bpoa February newsblast
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Don't Miss our Annual Tax Workshop with
Kelly Creed of the RINA Accountancy
February 4th
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The new revisions have been made to the BPOA lease and it's available in the members section of this website
Mold got you down? We've got some information for you HERE
and HERE
The 2011 Annual General Adjustment link is HERE
For Information on the new EPA Lead Laws, Link HERE
remember that there is a $37,500.00 fine per violation!
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
We immediately received a response from the auditor that the audit plan for the ensuing fiscal year, which runs from July 1st to June 30th, was already submitted. However, after further conversations with people savvy about Berkeley government, we have also come to discover that in truth, the City Auditor, by virtue of being an independently elected official, is technically free to pursue an audit whenever she would like and of whatever she would like as it pertains to City of Berkeley.
So the question then becomes how can BPOA convince our auditor to do a timely audit of the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board. There seems to be political fear that the progressives of Berkeley will find an audit of the Rent Board distasteful. The audit we are requesting, however, is not out of enmity with the Rent Board but rather a request for responsible governance. By virtue of its unique position, being an independently elected body, the Rent Board is the one department within the City bureaucracy which lacks routine structural oversight. All other city departments are subject to the scrutiny of the City Council, the City Manager and the City Attorney. The Rent Board has not undergone any sort of performance review in decades.
At the end of the day, even though it may be an independent agency, any legal liability extending from Rent Board practices will attach to the City. It would logically follow that that it is in the best interest of the City to audit the Rent Board if for no other reason than concern for good governance and an avoidance of any possible liability attributable to Rent Board activities.
If you have any ideas or compelling experience with the Board which is germane, please contact the BPOA or write the City Auditor directly. It is important that we impress upon her the need for this audit to occur now.
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It’s not Amos and Andy; it’s not Mutt and Jeff; it’s the dynamic duo of Andy and Jeff. I hope many of you can make it to our Andy and Jeff show on September 14th. What exactly is the Andy and Jeff show? Well, Andy is Andrew Cohn, an attorney who primarily assists property owners with their legal issues, and Jeff is Jeffrey Carter, an attorney who primarily serves tenants with their legal issues. Jeff is also one of the original rent board directors and helped draft the rent control ordinance for the City of Berkeley. Please do not run and start getting your rotten tomatoes ready to lob at him. This should actually be very a interesting and educational event. By having Jeff present, it will give the property owners the unique perspective of how a tenants right advocate thinks and hence will hopefully give you the opportunity to better manage your property or at the least avoid pitfalls.
Berkeley Property Owners Association
email: bpoa@bpoa.org
Berkeley Can Do Better (www.berkeleycandobetter.com)
email: info@berkeleycandobetter.com
TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATON
The only thing worse than bullies who forcefully take what is rightfully yours are the bureaucratic thugs who claim it is moral for them to take it.Protect your rights to life and property with the same tenacity you would fight a bully. Don't let them use moral guilt to disarm you.
--Eric Khrom
Brooklyn NY
SIMPLY PUT...
- You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
- What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
- The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
- When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.
- You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.
FREE MONEY FROM ASHBY LUMBER?
Now, new and renewing BPOA members will receive 50% off their next purchase of up to $100 in merchandise from Ashby Lumber. That's like getting a check for $50 when you join or renew! The discount applies to nearly everything sold at Ashby Lumber & Hardware. Only power tools, sale items, and special orders are excluded. Coupons are mailed by BPOA to qualifying members. Not a member? Become one now! Join BPOA
SOFT STORY
ARE YOU ON THE LIST? INVENTORY LINK HERE
YOU MUST POST THIS NOTICE WITHIN 5 FEET OF ALL ENTRANCES
YOU MUST ALSO SEND THIS NOTICE TO YOUR TENANTS (AND A COPY TO THE CITY)
Some Basic Background Information on Economics and Rent Control
Landlord/Tenant Law 101
Beginning in early 2004, the BPOA Monthly published a series of articles about the basics of landlord tenant law, particularly as applied in Berkeley. Over the months we have covered the following subjects:
Rent Board Changes on Security Deposit Interest Rates
GOVERNOR AGREES: LANDLORDS ARE NOT IMMIGRATION COPS
Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 976 into law. The bill prohibits city councils from passing laws that require landlords to inquire about a prospective tenant's immigration status and report that information to local government.
Need Mentoring? Contact us! bpoa@bpoa.org
Getting Religious?
Read the Ten Commandments (for landlords!)
The ranks of property owners are swelling, as evidenced by requests to the office to join our organization.To familiarize newcomers with our local "system," andto facilitate contact with BPOA boardmembers, we have started a mentoring program.
Please call the office for information at (510) 525-3666. or Contact us.
