HUTCHINSON, Kan. — An email sent by an employee of the Hutchinson Planning Commission regarding the Rental Inspection Program set off a flurry of quick and critical responses through the Housing Commission and the Planning Department.

The email sent from Jade Shain to the Commission, City Council and to Eagle Communications requests that the council end the program. Earlier this week it looked like the Housing Commission would do just that, but in a sudden turn of events, changed its mind during the Wednesday meeting. Shain’s email states that the program overwhelms the department and has done nothing to improve the housing situation. A portion of the email reads:

“When the RRIP is in full swing it virtually cripples the Department’s ability to do other work for 3-4 months. This is no hyperbole. It is overwhelming with how much work is required to administer the program, and at the expense of other work our department is required to do. There will be hundreds of phone calls a week, hundreds of walk ins, and 100% dedication to a cash drawer in front of extremely irate individuals. Other department tasks will absolutely fall to the wayside. The Planning department is understaffed. Taxpayers deserve better service than what they’re getting from the department.”

The email was met with swift reaction from Commission Chair Tony Finlay, who wrote back asking if Shain was speaking for the Planning Department or City Management.

“As Chair of the Housing Commission I find this as an insult to the work and the direction set from a group of residents volunteering their time to work on the Housing problem,” Finlay said.

The email also got a response from Jim Seitnater with the Planning Department: “Jade Shain is not speaking for the Planning Department and should not have sent this message in this manner. Like any citizen he has a right to his thoughts but should share those on his own time and not on the City infrastructure. Our job as staff is to carry out the work that our governing bodies and commissions ask of us to the best of our abilities.”

The recommendation to continue the rental inspections is sure to draw a lot of discussion by what could be a split City Council on the matter.