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Would you go to an unlicensed doctor? Lawyer? Medical practitioner?
No? Why not?
As a professional health practitioner in my home state, one was required to produce a license in order to work. No license? No shingle. It never occurred to me not to pay the license fee as it was a ticket to work.
A month ago I called Connecticut to inquire about a lawyer’s standing with the State and the Bar. The woman commented that he was “not in good standing” and qualified that was “because he has not paid the fee to renew his license”. She found it necessary to distinguish this reason from an ethical violation or malpractice issue.
Recently, I called the Town [of Oro Valley] to check on three business licenses. None of the three in question had a license in Oro Valley. Yet all of them serviced my Oro Valley subdivision. One of the contractors and I were doing business since 2005, for five and a half years! Neither did they have licenses in Marana or City of Tucson where they also advertised. The gentleman who responded said the Town did not investigate business licenses because it didn’t have the manpower.
The 5.5 year contractor was not registered with State of Arizona State to collect and pay sales tax either. Where did all the sales tax revenue I paid on those bills go?
My call to Oro Valley to check on their business licenses was a fluke. If a random call uncovered three unlicensed businesses, how many more business owners in this Town do not pay their admission ticket of a simple business license? How much money would be generated by insisting on their paying up for Oro Valley coffers?
Does Oro Valley think it is “business friendly” by not collecting fees for a business license? Police are called to these establishments to enforce the law and with OVPD‘s new partnership with business. During such a visit, without any additional work hours and travel, they can ask for a copy of their business license and verify it with the Town. The law requires that businesses have a current license to operate. This seems like an appropriate use of our law enforcement department.
Michelle Saxer
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11 comments:
Oro Valley also doesn't enforce the requirement that businesses buy a licenses to display outdoor merchandise. This is a requirement that will likely be eliminated anyway.
Michele - What an excellent idea!
It is not just OV.
There was a car dealer in Tucson who did not have any type of license. This car dealer was offering credit and other financial services which should have required some type of certification.
The authorities were shocked, SHOCKED, when the dealership was exposed defrauding clients.
Face it, Tucson is a vast wasteland. Kinda like Fresno, without the charm.
Hope OV can avoid contagion.
While I agree in priciple with this statement, I think it is easier said than done. How is the Town to discover a business is operating without a license or a contractor is unlicensed in the absence of a complaint or inquiry? They simply do not always know who is operating a business within the Town, particularly when it comes to private, in home type services that do not operate out of a traditional store front. How many of us have been approached by door to door sales folks selling home security, water treatment, pest control, meat, etc. and thought to ask if they are licensed by the Town? Just my 2 cents - I believe when such matters are brought to their attention, the Town does its best to enforce the business/contractors license requriements.
Zee and Nombe,
Your posts underline the reality that laws are ignored if unenforced. Isn't that part of human nature, that if we can get away with something, if no one insists we do the right thing,if there are no sanctions for wrongdoing, human nature lets things slide? Law enforcement that insures the rules are obeyed is needed. "Looking the other way" only enables crime and describes what OV and Tucson do!
Cyclone,
Thanks for your observations.
How can TOV know if businesses have no license?
Start with the Yellow pages that advertise OV businesses. These are not your local handyman wanting to make some extra gelt. These are known businesses who flagrantly advertise operating in a Town where they are unlicensed. Keeping all those tax dollars is stealing revenue that belongs to OV and AZ.
We may have to agree to disagree. In my opinion, if TOV recognized how much revenue could be generated by following up on business licenses, how to collect would not be an issue. By following through here shows good will, fairness, teamwork.
Mayor Hiremath in today's Explorer wrote in his article, "As residents, your decisions to shop locally-ensuring that those tax dollars stay in our community-are fundamental to our local economy."
If the three businesses the guest called about had no "commitment" to contribute the taxes they collected to Oro Valley, why should residents commit to shop locally? Why patronize businesses operating without a license? They are breaking the law!
Here is the link:
http://explorernews.com/voices/editorials/article_e1a8944a-d354-11e0-b468-001cc4c03286.html
to which Desert Voice refers regarding Hiremath's article.
If a business is operating in Oro Valley they should have a license......I think
But it is also true that MANY businesses do so without haveing a license for the stated reason that there is no way to enforce it unless it is reported to the Town. Simply having a yellow book ad does not necessarily indicate they actually do business in OV.
It may also be true that there is some reciprocal agreement between jurisdictions that state the business needs to be licensed at it's home base.
Zeeman....You initial post is inaccurate......but then there are so many of those...whose counting. IF you would do some fact checking you would find that cases have been referred to our municipal court for violations.
Let me clarify something from my last post.
If a business is housed in Oro Valley it should have an Oro valley business license. If the business in located in Tucson and simply responds to a call for service in Oro Valley, then they need to have a business license from Tucson, not Oro Valley.
OVOT,
What is your source for buinesses only needing one license? Or is that your business-guesstimate? Or are you generalizing because a real estate license is issued by the State not locally?
Have you looked in the yellow pages to see how businesses advertise? Many leave a phone number only, not a business address. But they feel free to "service" Tucson, Marana, OV without ANY license from any municipality.
To advertise without a license defiantly challenges law enforcement. To not surrender money collected as sales tax is tax evasion, a criminal offense.
Desert.... I am not a business law attorney and I don't believe you are either so is a sense we are both guessing to a certain extent. But I believe the following is reasonably accurate.
The state regulates certain businesses (contractors, pest control, etc. They don't get into the business of licensing appliance repair, furniture sales, retail shops, etc. Those are left to local (town,city,county) government. So what I believe is that if you have a business such at Levitz that is 'headquartered' in Marana they need a manana business license. Even though they 'do business' with Oro Valley residents they are not required to have a business license.The same it true with Joe's Applicance Repair who works out of his shop in unincorporated Pima County but advertises in the yellow pages that he services Oro Valley.
While I agree with your point that there are many unlicensed businesses out there it is not the responsibility of the Town of Oro Valley to police this.
I can assure you the if the Town Clerk's office finds a business opertating in Oro Valley without a business license they take action. I know this for fact and have seen them actually go after a person who was operating a business out of their home w/o a license.
Hopefully this clarifies my position.
OVOT,
"Fact checkers" are routinely employed by publishing companies. Perry, as Explorer editor, diligently verified the facts before he published them.
Thank you for candidly stating that you are speculating and did not research with appropriate agencies. I have checked but not about all possible types of businesses and withheld my comment before posting. Ours styles differ.
However, our Law Enforcement Department uses about 50% TOV's budget. If it is "law" to have a current "business license", that fact makes enforcement of a law, a function of the Law Enforcement Branch. There is widespread non compliance of businesses to purchase a license. These businesses violate the law. That depletes the budget. OVPD might exercise their role by enforcing it and, in doing so, demonstrate that they are team players with the Town. By not enforcing this law, OVPD actually enables the violation. Maybe the business lawyer would define that behavior as "an accessory to the crime". Isn't "enforcing the law" the job we citizens pay OVPD for?
If a driver does not have a current AZ drivers license and gets stopped for a traffic violation, OVPD tickets them. Why not sanction businesses who can't produce a current license in the same way? A year or two of enforcement and businesses will quickly mail their license fee to the Town.
You stated you feel this aspect got ignored because it wasn't enforced. I agree with you. But I feel that now it's time to set the limits and clean house.
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