Home Latest Projects
07 | 31 | 2010
The Latest
Starting a business license program PDF Print E-mail
Written by enrique   
Saturday, 06 June 2009 11:15

The “nuance” is this:  

1. The “license” is regulatory (not revenue raising) in nature.  Thus, any costs associated with its administration (such as time spent by planners to review applications for zoning compliance or Finance staff in issuing or renewing the license) is a fee, and not subject to the voter approval requirements of Prop 218. 

2. The “tax” is just that – a tax, and only exists to raise revenues.  There is no expectation of a link between costs and revenues.  Any increase (even in just in categories but revenue neutral overall) would be subject to voter approval: majority if general purpose and two-thirds if earmarked. To keep these concepts distinctly different, we have two separate ordinances: one for business tax – which sets tax amounts; and another for businesses licenses, which authorizes fees to be set by resolution.  For clarity, they are in separate sections of our municipal code: the tax in “Revenue and Finance” (Chapter 3); and the license in “Licenses, Permits and Regulations (Chapter 5). Thus, when we renew business licenses and taxes, businesses pay for two distinctly different things: a business license (fixed fee of $34 – slated to go to $42 in July); and a business tax, which is .0005 of gross receipts (or $50 per $100,000 of gross receipts), with a minimum tax of $25. Until 2005, we only had a business tax ordinance.  Among other things, in order to recover the regulatory costs we were in fact incurring, we adopted a business license ordinance.

 To help understand this dual concept, I’ve attached three things: 

  1. Summary of the “business license” concept when we implemented it in 2005.
  2. Our business tax ordinance (last updated in 1991)
  3. Our business license ordinance (adopted in 2005)
 A key feature of our business license ordinance is:   5.01.104 Illegal Occupations. A business license issued pursuant to this chapter does not authorize, permit or allow the license holder to do any act or conduct any business of any kind which is otherwise prohibited by City policies, regulations or ordinances ; or any state or federal statute, law, rule, order or regulation In short, the business license ordinance does not allow anyone to do anything they aren’t otherwise allowed to do. In summary, to the extent that you set a separate fee for a “license” (whether new or an increase in an existing fee), the amount is not subject to voter approval. However, for this to be the case, the fee must be based on the cost of processing/administering the license program.  For context, in addition to business tax revenues of $1.8 million annually, business license fee revenues generate about $300,000 annually.  So, the “nuance,” from a revenue perspective, is not an insignificant one.  (And believe it or not, our business community was supportive of the business license ordinance.) Hope this helpful.  Please call me if you have any questions.  

- Bill

 

Bill Statler

Director of Finance & Information Technology

City of San Luis Obispo

Last Updated on Saturday, 06 June 2009 11:17
 
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE SECTION City PDF Print E-mail
Written by enrique   
Tuesday, 02 June 2009 11:42
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. Section 16000 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
16000. (a) The legislative body of an incorporated city may, in
the exercise of its police power, and for the purpose of regulation,
as herein provided , and not otherwise, license
any kind of business not prohibited by law transacted and carried on
within the limits of its jurisdiction, including all shows,
exhibitions , and lawful games, and may fix the rates of
the license fee and provide for its collection by suit or otherwise.
Any legislative body, including the legislative body of a charter
city, that fixes the rate of license fees pursuant to this
subdivision upon a business operating both within and outside the
legislative body's taxing jurisdiction, shall levy the license fee so
that the measure of the fee fairly reflects that proportion of the
activity actually carried on within the taxing jurisdiction.
(b) No license fee levied pursuant to subdivision (a) that is
measured by the licensee's income or gross receipts, whether levied
by a charter or general law city, shall apply to any nonprofit
organization that is exempted from taxes by Chapter 4 (commencing
with Section 23701) of Part 11 of Division 2 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code or Subchapter F (commencing with Section 501) of
Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the
successor of either, or to any minister, clergyman, Christian Science
practitioner, rabbi, or priest of any religious organization that
has been granted an exemption from federal income tax by the United
States Commissioner of Internal Revenue as an organization described
in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or a successor to
that section.
(c) Before a city, including a charter city, issues a business
license to a person to conduct business as a contractor, as defined
in Section 7026, the city shall verify that the person is licensed by
the Contractors' State License Board.

