REGULATIONS City reviews license fees

Is a traveling salesman with a car an itinerant vendor, huckster or peddler?
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Quick. Figure out the difference between an itinerant vendor, a huckster and a peddler.
That's what Jeanne Rostan often has to do.
Trimming confusion is one reason the city is reviewing all the permits, fees and licenses it hands out and how much to charge for them.
Rostan, finance supervisor for the city, oversees the cashier's office. That's where people pay for the permits or licenses they are issued.
Rostan helps her workers figure out which license to issue and what to charge somebody, such as salespeople.
City regulations charged $150 per day for a license for an itinerant vendor -- one who travels, according to Webster's. Meanwhile, a city huckster license could cost between $10 and $25 per year. The charge depended on if goods were sold from cars, handcarts or, yes, a horse-drawn vehicle.
Don't even ask about a peddler, defined as one who sells goods on the street or door to door. But a synonym for peddler is a huckster.
Questions
So, is a traveling salesman who keeps his goods in a car trunk an itinerant vendor, a huckster or a peddler? What fee applies?
"Each time we took a look at those, it opened a number of questions," Rostan said.
A committee of city hall workers from various departments started studying such quandaries in February.
They've looked at the licenses, permits and fees on the city's books, what other cities charge and what regulations need to be added, dropped or updated.
Council adopted the first of the committee's suggested changes last week, including the seller's license.
The group decided on a $50 per week fee no matter if you're an itinerant vendor, huckster or peddler. Council also approved suggested fees increases on taxi licenses, fireworks permits and established a new blasting permit.
The city's previous $25 charge for fireworks permits didn't come close to covering costs, said Fire Chief John J. O'Neill Jr., such as state mandates on staffing such displays.
Council agreed to the committee's suggestion of increasing the fee to $100 immediately, rising to $150 next year and $200 in 2006.
New fees?
New fees might be added, too.
For example, last week O'Neill and two fire inspectors spent a several hours reviewing plans for the new downtown arena. There's no way for the city to recoup costs for their time, but a charge for such services might be in the future, he said.
A full review likely will take several years, Rostan said.
The costs for licenses and permits will be based on the city's costs but kept in line with what comparable cities charge, she said.
"We're looking at it as, 'What's appropriate?'" Rostan said.
Despite the city's fiscal struggles, the fee review isn't aimed at significantly increasing revenue, said Finance Director David Bozanich.
The city takes in about $400,000 from user fees, and that might climb about $100,000 once all charges are adjusted, he said.
Fees are just a small part of the city's $34 million general fund and $110 million budget, Bozanich said. Steep fee increases won't change that dramatically but could scare off companies from doing business, he said. The city wants to keep the commerce it has while covering its costs, he said.
"We're trying to keep it revenue-neutral," he said.
rgsmith@vindy.com