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Yelm council approves ordinance raising business license initial and renewal fees to $50
Summary
The Yelm City Council approved Ordinance No. 1130 to set both initial and renewal business license fees at $50 and remove a sliding-scale fee; the change takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, and finance staff said the processing time for licenses is the same regardless of business size.
The Yelm City Council on Jan. 14 approved Ordinance No. 1130 to amend Title 5 (Business Licenses and Regulations), setting both initial and renewal business license fees at $50 and removing a sliding scale from the code.
Council members said the change is intended to simplify the fee schedule and move fee amounts to the city’s fee schedule. "We did take out that sliding scale and we did... set the initial and the renewal fees each to $50," said Council member Jen Mcgreg during the discussion. The ordinance was presented with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026.
The council packet and staff presentation said finance staff and community development had discussed whether larger businesses require more finance processing time. "As far as finance time, it is the same amount whether it's a small business or a large business," a staff member explained, adding that permitting and inspections can drive community development time for larger operations.
Before the ordinance, staff said the fee schedule listed a $35 initial fee and a $25 renewal fee; those amounts were replaced by the new flat $50 fee for both initial and renewal licensing. City staff also told the council they would move fee amounts into the city fee schedule and that the full budget and fee information are available on the city website.
Councilman Crossman moved to approve Ordinance No. 1130; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. No roll-call tally was read into the record.
The ordinance includes a removal of the sliding-scale language from Section 5.02.060 (A and B) and the stated deadline for implementation is Jan. 1, 2026. Staff identified Sarah Kidd (B&O tax analyst) and Tim Rodger (financial analyst) as contact points for questions about the business tax and fee changes.
The council did not change permitting or inspection processes as part of this ordinance; staff said those processes remain under Community Development procedures and that any additional time associated with larger businesses typically relates to permitting and inspections rather than finance processing time.
