Title
Amending Chapter 189.10 of the Legislative Code pertaining to duties of frequency of the Truth-in-Sale of Housing Board evaluator examination.
Body
SECTION 1
WHEREAS, a Truth-in-Sale of Housing (TISH) evaluation is used to determine the condition of the structural, electrical and mechanical systems as they relate to Chapter 34, minimum housing standards for dwellings or dwelling units of the City of St. Paul and the Evaluator Guidelines adopted by the Truth-in-Sale of Housing Board; and
WHEREAS, having disclosure evaluations performed by licensed evaluators is important to the consumer protection of a dwelling buyer; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Safety & Inspections licenses evaluators after completing a written and practical exam; and
WHEREAS, diligently organizing, conducting and scoring the examination is labor and resource intensive; and
WHEREAS, the Truth-in-Sale of Housing (TISH) Board reviewed Chapter 189.10(4) a. concerning the frequency to hold the TISH examination for prospective applicants who wish to become licensed evaluators for the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, the need for more active examiners can be measured by recorded data, including the overall number evaluations conducted, the number of licensed evaluators, and the quantity of inspections per inspector in Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, in the past three years, the number of evaluators has remained steady (50-55), while the average evaluations per active evaluator has declined from 122 in 2021, 92 in 2022, and 75 in 2023; and
WHEREAS, the TISH Board, along with the Director of the Department of Safety and Inspections and their designee require the flexibility to administer the examination more frequently or less frequently, based on the housing market and needs of the community; and
WHEREAS, the current language requires the examination be given every two years which is restrictive to prospective applicants.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Saint Paul does hereby ordain:
SECTION 2
Section 189.10 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code are hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 189.10. - Duties of the Truth-in-Sale of Housing Board.
(a) The following shall be the duties of the Truth-in-Sale of Housing Board has the following duties:
(1) Adopt rules and bylaws governing its procedures;
(2) Develop and enforce a code of ethics for Licensed Evaluators;
(3) Make available copies of such rules, bylaws and code of ethics to each applicant for licensure;
(4) Every January, or the first meeting of the year, the Truth-in-Sale of Housing Board, along with the Director of the Department of Safety and Inspections or their designee, will determine if an examination to earn licensure will be given to applicants for Truth-in-Sale of Housing licensure during that calendar year. The Director of the Department of Safety and Inspections will make the determination based on the number of licensed evaluators, the quantity of their inspections in Saint Paul, the number of overall evaluations conducted in the city, and unforeseeable or exceptional circumstances. The Truth-in-Sale of Housing licensure examination may be waived based on the assessment of the data by the Director of the Department of Safety and Inspections, however, the examination must, at a minimum be given once every three years;
(4)(5) Develop a test procedure for screening applicants for Licensed Evaluator that includes:
a. Hold an examination for applicants for a license to be a Licensed Evaluator at least once in every two (2) calendar years, beginning in 1999-2000;
a. Submit each applicant for Licensed Evaluator to an examination to determine the applicant's competency to perform Truth-in-Sale of Housing Evaluations required under this chapter; and
a. Creation of the examination.
c. b. Hear A process to hear examination appeals by applicants for a Truth-in-Sale of Housing license under this chapter according to rules adopted by the Truth-in-Sale of Housing Board.
(6) Administration of the Truth-in-Sale of Housing licensure examination as laid out in Sec. 189.10 (a)(4);
(5)(7) Issue a Issuance of a Truth-in-Sale of Housing license in the form of an identification card to each applicant who satisfactorily passes the exam, pays the required fees, and satisfies all other qualifications for licensing required by the Truth-in-Sale of Housing Board or this chapter;
(6)(8) Establish annual renewal fees and renew each license upon payment of the established fees;
(7)(9) Establish minimum educational and/or training requirements which must be met and maintained by the Licensed Evaluator;
(8)(10) Take adverse action against a license or Licensed Evaluator as defined in section 189.01;
(9)(11) Establish all fees for the Truth-in-Sale of Housing program including, but not limited to, the non-refundable exam application fee(s), the initial and re-licensing fee(s) for Licensed Evaluators, and the filing and late fee(s) for Disclosure Reports;
(10)(12) To Develop develop adopt and issue Evaluator Guidelines.
(b) Decision Decisions of the Truth-in-Sale of Housing Board, with respect to these duties, shall be are final. Only Adverse adverse action(s) against a license or Licensed Evaluator, only, are subject to appeal to the City Council. Any Truth-in-Sale of Housing Board order to a Licensed Evaluator shall must include a written statement notifying the Licensed Evaluator of the right to appeal that order to the City Council.
SECTION 3
This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days following its passage, approval, and publication.