NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — On St. Patrick’s Day, our thoughts should be mostly green.
Instead, the color most on our minds is red - as in red tape.
The Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce says it wants a comprehensive list of all businesses in the city in order to help promote them. To accomplish this, the chamber is supporting the City Council’s push to require all Fayetteville businesses to get a license that would cost $64 (or $57 if the license application issubmitted online).
The last time Fayetteville businesses were required to be licensed was at least 25 years ago, according to council member Brenda Thiel. Evidently the idea faded from fashion until last year, when it was discussedat the Fayetteville Forward Economic Development Summit.
The fact that the city has done without business licenses for this long is one reason to question the wisdom of resurrecting them.
Another reason: At a time when taxes and fees already represent a heavy burden, why insist on adding to the weight? Businesses have enough challenges without wading through another layer of bureaucracy.
True, that $57 per year, by itself, might not break anyone’s back, but we are sensitive to business owners’ concerns of being nickeled and dimed to death.
Aaron Stahl, owner of P3 Waste Consulting in Fayetteville, wrote a letter to the editor on this subject that was published on this page on Saturday. As one who would be affected by this business license deal, Stahl’s perspective is worth repeating here.
Stahl said that he has jumped through numerous hoops at the state and federal levels to get his business going and to maintain it. He added, “The one bright spot when I started my business was Fayetteville. I went to work and didn’t have to ‘register,’ get a license, or tell anyone what I was doing. I just went about working, helping people and growing my business. It was indeed a moment of freedom that I still remember and a moment that made me proud to call Fayetteville home.”
Stahl noted that he is a paying member of the Chamber of Commerce and enjoys the benefits of that membership, but he disagrees with the concept of forcing businesses to pay to be on a list.
We are sympathetic to this point of view.
Furthermore, we have to wonder who would be the real winners if this business license thing is approved - the businesses or the chamber.
The chamber undoubtedly would benefit, as this list would be one more recruiting tool. But what would the businesses get out of it? The chamber says it wants to help promote businesses, but our guess is that each business would rather retain the freedom to invest that $57 however they see fit - whether that be in promoting themselves, purchasing equipment, or something else.
Most of the biggest cities in Northwest Arkansas - including Rogers, Springdale and Siloam Springs - require business licenses. (Bentonville and Bella Vista do not.) But even if everyone else did it, this wouldn’t mean that it’s necessarily a good thing for Fayetteville.
Our advice to Fayetteville City Council is to proceed with caution. Think: Is this really the best thing for your community’s businesses? Or is it just another thorn in their side?
Opinion, Pages 5 on 03/17/2010