The Bemidji City Council heard a presentation from Minnesotans for Fair Lending during their work session Monday.
The group appeared over Webex and presented a possible ordinance model to place limits on payday loans.
The ordinance included parameters on how many times a person can take out a payday loan, the number of reborrowing cycles, and would cap interest rates.
The group’s data included information self-reported by these types of high-risk, small-dollar lenders.
The council discussed that since most, if not all, of this type of lending within the city takes place online, the matter is likely best handled through state law.
The council also discussed a retreat that would likely take place in November before Thanksgiving.
The city may hire a consultant to help facilitate the retreat, which will likely include various team-building exercises.
