BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — The City of Inez is pursuing vendor license compliance. Mayor Ed Daniels discussed the need to increase efforts to get vendors registered and licensed during a recent meeting. He urged commissioners to remind vendors operating locally that they must register at City Hall.

“If you see a vendor that you know is not registered with the city, tell them,” Daniels instructed. “Vendors have to pay a fee to operate in the city.”

The mayor said he has been distributing registration forms to vendors directly, instructing them to visit City Hall to secure their licenses.

City Clerk Lisa Mollett reported that several vendors had taken the mayor’s suggestion, completed the registration process and submitted their forms.

Daniels suggested commissioners carry forms with them to distribute as needed.

Commissioner Phyllis Conrad questioned whether licensing requirements had been followed in the past, to which Daniels replied that the city has required licenses “for years.”

“Well, have all the grass cutters and so forth been paying? No,” Conrad stated.

Under the ordinance, self-employed businesses pay $15, while those with one to five employees pay $35. Businesses with six to nine employees pay $45, and those with 10 to 20 employees are assessed $60. Companies with more than 20 employees are subject to a $125 fee. Failure to obtain a license results in a $25 penalty.

For vendors, peddlers, itinerant merchants, and solicitors operating in the city for four or more days per month, the fee is $75. Those present for three days pay $50, and vendors in the city for one to two days pay $25. Failure to obtain a license results in a $50 penalty.

In the past, the city clerk mailed notices to established businesses to remind them of the annual license renewal fees, with penalties imposed after Aug. 21.

“We used to mail it out,” Daniels said, expressing uncertainty about the current status of the addresses. Mollett confirmed that the city still has the addresses but said she requested email addresses to reduce postage costs.

Commissioner Jennifer Wells said the city should post on Facebook to get the word out.

Mollett agreed: “We need to do us a big Facebook post.”

The commissioners also discussed the need for vendors delivering products to the city to obtain a license but did not state a plan for contacting those vendors.