Report to: Committee of the Whole                                   Date of Meeting: October 10th, 2006

 

 

SUBJECT:                          Licence Fees By-law

PREPARED BY:               Darlene Barker, Provincial Offences Officer Supervisor

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

That By-law 2002-284, “A By-law to Establish Licence Fees for the Town of Markham” be amended to:

  • Adjust License Fees consistent with the costs of enforcement and administration of each type and class of licence as outlined in Appendix A
  • Waive a licence fee for the current year if an application for a new licence is submitted within 30 days of its expiry date, and is accompanied by a renewal application and the full licence fee for the next calendar year
  • Exempt Eating Establishment Licence Fees for Non-Profit organizations

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Projected increase in revenues of $217K will be included in 2007 Operating Budget.

 

1. Purpose                     2. Background                      3. Discussion                        4. Financial        

 

5. Others (Environmental, Accessibility, Engage 21st, Affected Units)             6. Attachment(s)

 

PURPOSE:

To adjust the fees for all business licences according to the assessed costs of administration and enforcement, and to provide a procedure for reducing the costs by an applicant for a new business licence when it is issued within 30 days of its expiry date.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

By-law History

 

By-law 2002-284, “A By-law to Establish Licence Fees for the Town of Markham” was passed in December 2002 and became effective January 1, 2003. The rationale of the fees by-law is to recover costs of administering and enforcing the by-law and since taking effect no adjustments to the by-law has occurred, other than to add fees for new businesses licences categories.

 

Legislated Authority and Public Notifications

 

The authority to licence and regulate businesses within the Municipality is found in Section 150 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, C.25.  Included in the section is the authority for the collection of licence fees, the amount that can be charged and public notification of those fees with the total amount of fees to be charged for licensing a class of business not exceed the costs directly related to the administration and enforcement of the by-law.

 

The costs directly related to the administration and enforcement of the by-law may include:

 

 

Since enactment of the by-law in 2002, there have been no subsequent formal calculations justifying the cost of enforcement and administration of licence fees.

 

To amend a licencing by-law, Council is required to hold at least one public meeting. Prior to this proposed amendment, one public meeting was held on February 21, 2006. Notice of the public meeting was placed on the Town’s website and advertised on the Community Page of the Economist and Sun.  A concern regarding the increase in the Taxi Drivers’ licence fee was presented and opposed by several members of the taxi industry in Markham.  There were no other representatives of the business community making representations during this meeting regarding the proposed licence fees recommended in this report.

 

A subsequent meeting was held with representatives of the taxi industry to discuss the increases in fees and explain the costs of enforcement and licensing.  There was also discussion about what additional services and enforcement measures the enforcement staff could provide to address the concerns regarding illegal cabs and limousines raised by members of the industry.

 

A recommendation was provided for by letter dated May 5, 2006 which represents the Taxi Owners and Drivers within Markham. (Appendix D)

 

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

 

Amendments to Licence Fee Amounts

The model used to determine the amount to be charged for all classes of licenses was developed by The Financial Services Department, which applied the same methodology that was used in the most recent Development Services Bylaw.  The steps and data used to arrive at an amount of each licence type is listed in Appendix B- Licence Fees Cost Analysis. The fees were then set at levels below the calculated costs and rounded off for ease of administration.

 

The proposed fees for each licence are contained in Appendix A of this report, entitled Proposed License Fees Table.

 

The intent of setting the license fees as close as possible to the cost of administration and enforcement of the licence as possible is for the purpose of attempting to operate the Business Licensing Unit as a self supporting unit of the Town of Markham.

 

A new schedule showing the costs of enforcement and administration and the calculations used to determine such amounts is a requirement of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, C.25.

 

Consideration of Taxi Industry Submission – Dated May 5, 2006

 

Subsequent to the public hearing on the increase of Licencing Fees, the Markham Taxi Drivers’ Association submitted an alternative fee increase for some of the taxicab fees shown on the table below. (see Appendix D for copy of letter)

 

The following chart shows the proposed fee, the current fee, and the alternative fee suggested by the taxi industry.

 

Types of Fees

Taxi Industry

Current By-law

Markham

Proposed

File Lease

75

50

100

Ext of Vehicle Model Year

150

100

375

Change of Vehicle

150

100

375

Vehicle Replacement

0

100

375

Driver Licence - New

 

30, pro-rated

100 test

75, pro-rated

100 test

Driver Licence- Renewal

45

30

75

 

The fees as proposed by the Markham Taxi Drivers’ Association are lower than those calculated by staff. In calculating the fees, staff were careful to ensure that the fees aligned with identified costs for performing related services and where fees were to be increasing sought to limit those increases. The alignment of fees to service is a key objective and staff continues to recommend the calculated amounts. The industry also received an increase in tariff rates in May, 2006 to offset increased taxicab operating costs.

 

Waive the Fee for a New License that Expires within Thirty (30) Days

 

This amendment to the by-law is a customer service enhancement to business owners.  

 

Under the current by-law, if a new business owner applies for a licence to open his/her business within 30 days of the normal expiry date of the licence, the applicant is required to pay the fee for the new licence and then must pay again for licence renewal within 30 days. This is seen to be unfair and is considered to be a financial hardship for new business owners. An amendment to waive the fee for a new business licence application within 30 days of its expiry with the condition that a renewal application and payment of the full licence fee for the next calendar year will address this concern.  This provision would only apply to a new business application and not a renewal licence where the owner has waited until 30 days of the expiry to renew a licence.

 

Exemption to Eating Establishment and Food Store Licence Fees for Non-Profit Organizations

 

Currently, the licence fee for an Eating Establishment and Food Store is $100.  Several Day Care operations within Markham require a license because they prepare food to be consumed on the premises.  The by-law requires the owner of the establishment to provide a Food Safety Inspection Report issued by the York Regional Health Department and allows staff to ensure zoning and building code compliance prior to Licencing   The number of licences issued, where the business is a day care centre and maintains non-profit status in 2005, are 22 out of a total of 751 licences issued for eating establishment.

 

It has been requested by several owners of Child Day Care Centers to waive the fee for a licence to non-profit organizations. Due to the non-profit status and community benefit of these organizations it is recommended that this request be granted to acknowledge the present practice to administratively waive the fee, when requested. Non-profit or charitable organizations will still be required to file proof of non-profit status of the organization to obtain an exemption of the $100 fee.

 

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE:

Appendix C attached.

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Financial Services

 

 

RECOMMENDED

                            BY:    ____________________          ________________________

                                      Sheila Birrell                               Andy Taylor

                                      Town Clerk                                Commissioner, Corporate Services

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A, Proposed Licence Fees Table

Appendix B, Licence Fee Cost Analysis

Appendix C, Financial Template- Licencing Fees By-law Amendment

Appendix D, Letter from Markham Taxi Drivers’ Association dated May 6, 2006