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Show Raises License Fees By GARY R. BLODGETT BOUNTIFUL - The city's business license fees, including those for home occupations, occu-pations, are going to be doubled beginning Jan. 1, according to action by the City Council. THE COUNCIL agreed to increase the business license fee from $10 to $20 -just to meet operating costs. City Recorder Arden Jenson told the council that the city has been subsidizing business license operating costs to the tune of about $30,000 per year. "BUSINESS license fees should not be revenue-making, but they should not be so low as to be subsidized by the city by monies that could be used for other purposes," pur-poses," said Mr. Jenson. "Fees should provide pro-vide for a break-even program and this has not been the case the past few years." He noted that the fees have not been increased in-creased since 1969, although costs to administer admi-nister the business license program have skyrocketed several hundred percent. AT THE SAME time, cost of obtaining temporary fees were raised from $10 to $50 per day. Mr. Jenson said "transient merchants" have been a real problem in the city recently with many of them operating without a license and not paying sales tax. HE SAID A check of other northern Utah cities shows many communities charge a very high rate of tax for transient businesses -- those businesses which come into a city and establish a temporary residence on a street corner or in a vacant lot. Mr. Jenson emphasized that costs of administering the business license program includes more than collecting fees and preparing pre-paring a business license. "IT'S A continuing program of policing businesses for health and safety, fire protection, protec-tion, and other needs," explained Mr. Jenson. Jen-son. "Much of the operating costs are connected con-nected with enforcement rather than distribution distri-bution of licenses." He said administrative costs for business licenses will amount to about $60,000 this year, of which about $55,000 is allocated to salaries and benefits. "THE CITY WILL receive only about $30,000 in revenues, leaving an additional $30,000 to be funded by other city revenues which could be used for other purposes if the business license program were self-supporting," self-supporting," the city recorder emphasized. Mr. Jenson then startled the council by pointing out that there are between 250 and 300 new and existing businesses to be dealt with each year - many of these being home occupations. HE SAID about 25 percent of all bust ses in Bountiful fall into the categon :' home occupations. In other council action, approval': given to increase the number ofhouwi ed by the city's assistant attorney from! 32 hours per week for the next sixmo:: beginning Jan. I. ALSO, THE council referred for fur:: study an amendment to the city's ceircr. ordinance which regulates the niimtt upright monuments; approved a trip mayor and city manager; gave final app al to four construction sites; and decifc" "leave as is" the stop signs located alDs Boulevard and Millbrook Way. : The latter was a reconsideration o. proposal to have the stop signs at Intersection In-tersection changed - to be placed insife-Davis insife-Davis Boulevard. CITY Engineer Jack Balling however, that several studies have made of the intersection and the raosi shows about 4,200 cars per day and south through the intersection , only about 1,700 vehicles use Mt-; Way. . ' Residents of the area ha P:: complained that it is inconven.en t:i Millbrook Way because of ther e the grade, both east and wesitaj':-said wesitaj':-said travel is especially hazardous ,. r BALLING noted, howe; there were only two accidents last year, neither of which t. related. , . ii-a;!' The council approved atnp ' e: Mayor Dean S. Stahle an C . Tom Hardy to attend the ann J . H, ence in Washington D.C. Mr- the trip has been budgeted and , about $700 each. FINAL acceptance wsjjj; J subdivision sites --V." J , Plats A and B totaling 21 to , Heights Plat F whtch requiad $1. (X)0 in improvement. uu u The fourth approval gr e, view HwM gSt have been completed M " one-half years. ,bLe S0 j, AFTER CONSIDER, ,he council agreed to r sejs Cemetery CommiKU; a P , ment to the city Ccm. would allow an "upn j.: E, four cemetery grave lots o separate ownership. . k ,0 The proposal will a !la uprishtnumumentssPj .; s apart to allow for . mowers between issue will be hea.d'J,n ? day's council mcctW-, |