I agree with a $72 license. One of the advantages of dealing with someone licensed [[at least from what I know in Windsor) is that you know they are bondable [[ie, they had a recent criminal records check or the city verified they had no criminal record with the municipal PD) as part of their license requirement. For example, someone who does messages can't have a criminal record because there's a concern that there can be drug running or prostitution. Escorts also have to be yearly licensed and can't have criminal records in Windsor for that reason. Would you feel comfortable hiring an unbonded housekeeper not knowing whether they had a criminal record for burglary? I wouldn't trust their references alone because their reference could be a friend or family member claiming to be a client and lying. Criminal record searches don't lie. Security guards are also licensed individually for that reason.
I like the $72 licensing aspect of window washers because in Windsor there a lot of people who collect $1,100 a month on government disability with free dental care who work under the table as contractors. If window washers are licensed and the government aid office verifies it, I know they are not scamming taxpayers for that disability cheque.
I would even take it a step further and say you need a license to panhandle on a public street so the police can deal with them aggressively harassing everybody [[but that's a little beyond the article).
As for business licenses, if a pawn shop was allowed to be run by someone with a criminal record, would you be more concerned that they were selling fenced goods? The pawn shop fee of a grand might be ok as municipal police regularly check purchase records for stolen goods and that's an added cost, so why not forward that cost to the business instead of the taxpayer? Should a bar be licensed? In the sense a license verifies the operators don't have criminal records or is a method for limiting criminal activity, I would agree with it. Felons shouldn't be allowed to operate businesses without the public knowing they are felons.
$72 as verification they don't have a criminal record is not a lot. But, if the license fees were excessive without a valid reason except being a tax grab, i'd be opposed. For example, a licensed plumber paying extra city fees daily for any plumbing fix [[as the article suggests) is excessive and just a tax grab. It should just be a yearly license fee.
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