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| Public Raises Building Codes Concerns to County Board |
County residents had a chance to voice their concerns or support for building codes in front of the Knox County Board and many citizens, and even board members, shared the same concerns.
The Knox County Board Monday night held a public forum to discuss the possible implementation of building codes throughout the county, for what Knox County Board Chair Greg Bacon says is a safety issue. He says the codes are set up so residents can get what they pay for.
Bacon told the group the county is not going after people, they are trying to keep them safe.
"I'm not after going after you going up and down the gosh darn curb looking for a fricking water heater, I don't give a damn. But if you buy something, if you expect to get a tv, you expect the damn thing to work. If it don't work, you're ticked off. If you buy a damn house and you have a contractor build the damn thing and he don't do it right, you don't know it's not done right until something happens."
Bacon says he won't be at home improvement stores like Lowe's to be policing people who buy new items for their home to see if they have a permit for the work.
District Four Board member Wayne Saline thinks the codes will end up costing taxpayers.
"As far as not costing us any tax dollars, you will be levied a small amount of money for the retirement fund for this full time employee," Saline said. "It will be pennies, but you will be levied for that. We need to look at what the people from the county want, what the true cost is going to be and what the true benefits are going to be. This is a waste of our time and our money."
District One Board member Allen Pickrel says he worries for the future with the county having to issue over 700 $50 permits for electrical or plumbing systems, in order to pay a proposed $35,000 for a inspector salary to come and review work that's being done on a home.
Pickrel says it's not a well thought out plan and the county will have to raise more funds in order to pay for the program.
A resident of Monmouth and a former Galesburg Police Officer Kurt Kramer said he was adamantly against the codes and voiced his concern about a possible rise in taxes to pay for the program.
"It may not happen with this board, it may not happen with the next board but you can bet, you're going to get taxes raised for this," Kramer said. "Down the road it's going to happen, and it's going to grow out of this. You're going to get more little ordinances and laws. I love Galesburg, I can't stand all their petty ordinances in this town. A lot of people are moving out of this town because of that, I myself did as well."
The board voted to display the building codes for 30 days in the clerk's office prior to the final board vote in November.
(District One Board member Allen Pickrel speaks to the Knox County Board Monday night, stressing his opposition to building codes.)
(A crowd inside a Knox County Courtroom listen to hear county board members speak about possibly adopting building codes in Knox County.)
(WGIL News Story and Photos by Dominic Fortini.) |
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| 10 13 09 by Newsroom |
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