Colorado Springs council member wants business-license fees to cover full costs sooner
The member proposed reaching 100% cost recovery in two years, compared with the staff proposal’s three-year path to 90%; the council chair said the item would not go on the consent agenda.
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At an Oct. 12 work session, a Colorado Springs City Council member urged the city to phase in its proposed business-license fees over two years and reach 100% cost recovery. The council chair said the item would not be on the consent agenda, according to the work-session recording.
The staff proposal would raise many common annual license fees from $110 to $135 in 2027, $160 in 2028 and $190 in 2029. The City Clerk’s proposed fee schedule sets cost-recovery targets of 64%, 76% and 90% for those years, compared with a stated current rate of 53%.
The schedule covers businesses such as contractors, mobile food vendors, pawnbrokers, private security services, tree services and massage businesses. Late-renewal fees for many license types would rise from $55 to $68, $80 and $95. Some fees would remain unchanged, and the schedule excludes marijuana and liquor business licenses. Escort Bureau initial and annual renewal fees would each rise to $5,000, from $750 and $500, respectively. Initial fees for individual escorts and escort-bureau runners would fall from $750 to $500, while their annual renewal fees would rise from $110 to $250.
A draft resolution setting the fees proposes a Jan. 1, 2027, effective date. It would adjust most fees in 2030 based on cumulative consumer-price changes through that year, then annually beginning in 2031, subject to limits tied to the cost of licensing services. Escort-services licenses are exempt. The work-session exchange included no vote and set no date for separate consideration.