A. Licenses issued under this chapter shall be valid for not more than one year. All license fees provided for in this chapter shall be paid annually in advance, by the licensee to the business license division of Summit County on or before January 15 of each year; and shall be effective through January 15 of the following year.
B. On or before the renewal date each year, the business license division shall send a notice to each current licensee within the county which shall state the amount of the regulatory fee to be imposed for the coming year. Any changes in the application information shall be noted on the renewal form. The notice shall also contain a statement by the licensee that the information provided on the renewal application form is correct to the best of the applicant's knowledge, and that all necessary and proper approvals, licenses, and permits for the applicant's business have been acquired. The renewal application form shall be returned to the business license division according to the notice directions. Renewal of licenses is not of right, and no claim of vested right shall inure to an applicant who has received licenses in past years.
C. The annual business license fee provided in this chapter shall be due and payable to the county on or before January 15 of each year for renewals of licenses for businesses which were licensed the previous year.
D. If the renewal license fee is not paid:
1. By February 1 of the year in which the renewal license fee is due, there shall be an enforcement fee imposed of twenty five dollars ($25.00) for in-home businesses and fifty dollars ($50.00) for commercial businesses.
2. By February 15 of the year in which the renewal license is due, there shall be an enforcement fee imposed of fifty dollars ($50.00) for in-home businesses and one hundred dollars ($100.00) for commercial businesses.
3. By March 1 of the year in which the renewal license is due, there shall be an enforcement fee imposed of seventy five dollars ($75.00) for in-home businesses and two hundred dollars ($200.00) for commercial businesses.
E. Upon showing of hardship to the administrator, or its designees, as outlined below, the administrator may waive all or a portion thereof, of the business license fees owed to the county, on a onetime only basis.
1. Hardship may be found if:
a. Enforcement of the fee schedule would cause an unreasonable economic hardship for the applicant that is not self-imposed, but imposed by extraordinary uncontrollable circumstances. Such a hardship may only be requested if the fee owed is not past due;
b. There are special circumstances not within the applicant's control which have created an economic crisis in the ability to do business within the county; or
c. Force majeure events.
2. The applicant shall bear the burden of proving that all of the conditions justifying a hardship waiver have been met.
F. Any person more than forty five (45) days delinquent in his or her license fees shall be considered to be operating a business without a license and a criminal citation may be issued for engaging in a business without a valid business license, or legal action may be initiated for collection of the delinquent fees, or both.
1. For any business more than forty five (45) days delinquent in renewing its license, Summit County shall post an eight and one- half by eleven (81/2 x 11) sign on the door of the business that states the following:
"UNLICENSED BUSINESS"
This establishment does not have a current license to conduct business within Summit County. It shall be unlawful to remove this sign without authorization from the Summit County Code Enforcement Officer.
2. It shall be a violation of this chapter to remove an "unlicensed business" sign without prior authorization from the Summit County code enforcement officer. Violators may be subject to a fine per the Summit County fee schedule. (Ord. 852, 12-2-2015)