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12/12/1996 - Business Licenses-MinutesAd Hoc/Business License Committee December 12, 1996 Minutes The Committee met at the Fire Station 7:00 pm December 12, 1996. Members present were Chairman Warren VanZee, Councilman Rick Wyatt, Councilman Don Morrison, Accountant Dave Southard, Mall Owner Connie Wright, and Home Business Sherrie McCarthy. Staff present. was City Treasurer Kris Tompkins. Banker Scott Harvey was unable to attend. Draft copies of Ordinance No. 1665, the Mayor's November 1.5t.h letter tasking the Committee, and a list of Committee members and their phone numbers were provided. Councilman VanZee stated that the Mayor and Council want a business license and we need to create an ordinance that satisfactorily addresses the business community's concerns. One of the major concerns pertains to the fee for mini mall tenants. The existing Council has no intention of implementing a B & 0 Tax. Councilman Morrison gave the background of the necessity for a business license starting with the Mayor's January 1992 memo. At this point the City departments do not have a complete list of businesses with current contact people. The fire inspections are not a consistent source of information and there is a need to keep the information updated annually. The Treasurer's office would manage this program. Hopefully, as has been seen in other cities, the sales tax revenue would increase with a better tracking mechanism in place. In February of this year the Council had major discussion on this topic and it was again brought forward in November with the action taken on Ordinance 1665. Treasurer Tompkins reviewed the ordinance history. There are many program options from city to city. Should the registration apply to only businesses located inside the City limits, all companies doing business with City limits, or selective business? The base ordinance was from Gig Harbor. Some things were removed, a lot of others were added from other cities' ordinances. Councilman VanZee conveyed conversations with Paula Baker from the State Ombudsman's Office. There is a hope that a statewide program will be established to standardize business license requirements and that the State would be responsible for collection and disbursement. It appears this plan is just in the formative stages. We have not received the material that she was going to send. She expressed interest in attending a committee meeting. Mr. Southard is opposed to a business license. He feels we will be creating a bureaucracy and this is to just make government bigger. He thinks that City staff do not work together and the internal communication needs improvement. Ms. Wright is neutral. She shared the business community's feelings of animosity and anger. She suggested that there be no fee because the additional sales tax revenue could cover the expenses. Ms. McCarthy is opposed to the license. She wondered why we haven't created a data base in the past four years that this has been under discussion. She doesn't want to see any more burden on businesses. The need for continual update of information was discussed. Mr. Southard feels that the Fire Dept should be maintaining the list through their inspections. He wants proof that the City has explored every avenue to use existing staff to deal with this. He sees this program as an excuse to add City personnel. Councilman Morrison suggested that the police, fire and. bldg. inspector could carry post cards with information to hand out in the field. The $25 fee is not an issue for most businesses. The mini mall tenants can not afford even a small amount. The idea of a master registration paid by the mall owners was discussed. They would be required to provide a list of the tenants with their Department of Revenue numbers. It was brought up that most cities have business licenses. It is rare that a city doesn't have a licensing program in place. Apparently some businesses have left or won't go into Bremerton because of the B & 0 tax and bureaucracy. The business members would like the council members to review the reasons (or justify) the licensing process. Scott Harvey will be given an opportunity to read the minutes and make his comments. The three councilmen need to review the minutes and share the observations with the Mayor. Councilman Morrison asked the business members to critique the ordinance and make notes regarding it's content for future discussion. Meeting adjourned at 8:05 pm.