The City Council delivered a new tool to code compliance officer Jeff Flory, approving a contract for a short-term rental data management system in Seaside.

With the slogan “capture every dollar,” the subscription service could catch rentals under the radar, he said, while providing online access for property owners and residents.

“It’s a system that could really help streamline everything that goes on with in the VRD program,” Flory said in a presentation at last week’s City Council meeting.

The payment processing platform comes amid a busy season in Seaside, he said.

Vacation rental owners report “having almost zero vacancy” at their properties, Flory said. “Some of them are telling me this is one of the better years they’ve seen, because when Seaside opens up, everybody’s comes out here to play at the beach.”

Designed and maintained by MUNIRevs, a Durango, Colorado-based company, the processing program will match short-term rental listing data and business licenses, Flory said, “so we can see which listings are in compliance and which ones are out. We can set up whatever parameters we want to manage that.”

The subscription service agreement includes a vacation rental auditing module, a vacation rental permitting module and an online revenue collection service.

Property owners will have their own back-end space on the platform, where they can log in, pay business license fees, receive notifications, updates and communications.

The city’s community development department has estimated between 400 and 450 licensed short-term rental dwellings in Seaside, but Flory said the new tool estimates there could be as many as 600 to 650 unique short-term rentals in town.

“When the system finds problem rentals, that’s when it comes to me,” he said. “The complaint process 100% goes through me.”

The City Council approved $24,480 for the first year’s cost, reduced to $19,860 the second year. The prices are on auto-renewal; the city may cancel up to three months notice in advance of the renewal date.

Pricing is based on up to 675 rental properties and 2,400 listing advertisements.

Mayor Jay Barber, councilors Randy Frank, Tom Horning, Seth Morrisey, Dana Phillips and Steve Wright voted to approve the contract; Tita Montero voted against.

“The ultimate goal here is compliance,” Flory said. “If we can get notification going early and then have a discussion where we need to be and start working toward that.”

Along with passage of the contract, the council scheduled a 6 p.m. Aug. 31 work session with the Planning Commission to discuss vacation rentals.