City councilors showed support for a proposal from Mayor Tim Keller’s office to shift from a business registration system to one that issues licenses during a committee meeting Monday night. But members of the Finance and Government Operations Committee cut a provision that would have increased registration and licensing fees.
The measure, if passed by the full council, would allow the city to issue licenses to businesses that could also be used as leverage to ensure those businesses comply with local and state laws. The mayor’s office argues that without business licenses that can be revoked from the city, “legitimate businesses” face “unfair competition by businesses that operate in violation of local, state and federal laws.”
Councilors originally discussed the legislation during a Nov. 18 meeting, read more about it here.
The current system requires business owners to pay a $35 registration fee. The original proposal aimed to set new license fees and increase them by 5% each year. Business owners would have had to pay a $50 annual license fee starting July 2025, $75 in 2026 and $100 in 2027.
Councilor Brook Bassan, who is sponsoring the measure at the request of the mayor’s office, said during the committee meeting that there are certain hotels “that are prostituting and selling drugs out of them,” but the city can’t close them down because of the current system. Bassan did not reference any specific businesses.
“I think that most of [the businesses] that I’ve spoken with are OK paying that increase in a business license for the effective nature of what they’re going to get as far as the enforcement and proper protocol to follow,” Bassan said.
City Council President Dan Lewis said while he supports establishing a licensing system, he is opposed to increased fees. He successfully amended the legislation to set the annual license fee at $35.
Planning Department Director Alan Varela defended the proposed increases to City Desk ABQ ahead of the meeting, arguing that $50 was a “very minimal increase in order for the city and good businesses to benefit from this program.”
While the yearly increased fees were removed, Varela told the committee Monday night keeping the fee at $35 would “still be helping the public a tremendous amount here in Albuquerque.”
“We’re very glad that we’ve found some common ground on the understanding that this bill will help us have a tool to punish and to prevent the businesses that are operating illegally,” Varela said.
The legislation is expected to be on the agenda for the full council’s Dec. 16 meeting.
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