The Provo Municipal Council will hold a public hearing on proposed changes to the city's business license fees in its meeting on Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Council Chambers of the Provo City Center, 351 W. Center St.
The city has been evaluating the appropriateness of its business license fees for several months. State law allows cities to use business license fees to recover the cost of administering the licenses and the "disproportionate" cost of providing services to certain businesses. "Some businesses require more police, fire, sanitation or other services compared to single-family homes," stated Provo spokeswoman Helen Anderson. "If not recovered in fees, those costs come out of the city's general fund."
After months of analysis, including two professional studies, the city found it is only recovering about 36% of its costs in this area. As a result, the Municipal Council is considering a proposal to adjust fees to more accurately reflect the city's costs. Some fees would decrease while others would gradually increase to the point that the city would be recovering about 57% of its costs in five years.
"It's the city's intent to find the right balance between two important interests," stated Anderson. "The city wants to encourage business without overburdening taxpayers in general. It's part of developing a long-term, sustainable budget. If not addressed now, it could cause serious problems down the road."
The first phase of increases would apply to new businesses starting in January, 2012, and to existing businesses in November, 2012.
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