Table of Contents - Unified Government of Wyandotte County ...

Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas2012 Amended and 2013 Operating BudgetDivision OverviewBusiness Licenses and Enforcement DivisionDivision Overview:The Business License Division is responsible for the enforcement of numerous UnifiedGovernment taxation and regulated licensing ordinances. The division primarily bills, collects,and processes fees prescribed by these ordinances.Important Issues: In the past few years, the Business License Division had staff members retire and thosepositions have not been filled. The reduced staffing has begun to noticeably impactcollected revenues. The number of unregistered businesses found to be operating hasdropped substantially. The number of businesses failing to renew licenses and falling intodelinquent status has increased. The capacity to pursue revenues in both aspects has beendiminished.Highlights: The Business License Division continued the annual renewal process with a December 1start date. Noticeable positive results continue. The process of beginning renewals amonth earlier has shifted a substantial amount of data processing from January toDecember. Even though revenue being generated was technically for 2012, a significantamount of revenue was actually received in the month of December.The Business License and Building Inspection Divisions improved and continued to pair uptheir renewal mailings for credentialed contractors. Rather than two different renewalprocesses that contractors sometimes found confusing, the paired mailings address both atthe same time. Collection of occupation tax revenues have fallen slightly but are still considered stable.With a 1.6% increase assessed for 2011, total revenue collections were down .23%. Thisslight decline does reflect, in part, the diminished capacity to pursue revenues. In light ofthe still struggling economy, this slight downturn is far better than most locales haveexperienced.The Business License Division completed an occupation tax ordinance change in 2011 thatincluded a 10% increase for 2012. Year-to-date collected revenues compared to those forthe same time period in 2011 are holding that 10% increase.The Business License Division completed an ordinance change that resulted in an increasein the number of Precious Metals licenses. .The Business License Division continued to increase the amount of occupation tax penaltycollected. Unfortunately, this likely also reflects an increase in the number of businessesfalling into a delinquent status.New Initiatives: The Division is working to expand and strengthen partnerships with Neighborhood andBusiness Associations to more effectively identify, pursue, and collect occupation taxrevenue. The Division is working to improve the tracking process of business location zoningrequests. A more effective administrative follow up will reduce the number of newbusinesses failing to register and will increase occupation tax revenues. The Division is pursuing multiple approaches to the collection of delinquent occupation taxrevenue and making efforts to work with businesses in that process. .191