Kansas City, Mo. ? Businesses and apartment owners stand to receive close to $1 million in reimbursements after a judge struck down annual fees Kansas City began charging two years ago for fire inspections.

Besides the reimbursement, the ruling issued Thursday also could cost the city about $600,000 per year in inspection fees.

The city did not immediately announce whether it would appeal.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Justine Del Muro found that the ordinances establishing the fees violate the Hancock Amendment’s requirements that new taxes be put to a public vote. He also found the ordinance unconstitutionally vague for not clearly defining terms such as “business” and other wording.

Facing a tight budget, the city began charging the fees two years ago. Before that, general tax dollars paid for the inspections.

Apartment owners and commercial building managers complained that the fee formula was unfair and that the inspections were a public service that should be provided from the general fund.

“We contend that if it’s a tax, it should be called a tax and left to the voters to decide whether that’s something they want or not,” said Sam Alpert, executive director of the Heartland Apartment Assn.