The City of Madison small-claims court will keep its security-deposit damage assessment policy in place.

Philip Ejercito, chair of the Landlord & Tenant Issue Subcommittee, informed the Madison Housing Committee of the termination of efforts to change the policy at a meeting Wednesday.

"We've decided to let the security-deposit thing drop off the agenda for now," Ejercito said. "We may revisit it in the future, but not now."

The subcommittee had considered proposing a change to the current ordinance to standardize the damages granted to a tenant who sues a landlord for the improper security-deposit charges.

The current ordinance allows tenants who win in small claims court to collect damages ranging from the amount of the deposit up to three times that figure. The amount depends on how much the judge wishes to grant.

If the committee had approved the proposal to change the ordinance, a tenant victorious in court would be granted double the amount of the security deposit no matter what, similar to Wisconsin statute. Ejercito said a change like that would provide a consistent amount of landlord accountability.

"An ordinance like this would have provided a set measure of accountability for landlords," Ejercito said. "A landlord would know the possible consequences going in."

However, the city's current policy could potentially hurt landlords who violate the ordinance more than the statute, and Ejercito said the subcommittee liked how a judge could enforce damages depending on how egregious the violation.

The Housing Committee also voted to approve a motion aimed at changing the way the city budgets affordable housing.

The motion, which passed unanimously, recommends a change in Tax Incremental Financing Zones.

The city's TIF law provides a way for the city to fund infrastructure improvement to housing projects without having to raise taxes. When common council designates an area as a TIF zone, the city issues bonds for up to 50 percent of the increase of tax revenue on the building. The money from the bonds is then used to pay for a significant part of the improvements, and the city gains the right to keep all the increase in tax revenue until the bonds are paid off.

According to Thomas Hirsch, chair of the committee, Madison may also use an additional 10 percent of the increase in tax revenue to pay for affordable housing. However, unlike the rest of the TIF program, this 10 percent requires that the tax money be collected before the housing units are built. Hirsch said the process is complicated because the city is not eager to give away funds.

"If we're going to make this housing happen we have to change the dynamics here," Hirsch said. "The comptroller doesn't want to give the money out. That's his job."

The motion, if enacted by common council, would urge the Plan Commission, which approves building project proposals, to set aside as much as $800,000 in TIF money for the future creation of 20 dwellings.

Hirsch said a plan is in motion to propose appropriating $200,000 in the 2006 budget at the next council meeting Nov. 8.