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Annual fire inspection fee inching toward approval

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - The City Council is on track to approve an ordinance allowing the Michigan City Fire Department to charge city businesses a $30 annual fee for inspections now done at no charge.

Two of the nine council members believe the status quo should continue. Ron Meer, D-3rd Ward, and Phil Jankowski, D-6th Ward, voted against the ordinance on second reading at last week's council meeting.

Both feel business owners pay enough in taxes to cover the service. They also oppose charging the same fee for all businesses, regardless of their size. Meer voiced his concerns at the council meeting.

"I think many business owners are burdened by taxes, fees, insurance and security costs," he said. "It's not just this one fee. It's that they have so many. A lot feel they are already paying taxes for fire and police services. I don't see putting another burden on them."

Jankowski said he's against "nickel and diming business owners," even though $30 doesn't sound like a lot.

"It's not an outrageous fee but, by the same token, it shouldn't be charged at all," he said.

According to Meer, the inspection fee is another way for the city to generate revenue. With some 1,400 local businesses each paying a $30 fee, a total of $42,000 would be collected and go into the city's general fund. According to Mayor Chuck Oberlie, the fire department budget is included in the general fund, and the revenue would help offset the fire department's costs.

City Fire Marshal Kyle Kazmierczak said about 300 businesses already have been paying a $25 permit fee for extra hazards posed to firefighters because of stored chemicals and other factors. Kazmierczak said when the council's code review committee decided to move from a permit to a code-compliance certificate, committee members felt a $30 charge across the board was a place to start.

"Obviously, we don't want to dig into people's pockets," Kazmierczak said, "but we spend a lot of time and effort, and this is a way to recoup funds."

Steve Palmer, owner of Palmer's Upholstery Shop, 1402 Kentucky St., said he and other small business owners are just finding out about the proposed fee through word of mouth. He didn't understand why businesses have to subsidize costs of inspections when inspectors already are on the payroll. And, he doesn't believe the fee will stay at $30.

"That's a start but, once they propose that, the next year it might be $40, $50 or $60," Palmer said.

Ordinance sponsor Willie Milsap, D-5th Ward, said the flat $30 fee is not the final fee structure.

"It gives us a starting point," Milsap said. "It needed to be started. There's not a fire department in this northern region where we live that doesn't charge a fee. It's a tool to ensure good fire safety."

Council members considered adopting Valparaiso's approach, where the square footage and number of employees are factored into the inspection rates, which range from $40 to $200. But Kazmierczak said the amount of time spent on an inspection doesn't always correlate with square footage and staff size.

Kazmierczak said he and colleague Jeff Santana perform all inspections and sometimes go back to a site more than once if compliance isn't achieved the first time.

"On average, we go back to a quarter of the businesses every year," he said.

If the city switches from a permit to an inspection certificate system, Kazmierczak said, the Fire Department will have to pay for new printed certificates and carbon copy inspection forms, as well as continuing education for inspectors.

The fire inspection fee ordinance was held over for a final reading at the Dec. 1 council meeting. If passed, Kazmierczak said, the fees will be implemented in 2010.

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Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.