I don't see why the city couldn't have a few well equipped trucks
ready for maintenance runs on houses where, for whatever reason, the homeowner
couldn't comply on a timely basis with needed repairs.
Why not have a list of approved handymen/women who could accept a job
with the city along with their other clients?
I'd anticipate some union problems, but this wouldn't be big time
infringement, just little jobs on owner occupied properties.
Said repair person could check out a truck, use city purchased materials,
charge the city by the hour and throw in a little homeowner training to boot.
The homeowner could pay on a contracted basis over time with interest to
cover the cities outlay.
The reason handypersons could offer cheaper services is precisely because
they don't specialize much. I just returned from a job where I replaced a
faucet, gutted out a toilet and replaced the internals, rewired a light fixture
and unstuck a warped door. None of these jobs required a master plumber or
electrician and the cost was probably 1/3 what it could have been. The city could
offer such cheap services for citizens falling a little behind in their
maintenance and not incur any real expense.
Not everyone has a handy neighbor.
Jon Gorder
Loring Park
TEMPORARY REMINDER:
1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.
2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject
(Mpls-specific, of course.)
________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
