All right, good evening.

I'd like to call this work session on September 2nd, 2025 to order.

Madam Clerk, if you could conduct the roll call.

Mayor Sarder.

Present.

Vice Mayor Hastings.

Councilmember Haney.

Here.

Councilmember Greenberg.

Here.

Councilmember Duffy.

Here.

Councilmember Melton.

Present.

Councilmember Judd.

Here.

Thank you, Mayor.

We have a quorum.

Thank you.

Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Indivisible delivery and justice for all.

Madam Clerk, please read.

Um the microphones sound really weird.

Exactly.

It's echoe in here.

I don't know if it's echoing.

The gentleman in the control room can fix that, but it's really really weird.

Um guy behind the curtain.

Okay.

Yeah, the guy behind the curtain.

But we'll continue.

Please read item number one.

Item number one, presentation and discussion pertaining to the city's business licensing process and fees.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Council.

So Mindy and I are here uh to discuss business licensing.

And you may wonder why community development is participating in a presentation about business licensing, but hopefully our presentation will help answer that for you.

So a couple of weeks ago, um, it was asked of staff to come back and discuss um before council the business licensing process, the fees associated with it, and why we have business licenses.

So we'll start with the purpose of licensing.

And the purpose of a business license is to ensure safe, compliant, and responsible business operations.

So we're really trying to find that balance between the safe operations and protecting our residents when we're issuing a business license.

There are several departments that take a look at the business licenses when they come into the city.

Um public safety is very heavily involved.

Their role is to ensure that businesses are operating in conformance with the city's codes, public safety, health, and welfare.

This is how businesses become known to our economic development team.

So through the business licensing process is where there's a mechanism to connect new businesses to our economic development team for things such as uh the ribbon cuttings and the grand openings that that ED often helps put on.

And then last but not least, there's a tax compliance component to the purpose of licensing.

It aids in identifying taxpayers for the TPTs.

Standard business license timeframes.

We typically receive and issue licenses within about 15 to 20 days.

Days zero through five is where our finance team, spearheaded by Mati Lugo sitting behind me, is looking at administrative completeness.

Did they receive everything?

Is the application complete?

At first glance, do we have everything we need to review this business license and pass it on to the departments for a more comprehensive review?

Days five through 15 are substantive review.

So that is where the departments that are impacted by these business licenses do a deeper dive.

So for instance, again, going back to the assisted living, the sober living homes, that's where in community development we're checking for that compliance with the state regulations, county requirements, building code requirements, zoning, et cetera.

Days 15 through 20, that's the final review.

That is where the business license is outprocessed, payment is received.

And these are just approximations.

Not every business license takes 15 to 20 days, but generally these are the time frames that we're operating within.