Carbondale Bytelife

In a 5-2 vote last night, with Mayor Cole and Councilman Haynes voting against, the council passed the originally proposed $35 rental inspection fee. Mayor Cole was in favor of a smaller fee, with a $200 re-inspection fee and it's not clear what Councilman Haynes was in favor of. Only one landlord spoke in opposition to the fee. I especially liked Mr. VanAwken's comment below:

"I though they ought to put a hold on it (the proposal) until they got more citizens participating in the process," he said. More citizen involvement, VanAwken, added, "articulates a vision landlords can buy into."

Seems to me, giving the length of time between proposal and vote, this measure has gotten more citizen particpation than the sales tax increase did.

Labels: City council, housing