The Kenmore City Council spent nearly two hours hearing public comment and debating the merits of a business registry during an April 22 council meeting. It was the second time this year the council has raised the issue following changes made by city staff.

The debate, time spent and two votes are indicative of the difficulty the city has had in an attempt to organize the business community during the past decade.

The city does not have a Chamber of Commerce. Kenmore is one of just five cities in King and Snohomish counties that doesn’t have a general business registration or licensing requirement – until now.

After the lengthy deliberation and changing viewpoints, the council voted 4-2 to form a business registry. Businesses will be required to register with the city and pay $25, which will go into an account to help local businesses. The amount that business will have to pay is not specifically identified in the ordinance.

The idea for the business registry came from the 2009 Economic Development Strategy. A business registration program is also included as a work objective in the adopted biennial budget.

City leaders wanted the registry for economic development and the benefit of the business community, according to Kenmore City Manager Rob Karlinsey. The city is looking for clear data on how many and what type of businesses are in Kenmore in an effort to build and tailor its economic development efforts.

“The registry piggybacks on the states’ registration …,” said Karlinsey. “We join (53) other cities in King County and Snohomish County to require a business to register.”

The ordinance proposes that the city work with the Washington Department of Revenue’s Master Business License program.

The state will get $15 for processing and $10 will go to the city. Nonprofits will pay just the state portion.

The biggest benefit for businesses is a city wide directory for the public and city to use.

“The city has been one of the most enthusiastic champions for helping the business community get organized,” said Karlinsey. “For example, I have been attending and offering support for the fledgling Kenmore Business Alliance.  A business registration program will provide even more help toward helping the business community get organized and speak with one voice.”

But some business owners are unhappy about what they will get for their money.

“I still have some concerns about this,” said Carl Michelman, who owns Michelman Insurance Group, Inc. in Kenmore and has tried to get the Kenmore Business Alliance off the ground with the city. “I have received emails from businesses and the tone is that they are not happy about it.

“I am trying to figure out how we get businesses to buy-in but the verbiage is the biggest thing.”Michelman said the words “fee,” “requirement” and “infraction,” are part of the issue in the ordinance.

The infraction would be for businesses that fail to register and pay the fee. But there is no enforcement mechanism in the ordinance for the infraction.

In all, six residents spoke during the public hearing.

Another speaker, Pat O’Brien, noted that most people just use Google to find a business, not a directory.

Krista Michelman said whether it is deserving or not, many businesses have a negative view of the city to start with.

“I don’t like the whole fine thing,” said Krista Michelman. “Businesses already have a negative view of the city. I think you can work harder and come up with a better plan … you need better incentives.”

Most wanted more for the money than just the directory. Krista Michelman suggested a booth at a city-sponsored event during the year or the use of a meeting room at City Hall.

Another issue was how long it would take to get the directory out. The original idea was to wait a year after implementation to produce the directory so all the businesses could be included. But many wanted an immediate online directory where businesses could be added in real time.

The comments changed many minds on the council.

“One of the consistent themes was what is the value to the businesses that are going to be paying this and the value is not clear to me,” said Deputy Mayor Bob Hensel.

Others were concerned about the requirement portion of the ordinance.

“Do we want to get business involved because we have an ordinance in place or because businesses want to get together,” said Councilman Glenn Rogers.Karlinsey could not hold back his frustration with the council.

“I am a little discouraged, because we worked really hard on this and we thought we were doing what you wanted us to do,” said Karlinsey. “For us to prolong this, and in the Deputy Mayor’s words ‘fine tune’ this, I don’t know what to do other than fundamentally change what we are proposing to make it acceptable to you. We have made it about as pure of a registration program as you can get. To tell you the truth Kenmore businesses are not that organized.”

Karlinsey’s plea stoked another debate among council members. The council took a vote to table the issue for another month but it did not pass as the council was deadlocked 3-3. Councilwoman Laurie Sperry was absent from the meeting.

The council ultimately passed the ordinance with Mayor David Baker voting in favor after voting to table the issue.