doors hanging by a prayer? Normally, these are what we in the real world call "things landlords should fix." But no. The City of Reno, in its infinite wisdom, decided taxpayers should foot the bill for basic maintenance while property owners collect their rent checks.
Picon was curious when Crack N’ Grill purchased 301 S. Wells Avenue and how much they paid for the building. That was when we discovered that Crak N’ Grill are tenants at 301 S. Wells Avenue and not the owners of the property, which is owned by the John Jr. & Sonnia Iliescu 1992 Trust.
Here's a wild idea: Maybe, just maybe, the folks actually OWNING these buildings should, you know... maintain them? Instead, we're watching a bizarre performance where the City plays Sugar Daddy to negligent property owners. What's next - taxpayer-funded butler service.
Perhaps someone should remind our city officials that we already have a system for dealing with neglected properties. It's called code enforcement and fines. But why bother with that when you can just raid the public piggy bank?
Bravo, Reno. You've managed to turn "passing the buck" into public policy. Next up: Using tax dollars to water landlords' lawns? Stay tuned.