Tiny Kenneth City embroiled in Tidygate

KENNETH CITY — It's showdown time.

Opponents of a proposal that would allow city officials to enter homes and businesses they don't think are up to snuff are expected to descend on the City Council tonight.

The 26-page ordinance that will be discussed tonight is intended to clean up the city, but critics are comparing the council to Hitler and Castro.

Council members say the proposal is necessary to bring Kenneth City's appearance up to snuff. They and their supporters say the town has deteriorated in recent years and is getting worse every day. They blame homes abandoned from foreclosure, and property owners and renters who fail to maintain their homes. The result: falling property values in this city of 4,400 people.

The ordinance would set minimum standards for all property owners. Most contentious is the provision allowing city officials to enter any home or business to inspect the interior. They can seek a court order to force an owner to comply.

The pushback has been enormous. Mayor Muriel Whitman said the crowd at the Community Hall last month was the largest at any council meeting.

Objections range from the way the council went about drafting it — a workshop held one morning with little description of the agenda item — to concerns about neighborhood "snitches" who will use the provisions to harass neighbors they don't like. The opponents also point to the economy and the town demographics: A rundown property can be more a sign of the inability to fix things because of age, hard financial times or a combination of reasons than laziness.

As for dropping property values and lack of sales, the opponents say, look at the rest of the nation with its burst housing bubble, economic meltdown, layoffs and job losses.

Faced with an increasingly hostile crowd and demands for more explanation, council members agreed to hold a workshop at 7 tonight in the town's Community Hall to go over the ordinance a paragraph at a time.

Council members cannot vote at workshops, but they can decide to drop the issue, plan a final vote or send it back to the drawing board.