Thank you to all the owners who joined us for our meeting with City officials regarding business inspections. We had great discussion with leadership and shared our concerns regarding current practices.

This is the first step in building a stronger relationship with city departments that perform business inspections. The goal is to build a foundation of trust and openness in order to improve the process and outcome for both our businesses, the city, and the public as a whole.

Of particular interest was that fact that Health Inspection Supervisors noted that a business can request an inspector to come back later in the week if they stop by at a particularly difficult time. A perfect example of being in the middle of butchering a whole pig when the inspector arrives came up, as it is counter-productive to leave the work sit while walking through with the inspector.

Additionally, many business owners were not aware that they are not required to walk with the inspector on their walkthrough, although the practice is encouraged as many issues can be addressed on the spot or the inspector can offer education and suggestions to prevent future issues.

If you encounter a situation relating to an inspection (fire, health, etc.) that you feel needs to be addressed, please reach out to the Regulatory Affairs Committee for review. The group has helped on an as needed basis with inspection requests, and uses these situations to determine key areas to seek improvements in the city process.