Don Townsend, Dade County Clerk
TRENTON, Ga. - When it comes to business in their area, Dade County commissioners don't know the full picture.
They don't know how many businesses operate in the county. Or who operates those businesses. Or how much money those business owners should pay in taxes.
But the commissioners say they are going to fix that problem. During their regularly scheduled meeting Thursday evening, the commission looked at a rough draft for an ordinance that could force companies in Dade County to purchase business licenses for the first time.
Though demanded by local government officials throughout Georgia -- including in the city of Trenton, which is located inside Dade County -- companies in the unincorporated portions of the county have not had to apply for a license.
"You could go down here and open up whatever you wanted to, and nobody would say you can't operate this," Commissioner Richard Breeden said. "You can be in any kind of retail sale you want -- restaurant, business, whatever. You are not required to have a business license of any kind in Dade County."
Breeden said the commission is considering the change after feeling pressure from state leaders who want to make sure Dade County companies are paying all the taxes they owe. Other commissioners say these licenses have added benefits.
But don't expect any change soon. The commissioners didn't vote on the proposal Thursday night. They just wanted to look at it, to let the idea marinate.
County Executive Ted Rumley said the commission wants to go slow before making a decision.
"It may be spring before we do the business licenses," he said. "We want to be sure."
Breeden said the concept of making company owners register with the county came up in July, when members of the Georgia Department of Revenue demanded that the county hire an outside company to perform a personal property audit. This audit, which must at least be underway by next June, is supposed to reveal how much money local business owners owe the government
Breeden, who joined the commission in April after Robert Goff resigned to run for state office, didn't know that the county failed to collect businesses licenses until hearing from the Department of Revenue.
"I always assumed you had to have business licenses to be in business," he said. "In Dade County, you didn't."
Other county officials said the change could bring more benefits. Finance Officer Don Townsend said several businesses have actually called the county, asking for a business license because banks won't give them a loan without one. The banks assume business owners aren't serious about building a company if they don't have a license.
Also, the county can't levy a hotel or motel tax unless the county has a business license from that establishment.
The county can tax each business in exchange for giving out a license. After residents expressed outrage in July when the commission proposed raising the local portion of property taxes by about 50 percent, some officials decided they needed to find other revenue streams.
The tax on licenses won't be huge. According to state law, local governments can't charge more than one-fourth of 1 percent of a company's annual revenue. And if a company's revenue is greater than $400,000 a year, the local government can't charge more than $1,000 for the business license.
"We want this to be like a tracking device," Commissioner Mitchell Smith said. "This is not a big money making deal."