2018 Annual Licensing Fee Report

Home Browse Search

City of South Bend, Indiana Annual Licensing & Fee Report For Year Ended December 31, 2018 Licensing: The City of South Bend collects revenue from the issuance of various licenses including business licenses, lawn parking licenses, taxicab licenses, and pet licenses. Fees: The City also collects various fees for services performed by the Animal Care & Control Division, such as animal surrender fees, unwanted pet pick-up fees, euthanasia fees, and more. Revenue: The majority of licensing revenue is deposited into the General Fund (101). Taxicab licensing revenue is deposited into the Central Services Fund (222). Animal Care & Control fee revenue is deposited into the Consolidated Building Department Fund (600). Factors: There are several factors that can cause variances from year to year. -- When a business closes or moves out of South Bend -- New applicants -- When a licensed business changes ownership, the new owner has to apply for their own license. The following year, that location will only generate half the licensing revenue. -- There can be the same number of licenses issued for a specific category but a difference in revenue due to late fees or the number of decals/plates issued -- Lawn parking is directly related to the success of the Notre Dame Football team. Lawn parking licensing revenue typically increases when the team is having a good season. Explanation of Significant Changes: -- Licensing & fee revenue declined in from 2009 to 2010 as a result of lower of animal adoption fees, automobile repair licenses, and garbage removal license revenue. Another reason for this decline was the advance billing and prepayment of certain licenses (e.g. automotive repair and alarm agent licenses) in December 2009 for the 2010 fiscal year. -- General Fund licensing revenue remained constant between 2017 and 2018, decreasing by just $106. The addition of 7 mobile food truck licenses brought in $1,535. Restaurant licenses increased by 15 from 2017 to 2018, increasing revenue by $1,528. The number of lawn parking permits increased by 40 due to the winning season of Notre Dame Football. Lawn parking permits tend to rise an fall with the success of the Notre Dame Football program. Open air business licenses decreased from 44 to 13 from 2017 to 2018, decreasing revenue by $1,138. Open air businesses are donation boxes or an individual or business setting up a stand or tent to sell goods outdoors. Many donation boxes were removed between 2017 and 2018, explaining the decrease in revenue and licenses. -- Taxicab licensing revenue declined from $13,797 in 2013 to $2,229 in 2018, a decrease of $11,568 over six years. The number of taxicab companies declined from 11 in 2013 to 2 in 2018. The increased popularity of Uber and Lyft, alternatives to the traditional taxi service, is directly related to this decrease. -- Animal Care & Control: Thanks to the increased promotion of adoption, animal adoptions increased by 149 from 2017 to 2018, increasing revenue by $7,599. Animal Care & Control continues to increase enforcement of pet licenses, increasing pet license revenue by $4,429 from 2017 to 2018. Note: Pet licenses are no longer counted by pet; they are now counted by household. Also, the dangerous dog license was eliminated in 2015. Annual Licensing and Fee Report 5 of 7