The York City Fire Department can't be blamed for doing its job, which includes the inspection and licensing of rental units and apartment houses throughout the city.

And the city of York can't be blamed for insisting on safe rental housing within its boundaries. Public safety is a responsibility of city government, which means it has an obligation to make certain that rental units have operating smoke alarms, working electrical and plumbing systems, no rodent or bug infestations and provide an environment (walls aren't falling down) fit for human habitation.

I have no problem with any of that.

I do have some concern about the expense of those inspections being passed on to landlords in the form of occupancy licenses and permits, however, because it smells as much like the city has created another revenue stream at the expense of landlords as it does any concern about renter safety.

But that's a subject for discussion another day. On this day, I'm inclined to give the city and the fire department the benefit of the doubt, though it's absolutely unacceptable that the end result of their ongoing battle with Aristo Martin, the owner of the Elm Terrace Apartments, 450 Madison Ave., over unpaid fees, sewer and refuse bills and property taxes could lead to the forced eviction of tenants.

According to the York County Tax Claim bureau and the city's finance office, Martin owes $93,000 in back property taxes and another $96,000 in delinquent sewer and refuse fees,

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none of which have been paid for two years.

Because they haven't been paid, the city fire department has refused to issue a rental license. In fact, the apartment building has not been licensed for more than two years, Deputy Fire Chief Steven Buffington said.

So there you have it. Martin owes the city money, and the city is tired of waiting for it. And if the money isn't paid by Wednesday, the building will be posted as unfit for human habitation, and all tenants will be asked to vacate the premises by May 1.

And that I do have a problem with.

Because, as so often happens, the folks who can least afford and least deserve to be inconvenienced or hassled by city officials are precisely the ones who are inconvenienced and hassled right out onto the street.

It's not fair. These people paid their rent in good faith. They almost surely paid a security deposit equal to one-month's rent to the owner before they moved in. They're average folks, not movers and shakers with big salaries and bigger bank accounts.

And they're supposed to just walk away from the only piece of security they might have -- a place to sleep at night and a roof over their heads -- because the building owner and city officials are haggling over debts owed?

It stinks.

I know the only reason the city's taking this position is because it believes it's the best leverage it has to squeeze Martin for the money he owes. And I agree, $189,000-plus is a
lot of money. Past attempts to collect the money have been unsuccessful, Buffington said.

But there must be another solution to this problem -- one that would result in the city's getting its money. A sheriff's sale maybe. Or something along those lines.

But not at the expense of the innocent renters living at the Elm Terrace Apartments.

They deserve better than that.

Columns by Larry A. Hicks, Dispatch columnist, run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. E-mail: lhick s@yorkdispatch.com.