Should businesses that don't register with the village be punished?

One business in Spring Grove recently opened up shop without registering with the village. Now the village might establish a punishment for businesses that do that in the future.

Every business in Spring Grove is required to complete a one-page registration form annually. It's mostly a safety measure aimed at letting emergency officials know what business hours typically are and who has a key for the business. And it's free.

But one business that opened recently didn't complete a registration and currently is using a non-approved sign.

People usually don't like folks that don't follow the rules – and governments especially don't like it – so the matter sparked interesting discussion at the Spring Grove Village Board meeting Tuesday night.

Village officials already have approached the offending business (which wasn't named at the meeting). But to stress the importance of registering, some board members think businesses that don't register should be punished.

The board is going to examine the issue and discuss whether punishment is appropriate. One idea thrown out by Trustee Del Houghton was that businesses be shut down when they don't follow the rules. Based on my own brainstorming, I could see a village establishing a fine or fee for non-registrants, or perhaps citing them under a local ordinance, if the village decided that registration was that important.

But is it really that critical? Should people be fined or punished for not completing what is meant as a safety measure? Or is it the principle of the matter – that a business should follow the rules if they'd like to operate in town?

I'm curious what you think. Should businesses that don't complete the free registration be shut down? Fined? Or should the village turn a blind eye? Post a comment and let me know.