Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Business Regulation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Trustees table business license fee increase amid debate over tiered approach for small businesses
Summary
The board discussed raising the village business license fee (currently $30), debated an amendment to set the fee at $75 with tiers by square footage, and ultimately voted to table the matter for further work by the Administration & Finance committee.
Trustees debated a proposed increase in the village business license fee, which had remained $30 since 2004. Economic development and finance committee members said administrative costs justify a higher fee; trustees discussed whether to adopt a flat increase or a tiered schedule based on square footage.
Trustee Lepore and others supported a modest increase to align with neighboring communities. Trustee Mason proposed amending the ordinance to set the fee at $75 (reduced from a proposed $100), including late fee adjustments, to ease impact on small businesses. Trustee Schaller proposed a tiered structure based on square footage, suggesting lower fees for small businesses and higher fees for larger operations; Trustee Laporte cautioned that implementing a square‑footage tier would require substantial administrative data collection and work by the building department.
After debate, a motion to table the ordinance and return it to the Administration & Finance Committee passed. Trustees and staff said they would work on a fair approach — potentially a tiered structure — but decided further research was needed before adoption.
Discussion only: trustees debated policy and administrative impacts. Direction: item tabled and referred to A&F for further study; no fee change was adopted at this meeting.
