Rob Ybanez was one of a few dozen supporters of Springfield Tenants Unite who showed up at Springfield City Council on Monday evening.
"Because everyone here in Springfield deserves to have access to a safe, accessible and affordable home," he said. "And that starts with like, making sure properties are maintained."
Springfield Tenants Unite formed during the pandemic. It advocates for local policies that organizers like Ybanez believe would benefit Springfield residents who rent their homes. That's a large group of Queen City residents because Springfield's homeownership rate, 44.6 percent, is far below state and national averages.
One of the policies favored by Springfield Tenants Unite would be a rental-inspection program. Missouri's other big cities already have these: Kansas City and St. Louis each require properties to pass a health and safety inspection before a housing unit can be rented out. Meanwhile, in Columbia, rental units must be inspected every five years.
Southwest Springfield (Zone 3) Councilmember Brandon Jenson made a long argument, based on fiscally conservative budget practices, in favor of his motion to change the city's 2025-26 budget in a way that could lead to a Springfield rental inspection system. Jenson sought to cancel, at least for the time being, a planned renovation of the first-floor lobby of the city's Busch Municipal Building listed as a budget line item worth $458,342.
Jenson's motion called for the money to be moved to "reserves for potential use in a rental inspection program" and was seconded by General Councilmember Derek Lee. The motion passed with a 6-to-1 vote.
Schrag voted against the amendment, while Councilmembers Abe McGull and Heather Hardinger were absent.
Alice Barber, another Springfield Tenants Unite organizer, hailed the Council budget change.
"We're very excited to see this amendment pass!" Barber wrote to Ozarks Public Radio in a text message. "Securing the funding for a pilot rental licensing and inspection program is a vital step towards a Healthy Homes Guarantee to keep Springfield residents safe and our homes affordable."
A few minutes after adding Jenson's line item amendment, Council voted to pass the new city budget in full, 7-to-zero.
Springfield government expects to spend roughly $530 million in the financial year starting on July 1st, up from $507 million last year.
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