Concord Reduces Cost of Starting Small Business

The cost of starting a small business in Concord decreased this week, after City Council approved reducing the administrative processing fees for new business licenses. 

The fee to process a business license was reduced to $18, down from $72, according to the new master fee schedule adopted Nov. 12. The cost of obtaining a permit for a home-based business also dramatically decreased from $90 to $17. Renewal processing fees were reduced from $48 to $18.

City staff were motivated to change the fees by a comprehensive study of the city’s operational costs that began earlier this year. The study revealed most of the charges assessed on new businesses were administrative. Concord City Council approved amending the city’s master fee schedule with unanimous 5-0 vote.

Council Member Ron Leone said this change is going to be great for small businesses in Concord. “We all recognize that small businesses help to drive our economy,” Leone said. “Although this may appear to be small amounts to people it has an impact when someone is starting a business or somebody has to do a renewal,” he said.

The City will continue to review the amount of money it charges for municipal services as part of a larger study of the city’s economic climate being conducted in preparation for the annual budget creation. The comprehensive study of operational costs is expected to conclude in 2014. 

Council Member Laura Hoffmeister said that when that study is received the fees may change. 

“It’s a double edged sword,” Hoffmeister said. “We want to make sure that we’re covering the right amount of cost in the city, so that the businesses are paying their fair share…But we don’t want homeowners in our towns subsidizing business here. We want to make sure everybody pays their fair share,” she said during a public hearing about the issue in council chambers.

“That study may show that we need to make further adjustments,” Hoffmeister said.

The new fees went into effect on Nov. 12. The business license tax amounts, which were originally set in June 1978, remain unchanged.