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LicenseandOtherFees <br />Feesforobtainingalicensevaryfromcitytocityandinmostcasesincludeabasefeeinadditiontoa <br />perunitfee.Thebaselicensefeesforthecitiesinterviewedrangedfrom$35to$300.Perunitfees <br />rangedfrom$7.50to$23.TheCityofBurnsvillechargesfeesonlyforlicensesthatwererevokedand <br />thenreinstated.Stafffromtwocitiesstatedtheycouldnotimposeanysortofadministrativefineasa <br />penaltyfornotcomplyingwithworkorders.Forthesecities,onlyminimalfinesareadministeredfor <br />missingascheduledreinspection.Ofallthecitiesthatparticipatedinthisstudy,onlyBrooklyn/;“·;©x­ <br />andCoonw¦z7­xrentallicensingprogramsgenerateenoughrevenuefromlicensefeesandfinesto <br />coverthecostofadministeringtheprogram.Hopkinsstaffstatedthattheycameclosetocoveringall <br />costsin2010butusuallyhavenotbeenabletocoverprogramcostswithlicensefees.Severalcitiesalso <br />commentedthattheirrentallicenseprogramshadhighupfrontcostsandthatthecostofadministering <br />theprogramhasdecreasedasstaffandtechnologyhavebecomemoreefficient.Mostofthecitiesin <br />thisstudyimposelicensefeesyearlyatrenewal.Rochesterchargeslicensefeeseverytwoyears,and <br />BrooklynCenterimposeslicensefeesatafrequencybasedonthetypeoflicenseheldbytheproperty <br />owner.Forexample,a$200basefeeforamultifamilydwellingcanbepaidonceeverythreeyearsfor <br />TypeIlicenseholdersoronceeverysixmonthsforTypeIV(provisional)licenseholders,thereby <br />increasingthecostofnoncomplianceonpropertyowners.Intermsofinspections,sevencitiesstated <br />thattheinitialinspectionisincludedinthelicensefee.Sixcitiesrequireafeeforinspectionalongwith <br />thelicensefeeandtwoofthesecitiesuseprivateinspectors. <br />Inspections <br />Thesalariesofcertifiedhousinginspectorsmakeupasubstantialpartofarentallicensingprogram <br />budgets.Thecitiesthatparticipatedinthisstudysaidthattheyattempttorecuperatethesecostspartly <br />throughfeesbutalsousespecializedprogramdesigntomitigatesomeofthecostsofinspections.All <br />citiesinthisstudyrequireaninitialinspectionwithapplicationorrenewalofarentallicense.Twocities, <br />BurnsvilleandNewBrighton,7š“x·requireaninspectionwithlicenseapplicationorrenewal.These <br />citiesonlyinspectbasedoncomplaintsfromconcernedcitizens.Oftheremainingcities,allbutone <br />scheduleinspectionsonayearlybasis.Thetimingofinspectionscoincideswithrentallicenserenewals <br />sothatnotallyearlyinspectionsarenecessarilyconductedatthesametime.Inadditiontothese <br />scheduledinspections,thesecitiesalsorespondtocomplaintsfromtenantsoranyotherconcerned <br />citizens. <br />Fiveofthecitiesinthisstudyrequirethatalllicensedunitsbeinspectedpriortolicenserenewal.The <br />remainingcitieshavearequirementthatrangesfromtentofiftypercentofalllicensedunits,withthe <br />unitsthatareinspectedrotatingfromonelicensetermtothenext.Forexample,theCityofCoon <br />Rapidsrequiresthat25%ofallunitsbeinspectedeveryyearsothatallunitsareinspectedeveryfour <br />years. <br />Inordertoreduceadministrativecosts,thecitiesofLittleCanadaandWestSt.Paulusethirdparty <br />inspectorswhoareregisteredwitheachcity.Propertyownerscanuseanyinspectoronthe-z·äx­listof <br />11 <br /> <br />