Carson City supervisors approved a 2 percent increase in the business license fee Thursday, the first raise in three years.
The new fee will become effective Jan. 1 and is expected to generate $16,000 in additional revenue for the city.
Mayor Ray Masayko said he listened to the concerns of businesspeople who spoke at the meeting in opposition to the increase, but the city has an obligation to provide services.
"We have expenses that are increasing, too, and requests for our services," Masayko said. "We need to balance the needs of businesses with the needs of the community."
Del White of Redco, a manufacturer in Carson, said he was opposed to the raise in fees following the large tax increase recently handed down by the state Legislature. Redco, like other state manufacturers, will now pay $300 per employee each year instead of $100, for instance.
"We are in the biggest survival mode," White said. "We have got to offset our costs to make up for what the state's done to us. It's just one more fee we can't afford to take on right now."
According to city Treasurer Al Kramer, the 2 percent increase will cost Redco an extra $10 a year to get a business license. The highest-priced license in the city is held by the Carson Nugget, whose fees will pay an extra $20 a year for a license, Kramer said.
The annual revenue received from business licenses is expected to reach $796,000 with the new fee schedule.
