The City Council on Monday night approved an across-the-board fee of $100 for businesses required to have regular fire inspections.
The resolution eliminates new Fire Department permit fees of between $220 and $400 for most businesses, said City Council President Donny Ness. The Fire Department inspections used to be free, but the city began charging this year when the budget got tighter.
Ness' resolution, which passed unanimously, is for a three-year permit.
A resolution by City Councilor Tim Little to eliminate the fees altogether failed 7-3, with councilors Jim Stauber and Neill Atkins voting with him.
For the first time this year, the Fire Department issued three-year operational permits to each of 1,200 businesses in the city. About 400 were to be inspected annually, which would have generated $130,000 in new revenue.
Business owners who were inspected under the previous fee schedule will receive partial refunds from the city.
Several councilors wondered where the city would come up with the lost revenue.
The issue first arose in January when business owners who said the new fees came out of nowhere began complaining to Little. In response, he sponsored an amendment to a city ordinance that would allow businesses either to hire the Fire Department or a private firm to perform inspections.
Many business owners have complained that they were paying twice for inspections, once from the Fire Department and again to private insurance company inspectors.
Little withdrew his ordinance Monday night after Ness' compromise passed.
One of those business owners, Steve Lasky of the Canal Park Dairy Queen, refused to pay for the $400 fire department inspection. He told councilors Monday that he already pays taxes at a premium for fire protection.
However, Ness said because businesses receive a special benefit from the inspections, the cost of inspections shouldn't fall on all taxpayers.
City Councilor Roger Reinert also said the responsibility for inspections ultimately lies with the Fire Department and state anyway. He said they would have had to create a training and certification program for private inspectors.
Distributed by the Associated Press
