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| Borough Raises Rental Inspection Fee to $175Candace BraunBorough Council unanimously voted to approve a raise in rental inspection fees from $40 to $175 at its meeting on Tuesday, October 26. The fee will be applied to one- or two-dwelling units, as well as multiple dwelling structures, as part of the initial inspection, to occur prior to the biannual issuance of certification. The cost of reinspections within the two-year period was also raised. The fee for the first inspection was raised from $25 to $100; from $75 to $150 for the second; and from $150 to $250 for the third and subsequent inspections. In related news, a change to the alarm system penalty fee, proposed by Councilman David Goldfarb at a late September Council meeting, is going to be reexamined by the Borough's Housing Code officials. The change would require residents failing to register or renew an alarm system to pay a $500 penalty as a deterrent against a repetition of the violation. Currently residents are subject to a fine of between $100 to $1,000, as determined by a municipal court judge. According to Fire Official William Drake, the change would deprive the violators of their rights to due process in a municipal court hearing. In addition, the fixed fine of $500 would go against New Jersey Statutes, which do not allow a municipality to affix a specific penalty. The issue will
be reexamined at a later Council meeting after it has been more
thoroughly researched. | |||||||||||||||