WINNSBORO – Without a recommendation for or against, the Fairfield County Administration and Finance Committee voted unanimously to send a draft ordinance (No. 847),) ‘…Enacting and Establishing a Business License for Fairfield County…’ to county council Monday night for review and consideration.
The committee included Council members Clarence Gilbert, chair; Doug Pauley; and Dan Ruff.
The draft ordinance pertains to businesses in the unincorporated portion of the county, not to businesses that already pay a business license fee in Fairfield municipalities.
The county currently only charges a $15 registration fee for all businesses, regardless of the amount of revenue the business brings in.
Community Development Director Joseph Toledo made a power point presentation to the committee that explained the pros and cons of a business license versus a registration fee.
A business license would be based on each business’s gross revenue and NAICS codes, and would provide authority to the county to audit and regulate businesses. The county has no authority to audit or regulate businesses that pay registration fees, Toledo said.
There is limited enforcement options to bring businesses into compliance when they fail to pay the registration fees, while a business license provides the county the ability to enforce county regulations, zoning requirements, tax compliance, etc. Toledo said that noncompliance of a business to pay a business license fee can result in that business being shut down.
Registration fees apply equally to resident and non-resident businesses. The business license offers fair regulations and practices, Toledo said, for all businesses in the unincorporated county.
Under the business license model, non-resident contractors pay higher fees than resident contractors.
The draft ordinance will now go forward to council to decide whether to go forward with it or not.
If it does go forward, the next steps, according to Toledo, would be to engage with towns in the county to coordinate adoption, create or designate a board or commission to oversee certification, and set timelines for ordinance drafting, public hearings, and implementation.
It is not known when council will review and vote on the draft ordinance.
