Monitor Editor
GREEN COVE SPRINGS— Clay County commissioners voted to end work on a proposed business license that would require all businesses within the county to register and pay an annual licensing fee.
The vote to halt staff work on the proposal came at the end of the county commission’s May 24 meeting, after Commissioner Kristen Burke said she had changed her position on the issue.
Burke, who previously supported the proposal, said she was now opposed to the concept because she realized the benefits she thought would come with the license would not occur.
“I spoke to numerous organizations that deal with businesses, and they felt it was a waste of our money and time,” she said of the license. “W will have to hire more employees for it: just on and on. There were no positives.”
During previous meetings on the proposed business tax, Commissioner Betsy Condon was the sole opponent of the annual registration and license, saying that the tax offered no benefits to Clay County businesses.
Commissioner Mike Cella joined Burke and Condon in voting to halt staff work on the project.
