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City delays decision on business license fees

Some councilors feel it will send the wrong message

The Durango City Council on Tuesday delayed a decision on whether to increase business license fees and create new licenses.

City staff members will draft two resolutions on the issue for the council to consider, City Manager Ron LeBlanc said.

Councilors split on the parts of the proposal that would add more tiers to the business license structure and increase prices.

Mayor Christina Rinderle and Councilor Dean Brookie felt the increases would send the wrong message to businesses in a year when increases to water, sewer and recycling services already are proposed.

“Is this something that is penalizing to local business?” Rinderle asked.

The city’s business license tier structure is capped at 21 employees. Any business with 21 employees or more pays $122 for its annual business license.

The proposal would create five new tiers, and it would be capped at 501 or more employees. The largest employers would pay $320 for a license.

But the businesses with the most employees also contribute the most to taxes and this increase might send the wrong message, Brookie said.

Councilors Sweetie Marbury and Dick White did not have the same concerns, in part because they found the increases reasonable.

“It makes sense to cover the cost of the clerk’s office,” White said.

In 2014, the city made $163,308 on business licenses, but it spent $225,321 processing them.

It looked like councilors would split 2-2 on a vote on the issue, and so it was tabled.

Councilors all agreed it would make sense to require businesses that sell alcohol or marijuana to pay for annual business licenses.

Alcohol and marijuana sellers in Durango receive their business license for free when they pay for or renew specialty licenses.

Licenses are required because the city collects its own sales tax, and, if approved, business would pay increased fees next year.

Increasing the fees is expected to raise $60,000 in additional revenue.

Hotels, motels and vacation rentals are included in the proposed changes. They would be charged $30 annually for a sub-license fee that has been law since 2008, but it has not been enforced.

Councilors previously considered requiring nonprofits to pay $30 for an annual business license. But that is no longer part of the proposal.

mshinn@durangoherald.com

Oct 4, 2016
Proposed business license fee increases dropped
May 14, 2016
Business fees increasing, new fees considered by Durango City Council


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