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Lebanon council adopts enforcement procedures for delinquent meals-and-lodging taxes and business licenses, schedules July 1 notice to businesses
Summary
The Town Council approved new procedures that tighten enforcement for delinquent meals-and-lodging taxes and business licenses, including a 3-day identification window for staff, in-person contact after 30 days, certified-letter follow-up, and escalation to civil or criminal filings (60-day window for meals-and-lodging; 90-day window for business licenses).
The Lebanon Town Council on June 15 unanimously adopted standard procedures for handling delinquent meals-and-lodging taxes and delinquent business licenses.
Council Member Scott J. Gilmer presented the procedures. For both types of compliance matters the minutes indicate staff will identify a compliance issue within three days of detection and send an initial written notice. If a business remains out of compliance for at least 30 days, the Town Manager is to attempt in-person contact with the responsible party; if contact cannot be made the Manager will follow up by phone and send a certified letter documenting the outreach. The procedures provide for posting a written notice to abate in plain view at the business if compliance is not achieved.
The times for escalation differ by matter: for delinquent business licenses (licenses are due May 1), the procedure sets a 90-day window after the due date before the Town Manager may seek civil charges; for delinquent meals-and-lodging taxes the procedures indicate a 60-day escalation window and state the Town Manager may seek criminal and/or civil charges if compliance is not achieved.
Upon Mr. Gilmer’s motion, seconded by Mr. Leonard, the Council unanimously adopted both the Procedures for Delinquent Meals and Lodging Taxes and the Procedures for Delinquent Business License as recorded in the meeting attachments. The minutes also record that staff were asked to draft and mail a letter to all businesses and restaurants on July 1, 2026, explaining the updated procedures.
The minutes show the council recessed to a closed session under Va. Code §2.2-3711(A)(1) and (A)(7) for personnel and legal matters and, after returning to open session, the Town Manager read the roll-call certification required by Va. Code §2.2-3712(D). The roll-call vote recorded the council members and two staff as "Aye." The meeting minutes contain a typographical inconsistency regarding the final adjournment timestamp (see timeline).
