Wheeling looks at registering contractors

The Wheeling village board is looking at registering contractors who work in town to ensure residents aren't swindled by those businesses.

However, the prospect hasn't come without some confusion on semantics.

A few years back, after a hailstorm, several residents hired roofers who took their money and left town without doing work.

Trustee Ken Brady proposed licensing anybody who does contract work so if that situation occurred again, the village would at least know where to search for the corrupt businesses.

"At least we have something on file," Brady said.

He said the intent is to have a registry where residents can check on a business when they are looking for work to be done on their homes. The fee to register would be nominal, $25 to $50.

At a board meeting earlier in December, when the notion was discussed, trustees disagreed on how far to take the registration.

Trustee Judy Abruscato said the village largely does the same thing when contractors have to get permits for work they do in town; however, staff members said this would go a bit further and require some financial information from those companies.

Abruscato and interim Village President Dean Argiris also said even if the village registers businesses, much of the responsibility for checking out contractors lies with residents, who should ask the same types of questions the village would and make sure the businesses are registered with the village.

They also worried about who would fall under the requirement, such as landscapers or those doing small jobs at homes.

The board will likely pass a resolution on the idea some time in January after the details are ironed out.