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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Business Council Committee - Meeting Date: 8/15/2019MINUTES BUSINESS COUNCIL COMMITTEE CITY HALL, CONFERENCE ROOM 2A 5850 WEST GLENDALE AVENUE GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85301 THURSDAY, AUGUST 15TH, 2019 2:00 PM CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 2 PM. ROLL CALL Committee members present: Vice Mayor Chairperson Joyce Clark, Vice Chairperson Bart Shea and Councilmember Ray Malnar, Yvonne Knaack, Ricardo Toris, and Dale Adams Committee members absent: Council Member Lauren Tolmachoff and John Crow City staff present: Eric Fitzer (Development Services Director), Lisa Rastovsky-Collins (Interim Planning Administrator), Vicki Rios (Assistant City Manager), Lisette Camacho (Interim Budget & Finance Director), Robert Birr (Interim Tax & License Manager, Paul Lopez (Customer Service Manager) CITIZEN COMMENTS There were no citizens present, so Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark did not call for citizen comments. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES A motion to approve the June meeting minutes was made by Ms. Knaack and it was seconded by Councilmember Malnar. All were in favor, and none opposed. ITEMS a. City Business Licensing Code Review presented by Assistant City Manager Vicki Rios Ms. Rios introduced Ms. Camacho, Mr. Birr and Mr. Lopez. Ms. Rios outlined the code review planned for the committee. Mr. Lopez began the slideshow presentation by discussing the history of licensing in Glendale. There are two types of licensing: transition privileging licensing and city business licenses, and the latter licensing is the topic of discussion. Food trucks, towing companies, and other temporary businesses are those who are currently affected by the city business license. Mr. Lopez proposed altering the wording "entering in the city from an outside location" from the current code, and therefore exempting businesses with no physical, permanent presence within the city. Councilmember Malnar wondered how the city's taxes would be affected, and Ms. Rios did admit that this made monitoring taxes more difficult. It would be a matter of ensuring that the businesses are reporting to the TPT correctly. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked who would be in charge of this monitoring, but Ms. Rios stated that there are two licensing analysts that would be oversee this. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark then expressed concerns about businesses not being honest in their locations for tax purposes; Ms. Rios was understanding of her concerns, and she explained that was why this code is currently up for review. Mr. Shea asked to clarify the differences in licenses and had concerns about how the city ensures that the licenses are enforced. Ms. Knaack asked how many cities in the valley have done away with the licensing. Ms. Rios stated that Phoenix does not have a license (only TPT). Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark also expressed concerns about enforcing this with temporary businesses. Councilmember Malnar respectfully disagreed because if the business has a TPT (which is required), businesses must report to the city if they are reporting to the state; however, the issue with this is that the tax may be paid, but it may be paid only in the city that the business was founded in or where the owner resides (not where the actual business takes place). Councilmember Malnar added that dishonest people are dishonest, but those that have been honest with the process thus far will likely remain honest. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark requested how much revenue was accrued last year, and Councilmember Malnar asked how the city tracks the TPT licensing. Ms. Rios did not have the revenue at present, and Ms. Rios then stated that they track the licensing in a variety of ways. Mr. Toris asked what the consequences are for those who aren't paying their fee; Ms. Rios stated that there's a penalty and a fee. Ms. Knaack was concerned with how this will affect the neighboring cities as well. Councilmember Malnar asked if the city asks "what cities will you be servicing?" and have them file sales tax for each city they are servicing. Mr. Birr explained that they do have to list their location codes on their TPT if they are a mobile vendor. Ms. Rios added that businesses are required to do this, but whether or not they actually do these tasks is up to the taxpayer. Councilmember Malnar asked why these cities in the East Valley and Phoenix area are not charging for temporary businesses; Ms. Rios stated that it was not cost-effective to attempt to collect the fees, so they ceased to do this. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked for an alternative method to track and adjust for this; Ms. Rios stated that there have not been any losses since state legislation has been involved (there has actually been an increase). Ms. Rios explained that the main focus of this is meant to not change anything with businesses except for the temporary (or pop-up) businesses. Ms. Knaack explained that this idea doesn't seem to be a bad one, but it is simply a matter of enforcing the codes in place. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark still wanted to review the revenue from the temporary businesses, and Ms. Rios agreed to provide that information at a later time. Councilmember Malnar asked if there is a way to know how many temporary businesses are also paying out to other cities. Ms. Rios explained that if they report in that fashion, it's not incorrect since they are mobile businesses. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked to table the discussion until further information is provided at the September meeting. Councilmember Malnar made a motion, and Mr. Adams seconded. All in favor, and none opposed. Mr. Lopez stated that there are other business licensing policy issues. In the current licensing code, the location is undefined. The proposed change would alter three elements of the code. 1) Define the location as a physical business address located in the city. 2) Define "landlord" as a "person or entity renting commercial properties in the city." 3) Now allow multiple locations to be covered under one license. 