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Joplin council directs staff to draft EV charging-station license fee; options include $200 flat or gross-receipts model
Summary
City staff recommended a new business-license fee for electric-vehicle charging stations that would recover licensing and inspection costs; council asked staff to draft an ordinance reflecting either a flat minimum fee (example $200) with modest gross-receipts surcharges or a gross-receipts model and return in two weeks for consideration.
At the Joplin City Council informal meeting on Dec. 1, 2025, city staff presented options for a new business-license fee for electric-vehicle charging stations and council members asked staff to prepare an ordinance for consideration at the next meeting.
Leslie Haas, speaking for city staff, said the proposed fee arose from the city’s biannual user-fee review and must comply with Missouri’s "Hancock provisions," which allow municipalities to recover the cost of providing services to a specific user group but prohibit charging more than cost recovery or imposing a tax without voter approval. Haas said the city’s licensing cost for a charging-station location is about $263 and covers one inspection by fire and building personnel plus administrative reviews by planning, zoning and finance.
Haas described two approaches staff recommends the council consider: a gross-receipts-based business-license fee (the city’s current business-license schedule would be applied, with a stated minimum of $30 in the staff example) or a flat/minimum-fee model (staff used $200 as an example minimum) with the option of adding modest surcharges for higher receipts. Haas said Independence, Missouri, was among the few peer cities the staff found that charges for EV charging-station licenses; Independence’s minimum is $75 by comparison.
Council members asked procedural and policy questions. Dr. Farnam asked whether a gross-receipts approach would rely on self-reporting or on measured electricity consumption; Haas said business license gross receipts are self-reported by the business. Councilmember Carlin confirmed the $263 licensing-cost estimate is per location and that annual inspections are performed once a year; Haas said the post‑installation annual inspections are less thorough than the initial inspection.
Councilmember Jackson raised a policy question about road funding, urging staff to investigate whether EV charging could be treated similarly to gasoline for road‑use revenue (he noted gasoline taxes support road maintenance). Haas said jurisdictions elsewhere are exploring consumption-based approaches and staff will look into the legal and technical feasibility.
Several council members backed a hybrid approach. Councilmember Lawson and others voiced support for a flat fee covering a block of chargers plus a modest additional fee tied to gross receipts; Councilmember Cobb suggested tiered pricing (for example, a $200 fee covering the first set of chargers, then a smaller fee for additional ports). The mayor summarized the council’s direction and asked staff to draft an ordinance reflecting those options and return in two weeks; Haas said, if adopted, the ordinance could be effective April 1, 2026, for the new business-license year.
No formal motion or vote was taken at the informal meeting; staff requested direction to prepare the ordinance.
The council’s next steps are procedural: staff will draft the ordinance and return it for formal consideration. Council members asked staff to research whether an electricity-consumption or vehicle‑equivalent approach to road‑use revenue is permissible under state or federal law before the ordinance is finalized.
Quotes
"We did the biannual user-fee review in the summer…one of the new recommended fees was a business license fee for electric vehicle charging stations," Leslie Haas said during her presentation.
"All businesses — most of our business license fees are based on gross receipts, and the businesses have to report that to us. It's self reporting," Dr. Farnam asked; Haas replied confirming the city relies on self-reported gross receipts.
"I look at this as…this is fuel, essentially," Councilmember Jackson said, urging staff to explore an approach like fuel taxes for roads.
What to watch for
- The drafted ordinance expected at the council’s next meeting (staff indicated a two‑week turnaround). - Staff follow-up on the legality and mechanics of measuring electricity consumption or otherwise aligning EV charging fees with road‑use funding. - Whether the council opts for a gross‑receipts model, a flat minimum fee (staff used $200 as an example), or a hybrid tiered approach.
