Building safety office seeks new fee for violators

KINGSTON, N.Y. » The city’s Building Safety Division wants a new fee charged when property owners fail to comply with a violation notice/order to remedy.

Kingston Deputy Fire Chief Tom Tiano, who heads the division, told the Common Council’s Finance and Audit Committee last week that he recently became aware that a fine his office was levying when a violation was not corrected within 30 days was not actually permitted. He said the city’s corporation counsel told him the state law his office was using to fine the violators could be applied only by the courts.

Instead of that $1,000 fine, Tiano asked city lawmakers to create a “failed inspection fee” his office could use. He asked that the fee schedule for his department be changed to allow a $500 fine each time an inspection is done to determine whether a violation had been corrected and that inspection fails. The inspection would be done 30 days after a violation notice/order to remedy was sent to the property owner, Tiano said.

“It’s just a tool that I would be able, that other inspectors would be able, to use to get the people to comply with what the codes are,” Tiano said. He said it “gives some teeth back” to his department.

Instead of the fixed $500 failed inspection fee, the committee agreed to support a progressive fee schedule. The first failed inspection would result in a fee of $250, while the second would carry a $500 fee. The third and additional failed inspections would result in $1,000 fines.

The change to the fee schedule still must go to the full Common Council for a vote. The council meets again early next month.

Tiano said most people come into compliance with the city’s codes after receiving a violation notice from his department. He said there are just 10 to 15 percent of the violators who do not comply, such as out-ofstate banks that own property in the city.