As the Metropolis Planet went to press, the Metropolis City Council Ordinance Committee, along with council members and approximately 30 landlords, had just finished meeting Tuesday afternoon to develop solutions to a concern that came before the council at its Aug. 13 meeting: Who is responsible for unpaid utility bills when a tenant moves out of or leaves a rental property?

At the conclusion of the 90-minute meeting, the Ordinance Committee voted to recommend to the city council that any part of any ordinance that holds owners of properties responsible for payment of all charges assessed that is not in their name be repealed.

At press time, the recommended ordinance was scheduled to come before the full council at its Aug. 27 meeting. At that time, the council can either have its first reading of the ordinance or suspend the rules and vote on it.

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