Atlantic Beach council tables ordinance adding life-safety inspection fee to business licenses

Mayor Pro Tem John David and the Atlantic Beach Town Council on Nov. 18 voted to table the second reading of Ordinance No. 13-2025, an amendment to the town’s business-license ordinance that would formalize life-safety inspections and the associated fee.

The motion to table, made by Mayor Pro Tem John David and seconded by Councilwoman Carla Taylor, passed on roll call with Councilman Edward Campbell and Taylor voting in favor and David recording his assent. Council members said they want an inspection checklist/chart and clearer placement of the fee in the ordinance before the town asks the state business-license system to collect it automatically.

Town staff told council the state-run license system requires the fee to be codified in an ordinance before the programmer can add it to the automated process. Linda Booker, a staff member who has worked on inspections, said the town’s current practice is to charge a standard inspection amount: "It is the same fee for all inspections, $175," she said. Council discussed that an earlier draft had shown a $10 processing fee in addition to the inspection charge.

Mayor Pro Tem David expressed concern that the current draft could be read as imposing an additional tax on businesses rather than incorporating a fee into the existing license process, saying, "This reads that there's another tax on top of the taxes they already paying." Booker responded that staff can clarify the language and that the ordinance is intended to allow the town to collect the inspection fee through the state system.

By tabling the item the council directed staff to provide the inspection chart, confirm where the dollar amounts will appear, and return with clearer language for a future reading. The tabling moves the matter to a later meeting so council can review the procedural details and the ordinance’s fee table before approval.