ITEM 5e

Waynesboro City Council Agenda Briefing

Meeting Date:
Agenda Item #
Resolution#
Department:
Subject:

November 14, 2016

5 (e)

Staff/Council Member(s):
City Manager

City Manager
Section 22-94 City Code, Peddlers License Fee

Background: At its October 24th regular business meeting, City Council directed staff to prepare a report
and recommendation concerning the license fee for Food Trucks which are presently licensed under
Section 22-94 of the City Code. The request communicated specific interest in reducing the Peddlers
Fee for Food Trucks to $50.00 per year. Presently the fee is $500.00 per year, which is the maximum fee
a locality may charge under the Code of Virginia.
The municipal interests in permitting and licensing peddlers, including food trucks, is to raise revenue
for municipal operations and to facilitate proper administration of taxes and regulatory permitting, such
as those pertaining to consumer health, which, in Virginia, are the responsibility of the state.
Food Trucks are increasing in prevalence across the nation and especially in larger metropolitan areas,
and are increasingly common in the Shenandoah Valley and neighboring urban areas in the Piedmont.
As a matter of policy, the peddlers fee should be sufficient to cover administrative expenses associated
with permit issuance, and produce revenue to fund governmental services. However, the fee should not
be so onerous to prevent ease of entry into the market or discourage growth in the food truck industry
that would otherwise be prompted and supported by naturally occurring market demand. Periodically,
some constituents and vendors have commented that Waynesboros Peddlers License Fee, especially as
it pertains to Food Trucks, is too high and does in fact discourage or prevent food truck vendors from
conducting business in the City.
Peddlers'
Licenses Issued

Total

Meals Tax

Total

Food Trucks

License Fees

Collected

Fee & Tax

2013

1,500

9,086

10,586

2014

2,000

10,994

12,994

2015

11

5,500

17,347

22,847

2016

4,500

21,876

26,376

In determining a fee amount, elected bodies should endeavor to strike a fair balance between food
truck operators license and tax obligations and tax and fee obligations borne by restaurants which are
related but perhaps not direct competitors in the food service industry. In addition to the license fee,
food truck vendors pay sales and meals taxes, and personal property taxes on the van, truck, or trailer
utilized in the business enterprise. Restaurateurs pay sales and meals taxes, business personal property
taxes, BPOL, and real property taxes.

Peddlers
Restaurants

Rate

Food Trucks

Rate

Sales Tax

5.30%

Sales Tax

5.30%

Meals Tax

6.00%

Meals Tax

6.00%

Business Personal Property

5.00/100

Personal Property

5.00/100*

BPOL

.20/100 gr

Peddlers' License

500.00/yr.

Real Property

.80/100
* assessed at 50% of clean NADA retail

Municipalities may also contemplate policy questions related to economic development, zoning, and
public safety. This report and recommendation focuses exclusively on the license fee.
City Managers Recommendation: Establishing a license fee of $50.00 to $100.00 per year would place
the City of Waynesboro at approximately the third or fourth lowest fee among the localities in the
region surveyed in 2013 and in doing, address the concern that the Citys fee is a barrier to entry or
growth in this sector of the local economy.
Suggested Motion(s): NA
Attachments: NA