At the suggestion of Interim City Manager Joe Merrill, the city may undertake two blight-control initiatives based on the carrot and stick principle — one to help responsible property owners comply with codes and one designed to ensure that irresponsible owners are held to account.

The “stick” initiative would start with an advisory committee consisting of a couple of council members and staffers, creating a liaison between codes and council in hopes of guiding efforts to deter or eliminate blight created by uncooperative property owners — especially those who operate rental housing.

“We need to get rid of the bottom-level landlords,” said City Councilman Dave Butterbaugh at a council meeting this week.

Those efforts could include changes in policy or the passing of ordinances, according to officials.

The need for change is indicated by code cases that linger in the court system with minimal penalties for perennial code violators, according to Merrill.

“It’s lunacy that (Codes Director) Rebecca (Brown’s) folks write a citation, and six, eight, 10 months later, the frickin’ case is still open,” said Councilman Dave Ellis. “If it requires an ordinance or political pressure somewhere (to change that sort of thing), I’m game.”

The city may need to begin appealing unsatisfactory rulings by magisterial district judges to Blair County Court, said Councilman Ron Beatty.

Some magisterial district judges’ decisions are helpful, but some are not, Beatty said.

The basis for appeals can include claims that a judge abused discretion or made a legal error, according to city solicitor Tom Finn.

Defendants in code cases can also appeal, Finn said.

One tool the city can use (and has used) against non-compliant landlords is the pulling of rental licenses, Beatty said.

The creation of the advisory committee and the continuing efforts of staff to deal with blight show that “the old days are over,” Ellis said.

“As the months go by, we’re going to increase the heat on the people who need that heat created,” Ellis said.

People who come to Altoona to make legitimate investment in real estate are welcome, Ellis said. “But people who come here to cause problems need to be addressed aggressively,” he said.

Safety, aesthetics and protection of neighboring property values are all at stake, Beatty said.

“The carrot part” of the two-pronged effort would be a city-compiled list of charitable organizations that could help needy homeowners fix issues with porches, roofs and siding — and other matters that may draw the attention of code officers, Merrill said.

The list would include nonprofits, community groups, churches and various other entities, Merrill said.

The city would manage the list and make it available to homeowners, but would not vet the organizations on it, Merrill said.

The city would be a “passive conduit,” said Public Works Director Nate Kissell.

The list could help create relationships between participating groups and homeowners, helping the city “get the rubber on the road” in its blight-control efforts, Beatty said, making an apparent reference to a tire commercial from generations past.

Grant money may be available to help with such work, Ellis said.

Painting, along with pruning of shrubs and trees are likely jobs that the organizations could handle, Ellis said.

It might be best to restrict the work, however, to what can be done from the ground or at most “stepladder high,” Ellis said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.