GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The Green Bay Police Department offered free training for landlords Tuesday afternoon at the Neville Public Museum. It's an annual event that the city puts on to help landlords navigate issues like landlord/tenant laws, inspections, eviction, and recognizing signs of illegal activity.
One of the main topics of Tuesday's training was the city's public/chronic nuisance ordinance. Under the ordinance, after three qualifying calls about a specific property, police have the right to address the calls with the landlord and can issue a citation.
Police hope that by educating landlords on why these calls often occur, they can reduce the number of police visits to a property.
“When we’re very transparent and open about what we expect of them as a landlord, then they’re not surprised or shocked when we do have to call them to have a discussion about a tenant," said Lieutenant Steve Mahoney with the Green Bay Police Department.
In addition, when a complaint about a property is submitted to the city, housing and zoning inspectors are required to follow-up on the complaint within 5 days of receiving it. One way the city has tried to streamline the inspection process is through the Landlord Alert Program.
When landlords sign up for the program, it automatically emails a landlord when a complaint is made with the city. They receive a copy of the complaint as soon as it’s submitted. This gives them the chance to correct the issue before the city does an inspection.
Bill Paape, a housing and zoning enforcement supervisor for the city, says creating clearer means of communication with landlords has improved their relationships with city officials.
“ It's knowing their contacts, if something happens, if they have an issue, knowing who to get in touch with and how we can help resolve the issue," Paape said.
The Green Bay Police Department will also offer training for tenants as well. Legal Action of Wisconsin is hosting a training session for tenants at the Brown County Library Pine Street location on May 17th from 1-2:30 p.m.