 

Last Updated on Friday, 05 June 2009 16:11
 
Business & Professions code County PDF Print E-mail
Written by enrique   
Tuesday, 02 June 2009 11:30

CALIFORNIA CODES
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE
SECTION 16100-16105

 


16100.  (a) The board of supervisors may in the exercise of its
police powers, and for the purpose of regulation, as herein provided,
and not otherwise, license any kind of business not prohibited by
law, transacted and carried on within the limits of its jurisdiction,
including all shows, exhibitions, and lawful games, and may fix the
rate of the license fee and provide for its collection by suit or
otherwise.
   (b) No license fee levied pursuant to subdivision (a) that is
measured by the licensee's income or gross receipts, whether levied
by a charter or general law county, shall apply to any nonprofit
organization that is exempted from taxes by Chapter 4 (commencing
with Section 23701) of Part 11 of Division 2 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code or Subchapter F (commencing with Section 501) of
Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the
successor of either, or to any minister, clergyman, Christian Science
practitioner, rabbi, or priest of any religious organization that
has been granted an exemption from federal income tax by the United
States Commissioner of Internal Revenue as an organization described
in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or a successor to
that section.
   (c) Before a county issues a business license to a person to
conduct business as a contractor, as defined by Section 7026, the
county shall verify that the person is licensed by the Contractors'
State License Board.

 

16100.5.  Notwithstanding Section 16100, no county or city and
county shall require a regulatory license or impose a regulatory
license fee with respect to cafe musicians.
   "Cafe musician," for the purposes of this section, means any
person playing a musical instrument in any place or establishment
where food or alcoholic beverages are sold, offered for sale or given
away, who is an employee, or independent contractor, of such place
or establishment.  "Cafe musician" does not include an owner,
manager, or operator of such place or establishment.

 

16100.7.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 37101 of the Government Code,
Section 7284 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, or Section 16000 of
this code, no county or city and county shall require a regulatory
license or impose a regulatory license fee with respect to the
solicitation of donations for the support of veterans by federally
chartered veterans' organizations specified in Title 36 of the United
States Code.
   (b) This section shall not be construed to prohibit licensing and
regulation of business-related activities, such as those involving
the sale or exchange of goods or services.

 

16101.  The boards of supervisors in their respective counties may
for the purpose of revenue license individuals acting as hawkers,
itinerant peddlers or itinerant vendors, other than merchants having
a fixed place of business in the county, their employees, and farmers
selling farm products produced by them.


16102.  Every soldier, sailor or marine of the United States who has
received an honorable discharge or a release from active duty under
honorable conditions from such service may hawk, peddle and vend any
goods, wares or merchandise owned by him, except spirituous, malt,
vinous or other intoxicating liquor, without payment of any license,
tax or fee whatsoever, whether municipal, county or State, and the
board of supervisors shall issue to such soldier, sailor or marine,
without cost, a license therefor.

 

16103.  No license fee may be collected from, nor any penalty for
the nonpayment thereof enforced against, any commercial traveler
whose business is limited to goods, wares and merchandise sold or
dealt in at wholesale in this State.


16104.  No license requiring a fee greater than 3 cents ($0.03) per
head shall be imposed by the board of supervisors of any county on
the business of raising, grazing, herding or pasturing sheep, nor
shall any such license tax be applicable to or on account of lambs
under eight months old.

 

16105.  (a) Any license issued to a business pursuant to this
chapter shall be revoked for violation of Section 24185 of the Health
and Safety Code, relating to human cloning.
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2003, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2003, deletes or extends
that date.


 

Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 June 2009 11:42
 
511 Next Bus Technology PDF Print E-mail
Written by enrique   
Monday, 06 April 2009 13:23

We are excited to have been selected to provide our management services in this cutting edge project.

The project goals are to provide enhanced customer service and increased safety and efficiency in public transportation.
With Westcat we are leading the way to the future of modern public transportation.
Riders will have on street information about when the next bus will arrive at their stop.
The system also automated the voice announcement of the next stop on the bus itself.
This project not only provides local information to our riders but also provides data to the 511 regional transit information center.
This allows for the first time the efficient coordination of services between different agencies and districts.

Additional benefits. 

Improved scheduling capacity
More accurate feedback and schedule management.
information from where and when fares are collected which is used to allocate scarce resources to meet the demand.
Accountability and risk reduction.
We know where the bus is and how the bus is being driven.

We now have information available on how efficiently the bus is operating and can use this to improve the preventative maintenance program.
Our role has been to provide the Liaison and day to day project management services to West cat and to validate and coordinate the existing infrastructure with the incoming systems.

 While this project is not yet complete it is working and it appears there are no insurmountable obstacles to a stunning success.

 

http://511.org/

 

 Skills used

Project management,Networking,Security,Reporting, testing, GPS , SQL server, 2003 Server, Firewalls , Routers , Negotiating , Electrical & municipal code

 

Last Updated on Monday, 06 April 2009 13:42
 


Photos
No images