Mayor, Fire Chief and angry business owners

Chief Jim Hodges was on the hot seat, Tuesday evening, as he and Mayor Dean Bunkers met with business owners ranging from concerned to livid. The topic: newly implemented (but “on the books” for years) fees for inspections and propane gas tanks.

One hotel owner, sitting just a few feet from the chief, repeatedly accused him of a “money grab” for the fees. A man sitting in the back of the Shilo conference room suggested the fire cheif’s job be eliminated. A small restaurant owner was literally jumping up and down in anger, demanding “What’s going to happen if I don’t pay this (expletive)?”

Most people, facing such open hostilities, might have lost their cool. Not Chief Hodges; chaos is his business, and he maintained his composure just as if he were facing a roaring fire.

Which, in a way, he was.

“You’re trying to build a fire station nobody wants on the backs of the businesses,” sneered one.

“We’re in a recession, folks!” exclaimed another incredulous person.

The timing of asking businesses to ante up in the heart of this recession, and the teeth of a brutal off-season that has seen several businesses shutter, was the accelerant fuel to this fiery outrage.

Though the fees of $60 for inspections and $233-plus (depending on the size) for propane tank permits were approved at a December meeting of City Council, most business managers and owners don’t attend the meetings. The Ocean Shores business community was shocked and furious in early January, when they received letters from the Fire Department, informing them of the fees.

In the past, the Fire Department routinely inspected businesses, making sure they had working extinguishers, clearly marked and accessible exits, etc. They didn’t charge for the inspections in years past, but as part of the budget crunch, Bunkers and Hodges requested permission of council to start charging for these, as well as the propane tanks.

Council can reverse that decision, and Bunkers’ pledged that input from the business community will be heard: “I’ll bring what I pick up here back to the council.”

“Is this about saving EMT jobs?” one hotel owner wanted to know.

“Indirectly, it is,” Bunkers said.

What we have here, as a movie character once famously said, is a failure to communicate.

“I feel so out of the loop,” complained one business owner.

Indeed, it might have been a good idea to meet with businesses BEFORE changes were made, rather than after.

In other words, fire prevention, rather than suppression.

“We have excessive labor costs here in the City,” Bunkers said.

“I’m probably going to have to lay off more this year.”