The Corrector is wondering what everyone’s opinions are about the business license ordinance proposed by the City Councils Planning committee? The license was suggested as a means of determining how many businesses are operating in Havre and where they are currently operating.
One suggestion was to charge a minimal fee for this license such as $25 per year. Many questions have been raised since this suggestion first came to the table weeks ago. Who would need to obtain a license? Would people like the Avon representative need one? What about people operating home based businesses such as mechanics, small contractors, and others that are operating in residential neighborhoods that currently do not allow businesses? Will there be parking or minimal space requirements? What about signs advertising these businesses?
Would people that operate numerous businesses have to pay a license fee on each and every business if they are all part of the same corporation? Should the license fee be based upon the number of employees? The size of the building? Or is one fee good for everyone? Would Landlords have to be licensed? Would this license include medical marijuana growers and the related dispensaries? What about people doing business at the farmer’s market?
Who would or should be in charge of collecting this fee? How would the money collected be used by the city? Would these businesses be inspected or have to abide by any new or special conditions? Would the city require that all businesses provide liability insurance, worker’s compensation coverage, and the other safeguards required of larger businesses?
The Chamber of Commerce has around 400 members but suggest there are well over 600 businesses operating in Havre. At $25 each this would generate approximately $15,000. Would this warrant another employee? If inspections of these businesses are required is this enough money to handle the expenses of this new department?
The Havre Chamber of Commerce is in the process of sending out a questionnaire to their members to see what they think. The next meeting of this planning committee will be held on June 15th at 5:15 pm
Give us your thoughts. What do you think?
Good questions but who and how will they enforce any or this?
ReplyDeleteIs this just a avenue to get to all the pot businesses?
A fee is just another clever way of taxing businesses. For goodness sake, they are already paying taxes on their property and on each employee. But doggone it anyway, if we can, why not make them pay more. And then once we get it approved, it will be easy enough to generate just a little more money by raising the fee again and again. Yippee!!! NOT
ReplyDeleteWhat are the penalties for noncompliance? Will people having a garage sale be ticketed and arrested for noncomplianace? How about someone selling something on ebay?
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a really big mess to get into from those people seething because the medical marijuana people were organized, used money efficiently, had the truth on their side, and basically outworked the anti side. This tactic has the definate appearance of sore and whiny losers doing anything they possibly can to stop progress.
Give me a break. They are not doing this for money. There just attacking the med. marijuana businesses. Its stupid really. I have talked a few local caregivers and they are more than happy to pay a fee. They dont need to go through all this trouble and piss off local retail and mom an pop shops. Just make a Medical Marijuana tax! Take some of that money and fix something in this rundown town!! Tax the hell out of em!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have always thought that a Business License would be helpful.Having worked at the Havre Fire Dept. it would be a good tool to just know that there is a new Business and what kind it was. An inspection could be done to insure Fire Code safety for the Business and their Customers. Look at other Communities, most of them have license. The fee that is charged should cover an Inspection by the Building Code people to make sure the Business is in compliance with them. Eveyone knows that there is a new business and it is in compliance. These Codes are not for harassment but Safety and also would include handycap access.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a way to try to control the MM providers. I don't have a real problem with it, but they need to work out the details first rather than they typical kneejerk reaction or they will find themselves in another mess. Much the way they didn't think through the details of the MM bill in the first place.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they need to regulate small busines's more? Just a state worker or some one that has never had one would want more regulation. They just put a little more on just to get a little more tax money and say how can this little bit hurt you. But add them all together and you have a lot of little extra paper work and taxes or fee's.
ReplyDeleteMr. Badgley, since your you seem to have no problem spending other peoples money, maybe they should just charge a fee to all non business people to so we can make sure their house is fire safe and up to your expectation. My business has been fire inspected every year since ive been here, even without a licence. Quit picking on pot people, its legal.
ReplyDeleteGood call slinger!
ReplyDelete