2 Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked how the fees are processed, and Ms. Rios explained that it's up to the Business Council Committee to make adjustments to it as they see fit. Ms. Rios clarified that the businesses licenses would be required for those who are renting the building to someone else. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark requested a sliding scale of some kind in regards to the fees per business. Ms. Knaack opposed this idea due to the minimal revenue from these fees, but Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark claimed that the fees can ultimately add up to a substantial amount over time. Ms. Knaack made a motion to approve these changes, and Mr. Shea seconded. All in favor, and none opposed. Mr. Birr introduced concerns with possible exemptions from business licensing. These exemptions would be for city, state, and federal government entities, taxis and other driving services, childcare, babysitting, resident rentals over 28 -day period, real estate agents, home- based education. Ms. Rios explained that this code is meant to match up with state statutes and prevent unnecessary transferring from "one pocket to another" within the city. Ms. Rios then extemporized about each type of businesses noted by Mr. Birr. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked to add a definition of what defines a "home occupation" and what defines a "business." Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked for a motion to approve this with pending refinement to the last item. Councilmember Malnar made a motion, and Bart Shea seconded. Mr. Birr continued discuss current code enforcement. Currently, the code does not specifically allow for licensing inspections, it does not specifically allow for waiving of fees, it does not specifically state the due date of licensing fees, it does not specify that a postmark could be a validation of timely payment, it does not address the change in business location, and it does not specifically state "a license will not be renewed if the business fails to follow other codes and ordinances." The proposal is that these are added to the code. Mr. Toris asked for an example of why the city would waive a fee. Ms. Rios explained that an excusable late fee or a business opening at the very end of the year would be a just cause for waiving a fee. Mr. Toris asked who makes the decisions to waive the fees. Ms. Rios stated that it would depend on the amount, but generally, someone part of the city staff would waive the fee. Ms. Rios explained that the current codes do not specify that the city staff has the ability to ask a business to see their license, which is also an issue. Councilmember Malnar asked if this would include home inspections based on the fact that home businesses occur. If there would be complaints for in-home businesses, the city staff can request a resident to see TPT licensing. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark stated that the committee is leaning towards supporting this, but she requested clarifying language. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked for a motion to table this discussion until the above requested information is presented. Councilmember Malnar made a motion, and Ms. Knaack seconded. All in favor, and none opposed. Councilmember Malnar asked if contractors licenses will follow the same codes, but Ms. Rios stated that she will clarify this after additional research. Ms. Knaack asked if any recategorizing of businesses has caused issues. Ms. Rios asked to hold off until a schedule discussion of TPT will take place. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark suggested planning on this discussion for the next meeting. 3 b. Development Services Report presented by Eric Fitzer Development Services Director. Mr. Fitzer introduced Ms. Rastovsky-Collins and her new role with the city of Glendale. Ms. Rastovsky-Collins discussed her experience with working for a city and her other work experience as well. Mr. Fitzer stated that there is a slow transition with the developments, but it's a positive transition. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked if they have considered doing a survey in responsiveness and accountability. Mr. Shea asked about policies in regards to street lighting depicted in plan submissions, and Mr. Fitzer needed to confer with the Engineering department. c. Review of parking regulations Although this was on the agenda; however, the committee did not get the opportunity to discuss this item. d. Signage Although this was on the agenda; however, the committee did not get the opportunity to discuss this item. e. Future Agenda Items Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark explained that the committee will not necessarily be in place forever, but she wanted to note of the great things the committee has completed. The changes in the building codes with the help of Mr. Shea and Mr. Crow's initiative about accountability and changing the culture of the work force were the biggest successes, according to Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark then stated that the council has approved the funding for the rewriting of the codes. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark provided the committee with a list to help determine what areas they should address, so the consultant has some direction. For the next meeting, Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark requested the committee members determine what areas need to be focused on over the next few months during the committee meetings. Mr. Toris asked if the consultant is responsible for the zoning ordinances or all the city codes. Eric Fitzer stated that the consultant covers the zoning ordinances and the nuisance codes. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark then stated that the committee needs to narrow their focus. After some committee discussion, chapters 28 and 19 would be under the purview of the consultant. A discussion of signage began, but it was tabled until a later meeting since they grew short on time at this meeting. OTHER BUSINESS No other business was discussed. STAFF REPORT No staff reports were discussed. COMMITTEE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS There were no committee comments or suggestions made. NEXT MEETING 51 The next meeting will take place on September 19th, 2019, at 2 PM. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Knaack made a motion to adjourn the meeting, and it was seconded by Councilmember Malnar. The meeting adjourned at approximately 3:44 PM. Sherry Crapser, Recording Secretary 5