A few months ago talk was brewing among the Board, the Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor Herrmann about the possibility of requiring all businesses in Island Lake to pay an annual Business License fee. That was months ago. Fast-forward to today—the Board will be considering and voting on a registration fee for
all contractors to legally provide their service to village consumers. While it is not unusual for villages to require registration of contractors, I ask what happened to requiring all businesses pay an annual licesne fee? Why is the Board only, at this time, considering a tax on contractors? Nearly all villages require a business license be paid annually, yet our village does not. However, my opinion is that we may headed down a slippery slope in requiring contractors to pay a registration fee and not non-contractor businesses.
You may ask, why would this be a slippery slope? Well, think about who may benefit from
not requiring a business license fee of non-contractors? I will ask that you decide for yourself, but just be aware that there are a few elected officials on the village board (AND non-elected, appointed officals on village committees) who own their own non-contractor business out of Island Lake. Is the contractor registration fee an ethical conflict of interest given three elected board officials are entrepreneurs, (non-contractors), and will be deciding on the fate of annual registration fees which specifically
excludes their own business?
For example, under a proposed contractor registration ordinance, XYZ Roofing company will have to pay an annual fee to the village in order to legally do business in the village. On the flipside, Insurance offices can operate without paying an annual fee simply because they are an insurance company and not a contractor. Home daycare services can operate without paying an annual fee and dental supply companies can continue to operate without paying a fee. And to go further without using elected officals' businesses as examples—think of the small businesses in Island Lake who will also continue to slide under the radar—auto repair, auto body, photographers, IT services, leather goods, Web designers, architects, and the list goes on.
I don't know—you decide—I just want all to be aware of the instances of
possible double standards, if you will, of voting to require contractors to pay fees while non-contractor businesses get a literal free pass.
If the argument is that the contractor registration fee is put in place to protect the people from scams or being ripped off—what about all business operations in town? Even non-contractors can rip the public off or provide below par services.
