Standard-Examiner: Commercial Business License Fee Increase Recommended for Ogden

WCF reader query: Does this latest revenue raising proposal have merit... or is this just another taxpayer ripoff designed to line the pockets of Friends of Matt?

This morning's Standard-Examiner reports that "a task force is recommending that commercial business licenses throughout the city be increased by as much as $25 per year to help fund downtown events." Read the full story here:

• Commercial business license fee increase recommended for Ogden

And here's the interesting wrinkle in the story:

Scott Parkinson, a senior vice president at the Bank of Utah who served on the task force made up of downtown property owners, presented the group's recommendation during a Tuesday night city council work session.
A citywide business license hike is an equitable way to generate funding for Downtown Ogden Inc., which is a nonprofit organization that operates a variety of activities, such as the Ogden Farmers Market, Parkinson said. "Downtown Ogden Inc. represents a large part of the branding of Ogden," he said, adding that businesses throughout the city benefit from the organization's events.

That's right folks, this task force proposal would extract increased license fees from businesses throughout the city; but the increased revenue would inure solely to the benefit of Downtown Ogden Inc events.

The ever-vigilant city councilwoman Wicks zeroes right in on the problem:

City Councilwoman Amy Wicks expressed concern regarding how a license hike would be received by business owners outside of the downtown area who may question the benefit of Downtown Ogden Inc events.
"Rocks will be thrown at us if we try to raise business license fees for business owners across the city," she said.

And in a pithy comment beneath this morning's SE story, regular WCF contributor Dan S. throws in his own 2¢:

Good to have this background information on Downtown Ogden Inc. So it's funded by tax dollars to the tune of $325,000 annually, eh? Then why the hell was its logo on the ads for a political fundraising event at the Salomon Center in June 2007? Mr. Musgrave should be required to give a full explanation of that episode before having any of his funding renewed.

So what about it, gentle readers? Does this latest revenue raising proposal have merit... or is this just another sleazy taxpayer ripoff designed to line the pockets of Friends of Matt?