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Council reviews business-license receipts; staff recommends deeper review before changing tax rates
Summary
Finance staff reported business-license collections through September 2024 exceeded full-year 2023 receipts by about $25,815 (roughly 3%); staff made no recommendation to change rates and council suggested further review by the economic-development advisory committee and staff before considering any rate action.
Assistant Director of Finance Connie Lamar presented the town’s calendar-year business license analysis through Sept. 2024 and told council collections were about $25,815 higher than total 2023 collections — roughly a 3% increase so far.
Lamar said business-license taxes are due March 1 and any rate change for 2025 would need adoption by Dec. 31 with required public hearings and advertising. She noted a formula error in one table was corrected in the packet but the overall data remained unchanged.
Councilors asked whether staff track reasons for business departures; Lamar said staff do not systematically capture reasons and often rely on anecdotal information (moves, nonrenewals). Several councilors suggested routing a deeper analysis through the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) and bringing staff back to discuss potential changes for future budget cycles rather than making an immediate decision.
No motion to advertise or change rates was made at the meeting; staff said direction would be needed tonight to meet deadlines for a 2025 rate change, which the council declined to provide.
