This past week, Q-line asked: Should business owners pay to have their property inspected by City Hall?
Here are your responses: ✆ “When is this larcenist city council nonsense going to end? The city is going to pieces all around us with the filthy homeless, vagrants and crazies. They keep coming up with these code-correcting, money-making schemes which make money for them, I guess, to pour into the bottomless pit of homeless help money. Of course, the business owners should not have to pay, and what should be investigated are the city employee salaries and padded expense accounts. I wonder where all this money is going?” ✆ “I cant help but wonder if the inspectors aren’t wearing masks and packing six-shooters. Sounds like robbery to me.” ✆ “The city inspecting a business where there is no complaint or conspicuous violation does not sit well with me. If there is a valid complaint for an inspection, and a violation is found, the inspection and violation is usually accompanied by a fine. In my opinion, that fine should be the only inspection fee.” ✆ “I am vehemently opposed to this. Business owners are paying enough in this city.” ✆ “Business owners should not have to pay for their property inspection unless they were informed prior to receiving their business license. If they were not, they should not have to pay anything.” ✆ “Let’s call this by it’s rightful name. It’s extortion. Business owners already pay annual fees for their permits, which should cover inspection costs. Just last month they were billed $50 for fire inspections, now they are being fleeced for another $500. Council’s actions have come about because they have squandered so much public money, they are resorting to something very close to racketeering in order to make up for the shortfall.” ✆ “This is more taxation without representation. $500 is ridiculous for the city council to say, “Hey, everything looks fine.” Only if there is a problem should there be an inspection or even a suspicion. Even this has to be substantiated, and there is no need for this kind of rip-off against business owners trying to keep the city’s economy going.” ✆ “They want to gouge money out of the businesses by inspecting them. They should be inspecting the bums for all their stink and garbage and human waste. Oh, but then the bums don’t have any money.” ✆ “I don’t think any of the business owners should be inspected unless there is a legitimate complaint. Inspectors need to start digging around 1685 Main St. Check on the inspectors there, like the one who got hauled into court last year for illegal activities. Leave the business people alone, they are helping to keep the city going. Unlike the people at City Hall who are doing nothing but creating havoc for everybody, hassling people about hedges and signs. We need to clean house come November and get some actual people in there.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 19, 2004. Read the original PDF.