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PALMER — Businesses operating in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough will no longer be required to purchase and display a borough license starting this week.
The business license requirement was repealed by a unanimous vote of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Council on Tuesday. The repeal will go into effect once Borough President Edna DeVries signs the bill, which is expected to happen this week.
First introduced in late 1995, the license had a $100 fee and had to be renewed every two years. Borough Administrator Mike Brown said Tuesday that businesses that paid license fees before the repeal vote will not receive a refund.
This change does not affect state and local requirements. Businesses operating in Alaska must obtain a state-issued license, which incurs a $50 annual fee. Residents of Palmer, Wasilla, and Houston Massou must carry a city-issued driver's license, which costs $25 each year.
Councilor Stephanie Nowers, whose district includes Palmer, said more than 10,000 organizations currently hold business licenses in the borough.
The data collected from these registries has not been used for any economic development operations for at least 20 years, according to a memo attached to the proposal. Revenue from license fees will only serve as a business tax, the memo states.
Borough officials said they expect to lose about $541,000 in annual revenue from license fees. They said they hope to more than make up for the loss by focusing business licensing staff on grant applications to secure new sources of federal funding.
Borough officials said at the meeting that business registration information previously used by the borough to contact local businesses about regulatory changes and available programs is reflected in data already shared by the state. Stated.
The proposal was sponsored by DeVries and Ward Councilors Dee McKee (whose district includes parts of Palmer and Wasilla) and Rob Yount (whose district includes Wasilla).
