t andards of code enforcement
the city operating by?
That question concerns Re. athaniel
Gathright, pre . dent Concerned Tenan
Organization.
lett from one of the landlords in
Action Rentals to tenant t 474 Pipe-
•
one led to qu tion.
The tenant - Charlene eridy and
Barbara artin - nt a certified letter
wee, y 24, to Bapti . Their
letter amed the landlord that if did
not fIX certain items "thin en d y
they ould begin withholding th ir
rent.
pt"
an eviction notice for
, e have t up
the tenant with Le
ev. G thright in an intern
"It i definitely gain the
dlord to retalit te again
effort of tenant for decent housing."
G thright id the tenants ould be
counte uing B p " g for dam es
to hich they are en tled under the I .
"But my chief concern . with the
city right no ,'said Rev. athright.' e
o e can protect ou Ie" t
the I dlord i the courts. But ho can
e protect ourselv "t the city?"
G thright 0 ed The Citizen a letter
from Bapti t to t tenant hich read ,
" ccording to the City of Benton Harbor
offici ,I and v rat oth r landlords
ere told in person that th only-part of
the " pection port t they ould
be enforcing t the pre nt time ere the
item t t ere a health and ety
Lilly, Community Services
t'I- ....... Dir or, department ponsi-
bl for code enforcement told this paper
that the meetin Sap referred to
on held with the Landlords . ati n.
ccording to lilly, the city said it
proposin a revised landlord/tenant
ordinance. Under the revised ordinance,
th city ould e landlords a certifi­
. cate alJowing th m to rent apartments if
they meet "minimal h and safety
cod .tt
"Our initial concern is to eliminate
d safety threat and then addr
incipient cod Yilatio ," Lilly id.
Rev. G thright . hi group in-
city commiJaion that it '.'to­
y rejects" the propolCd ordinance
UDlmGlm,ent d anta the existing ordin-
ance enforced immediately.· .
t can't d
• �1eDd
DotJIdlI&· ill dO ,tbo,uah no
he t, bad wiring, faulty fumance, no
heat - just horrible conditions."
Lilly Id h did not know when the
Urban
pro po d ordinance changes ould be
offered to th city commission.
Continued on Page 16
eague opposes yout
Editor: The following is Q stlltement
by 10M E. Jscob, President, NatiofUll
Urban LetlgUe, Inc. on the propoSlll for
a .,bminimwn wage,
Congre will shortly consider bill
proposing to alo em loyers to pay
young people under the age of 22 a
2.50 hourly g during the rnmer
, months - 25% below the current mini­
mum a . The reasoning i that such Cl
move ould cut unemployment among
young people, pecially minority youth
ho un mployment rates are ro-
nomical.
The national Urban Le gue long
opponed a youth subminimum w ,
baaed on careful study of the . ue.
Our position reflect the evidence t t
employers do not cun tly make . of
1 to 'the minimum
..... �.\O( �
ers, and the refusal of employers to hire
disadvantaged youth, amon others.
en considering thi bill, Congr
should why ubminimum wage
would ere te jobs for disadvantaged
youth when an arr y of tax credit and
other generou incentive to employers
ha not? A subminimum age ould
weaken the ge base of all orkers
without creating many ne job for
disavanataged youth" It would simply
stigmatize them cond-rate orker
earning second-ra ewe .
If Congress i determined to go ahead
with some form of bminimum e
legi tion, it hould be limited to a
carefully target d pilot project, involving
no more than a handful of citie for a
sharp y limited time period, and ,it uld
have its purpo research into tb
direct and indirect effect of b-
25e
•
I
Story on 3 ...
subminimum
age
,
The experiment ould be re tricted
to teenager only - it i unr son able
to expect 22-year-old, many ith
family re ponsibilitie, to b denied
even a nurumum that produces
belo -poverty-level income for year­
round workers. ark protection must
also be built into ch n e periment
- Health and fety laws mu t be com­
plied with by employers, nd the youn
orker in the experiment ould be
exempted from taxes, including th
social curity t ,to restore m of the
income 10 t by the differential ag
rate .
The bminimum e n ver a a
good idea. It ill· 't. It ould be
tr gic for Congre
I gi tion of thi rt ithout first
in it in carefully d . gn d pilot
c pro oft mporary dur ion .