At the September 25th city council meeting, City Manager Ron Chandler requested a refund for business license fees for applicants that didn’t make enough money with their business to cover the cost of the fees. The council unanimously granted to refund, and then listened to both Chandler, and the father of the teen-aged boys involved urge them to consider changing the currents ordinance. Chandler mentioned that it could be considered “heavy-handed” to exact fees from residents for the privilege of conducting business when the fees outweigh the profit, so he suggested an amendment that would allow for staff members to grant refunds in similar situations.
Mark Mackley is the father whose sons and their friend tried to sell apricots from their family-owned lot on Washington Boulevard this summer. One day this summer, after they had been selling for a short time, a city employee stopped by and ordered them to quit selling without a license, or he would call the police. After their parents helped them apply for and purchase a license, the boys had become intimidated and lost interest in selling. Mackley admonished the council that it is important for kids to be able to work and stay out of trouble without having to go through a bunch of legal red tape. He also declared that it seems improper for the city to require a $150 ‘clean-up’ fee, which is refundable after the business has closed and cleaned up. He said, “A private property owner has the responsibility to clean up his own property, whether he lets someone else use it to sell things, or he, himself, sells products there.”
