Local News in Brief : Anaheim : City OKs Business Fee Hike Despite Chamber
The City Council Tuesday approved a controversial hike in business license fees over the objections of the Chamber of Commerce.
The increase in rates, the first in 30 years, passed in a 3-2 vote with Mayor Ben Bay and Councilwoman Miriam Kaywood dissenting.
“I thought it was terrible,” said Larry Slagle, president of the chamber, which claims a membership of 1,500 of the city’s estimated 26,000 businesses. “We didn’t think it was a fair increase.”
The chamber has opposed a series of increase proposals offered by city staff and council members who have been searching for cash to fund key projects.
The new license rates, which take effect on Jan. 1, 1990, are expected to double business fee collections to $3 million annually, according to city staff estimates. City staff last month recommended a rate increase that would have brought Anaheim’s fees up to the level of other comparable-size California cities such as Santa Ana. That proposal, which would have raised $4 million, was scaled back in a motion by Councilman William D. Erhle.
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