Minutes 1995 1106 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Minutes - San Leandro City Council Meeting - November 6, 1995 Page - 6 - NEW BUSINESS (continued) Mr. Oliver said business license fees have not been increased since 1988 and are the lowest in Alameda County. He said the City and Chamber of Commerce jointly conducted workshops for businesses and the City placed ads in community newspapers. Over 100 people attended the workshops, and the Finance Director talked to over another 100. During that time, the original recommendations were reduced significantly from the original concept. He said the original concept was to protect the 6,000 small businesses in San Leandro; the current concept provides $600,000 over two years and permits the City to retain the five police officers. John Jermanis, Finance Director, said the revised proposal provides a threshold for gross receipts and retains the per employee basis for small businesses. He said there are approximately 6,500 businesses in San Leandro; 5,400 will not be affected at all by the gross receipts charge. He said the proposal includes a two-year phase-in, and other revisions were made as a result of public input. He said staff was unable to develop a solution for vehicle fleet sales. Mr. Jermanis said the Development Fees for Street Improvements (DFSI) have been reduced by as much as 44% to encourage business development and expansion. He said San Leandro's business license rate will still be the lowest in Alameda County. The Mayor opened the meeting for public comments. Ron Musgrove, 1516 Regent Drive, Owner of Applied Fusion Inc. , said the San Leandro Manufacturers' Association and the Chamber of Commerce unanimously oppose the increase, especially gross receipts. He said the City needs business to remain healthy, and every tax affects every citizen. He requested that the City Council deny the increase and direct the City Manager to find savings elsewhere. James Begier, Begier Buick, said retail auto sales have a very low markup, and fleet sales only make $30 per car. He said they will lose hundreds of sales. He proposed a reduction to eighty cents per car. Jack Goodrich, President of the Chamber of Commerce, commended staff for revising the business license tax and for listening to the business community and making the proposal as fair as possible. However, he said the Chamber of Commerce is still fundamentally opposed. He said, in spite of the City's efforts to deal with this fairly, a couple of hundred businesses will still be affected unfairly. He said the calculations are complicated, and businesses may get audited by the City if they do them wrong. He said the tax will be higher next year and the year after, and San Leandro will lose its competitive advantage