Workshop to address new city business license

The city of Polson will hold a second public workshop regarding a possible new business license at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 27 at City Hall.

The proposal was first publicly discussed during an initial workshop on Jan. 26 that drew just two members of the public. At that time, the proposal hadn’t even been put to paper just yet. It was merely a discussion, led by City Manager Ed Meece and Kevin Straub, assistant fire chief for the Polson City Fire Department.

Straub recommended the idea to the Polson Commission and presented it as a matter of public safety. The new business license would be granted only after Straub and his department conduct fire safety inspections at local businesses.

Straub and Meece suggested several exemptions from the business license, including nonprofits, government agencies, flea markets, garage sales and newspaper carriers.

Licenses likely would require annual renewal.

Since the January workshop the city has produced a nine-page document that explains potential requirements and fees. The document also spells out a potential license application process.

All discussions are still preliminary, and no ordinance establishing the license has been presented to the City Commission.

Also yet to be determined is a fee for any such business license. When pressed on the question in January, Meece said only that the benchmark communities that the city often cites for comparison charge fees in a range of approximately $40 to $80.

The latest document suggests the fee might be determined by several factors, including number of employees and a square footage.

The document is attached to the agenda for the April 27 workshop on the city’s website at www.cityofpolson.com/meetings.