On Monday, At-Large Councilman Earl Martin asked Andolsen to delay a key vote on the school renovation issue. Martin argued for more time for resident feedback. While disagreeing with Martin's logic, Andolsen agreed to the request. Council is now scheduled to vote on the resolution July 10. City Council should reject the proposal to waive the fees.
Building inspectors are a limited resource in a busy city.
They have to be hired, trained, paid and supported by appropriations in the city budget, which comes directly out of the taxpayers' pockets. There are no spare inspectors sitting around with nothing to do. If some of them are required to work for free for the schools, it means other work they should be doing will be postponed, or the city government will have to pay out of its pocket to hire additional inspectors to keep up. You might think an agreement to waive the fees up front will make the bids come in lower. Don't count on it.