LEWISTON — Owners of multi-family properties have more time to register buildings with the city, after the City Council approved another deadline extension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to push the deadline to at least 30 days after the expiration of the state of emergency declaration.
City Administrator Ed Barrett said because City Hall has scaled down staffing because of the spread of the coronavirus, it is unable to process many of the registrations it has received. The city has received about two-thirds of the registrations required under the ordinance.
“I suspect many are struggling with their own demands on their time given the circumstances with the coronavirus,” he said Thursday.
The program, created after a lengthy and at times heated subcommittee process, requires landlords to register each building that has three or more units online or via mail. There is no registration fee.
It’s the second time the city has extended the deadline since the rollout of the program in January. At the time the deadline was pushed back in February, the city had received 360 registration forms out of the roughly 1,000 expected.
Barrett said city staff had been processing registrations while also conducting followup with landlords who had not yet registered.
“It would be difficult for staff to even try to begin, given the staff resources in the office, and getting the number of applications we’ve received into the system,” he said. “It’s just one of a number of measures we’ve taken in recognition of the emergency situation.”
During the meeting, Councilor Safiya Khalid said the city should think about extending the deadline even further.
“I don’t think one month is enough, especially since people will be dealing with a lot of things after this crisis is over,” she said.
Officials ultimately decided to reassess once the emergency is lifted, and could possibly decide to extend it again.
The initial fine of $50 does not apply until one month following the deadline. After that, the fine goes to $100 per month through six months, and $200 per month through 12 months.
Landlords are required to register annually.
The registration program was created with the goal of obtaining “accurate, up-to-date, and complete ownership, management, and contact information for every multi-family building; an accurate inventory of dwelling unit quantity and configuration; and an accurate assessment of certain items that impact the health and safety of dwelling units.”
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