(a) Business Fee. The annual business fee to act as a contractor in the City is fifteen dollars ($15.00).
(b) Definition. For the purpose of this section and in compliance with West Virginia Code 30-42-3, "contractor" means a person who in any capacity for compensation, other than as an employee of another, undertakes, offers to undertake, purports to have the capacity to undertake, or submits a bid to construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck, or demolish any building, highway, road, railroad, structure, or excavation associated with a project, development, or improvement, or to do any part thereof, including the erection of scaffolding or other structures or works in connection therewith, where the cost of the undertaking is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more for residential work or twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or more for commercial work.
Contractor includes but is not limited to the following as those terms are defined in West Virginia Code 30-42-3: construction manager; electrical contractor; general building contractor; general engineering contractor; heating, ventilating and cooling contractor; multifamily contractor; piping contractor; plumbing contractor; residential contractor; or specialty contractor.
Contractor does not include:
(1) One who merely furnishes materials or supplies without fabricating or consuming them in the construction project;
(2) A person who personally performs construction work on the site of real property which the person owns or leases whether for commercial or residential purposes;
(3) A person who is licensed or registered as a professional and who functions under the control of any other licensing or regulatory board, whose primary business is real estate sales, appraisal, development, management, and maintenance, who acting in his or her respective professional capacity and any employee of the professional, acting in the course of his or her employment, performs any work which may be considered to be performing contracting work;
(4) A pest control operator licensed under the provisions of West Virginia Code 19-16A-7 to engage in the application of pesticides for hire, unless the operator also performs structural repairs exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) on property treated for insect pests;
(5) A corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship whose primary purpose is to prepare construction plans and specifications used by the contractors defined in this subsection and who employs full-time a registered architect licensed to practice in this state or a registered professional engineer licensed to practice in this state. Employees of the corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship shall also be exempt from the requirements of this section.
(6) A person who performs landscaping or painting services for commercial or residential customers.
(c) Interpretation. This section shall be given the effect and interpreted so as to require each and every subcontractor listed on a building permit application to be licensed in accordance with this section in order for a building permit to be issued to the general contractor.
(d) License Requirement; Affidavit; Violation. Any person making application to the Building Inspector, City Engineer, or other authority of this City charged with the duty of issuing building or other permits for the construction of any building, highway, sewer, or structure, or for any removal of materials or earth, grading, or improvement shall, before issuance of the permit, either furnish satisfactory proof to the City authority that the person is duly licensed under the provisions of West Virginia Code Article 30-42 to carry out or superintend the construction, or file a written affidavit with the City Treasurer that the person is not subject to licensure as a contractor or subcontractor as defined in West Virginia Code Article 30-42. Any such affidavit shall set forth why the person is not subject to licensure as a contractor or subcontractor as defined in West Virginia Code Article 30-42, including but not limited to whether the undertaking is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or less for residential work or twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or less for commercial work. A permit may not be issued to any person who does not possess a valid contractor's license when required by this section.
Violation of any of the provisions of this subsection or any false statement contained in the affidavit shall result in disqualification from performing any undertaking of work in the City for the remaining portion of the fiscal year.
(e) License Exemptions. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the following are exempt from licensure:
(1) Work done exclusively by employees of the United States Government, the State of West Virginia, a county, municipality or municipal corporation, and any governmental subdivision or agency thereof;
(2) The sale or installation of a finished product, material or article, or merchandise which is not actually fabricated into and does not become a permanent fixed part of the structure;
(3) Work performed personally by an owner or lessee of real property on property the primary use of which is for agricultural or farming enterprise;
(4) A material supplier who renders advice concerning use of products sold and who does not provide construction or installation services;
(5) Work performed by a public utility company regulated by the West Virginia Public Service Commission and its employees;
(6) Repair work contracted for by the owner of the equipment on an emergency basis in order to maintain or restore the operation of the equipment;
(7) Work performed by an employer's regular employees, for which the employees are paid regular wages and not a contract price, on property owned or leased by the employer which is not intended for speculative sale or lease;
(8) Work personally performed on a structure by the owner or occupant thereof; and
(9) Work performed when the specifications for the work have been developed or approved by engineering personnel employed by the owner of a facility by registered professional engineers licensed pursuant to the laws of this state when the work to be performed because of its specialized nature or process cannot be reasonably or timely contracted for within the general area of the facility.
(f) Business and Occupation Taxes. Any and all contractors and subcontractors shall be current on their business and occupation taxes before a contractor's business license shall be issued pursuant to this section.
(Ord. 2306. Passed 5-20-21.)