There are several options city council needs to consider if it wants to look at a retroactive waiver of business licence fees to assist with the impact of COVID-19, council heard at its meeting Monday.

Melodie Simard, the city’s manager of planning, laid out four alternatives for council’s consideration, including doing nothing beyond the resolution passed by council in early April.

The resolution suspended the collection of penalties and interest on late payments for city services, such as monthly utilities, until Sept. 30.

The other three alternatives are options council should consider if it wants to look at a retroactive waiver for licence fees, Simard explained.

Simard said council would have to pass a resolution if it wants staff to pursue the retroactive waiver.

The administrative report presented by Simard notes there are two active relief programs for businesses in the territory which have been impacted in the pandemic.

The Yukon Business Relief Fund provides assistance to help cover fixed expenses for business that have lost 30 per cent of their monthly revenue, but does not cover the cost of business licences.

The federal Northern Business Relief Fund provides assistance with fixed costs, including business licence fees, though there is a list of conditions that needs to be met, including operating at a loss.

The report points out many variables. There were businesses ordered to close in March but there are those who were not ordered to close but still suffered from the impact of COVID-19.

Some businesses, on the other hand, were not impacted and are still doing well.

There were 2,973 business licences issued by the city last year, resulting in revenue of $533,000.

The report notes at the time it was prepared for council, 330 Yukon businesses had applied to the Northern Business Relief Fund which covers the cost of business licences.

Of the 330, it’s estimated 264, or 80 per cent, are Whitehorse businesses.

Since April, 46 businesses have enrolled in the Yukon Business Relief Fund but have been denied funding under the Northern Business Relief Fund because they didn’t meet one or more of the program’s criteria.

It the city were to provide licence fee relief for just those 46 businesses, it’s estimated the loss of revenue would be about $7,360.

If the city wanted to implement a blanket relief for all licensed businesses, it would cost the city approximately $485,030, the report notes.

“This option would have a significant financial impact on the city and likely is not needed for all Whitehorse businesses, as some have not been impacted by COVID-19 or have been positively impacted,” says the report.

It points out some businesses that were ordered to close have already renewed their licences and the city would have to come up with a method to retroactively waive those fees.

(Business licences are renewed annually on the anniversary date of the original licence, and not on the calendar year.)

The city could provide a retroactive waiver of business licence fees for businesses with a 30 per cent loss in monthly gross revenue that did not qualify to receive support under the federal fund, says the report.

It says to determine eligibility for city support, the city could request proof of enrolment in the Yukon Business Relief Fund, which requires a 30 per cent loss in monthly gross revenue but does not cover licence fees.

If council wishes to proceed with a temporary suspension of the fee and charges bylaw to provide for the retroactive waiver of business licence fees for 2020, the process would be for council to provide that direction by passing a resolution to that effect at a council meeting, says the report.

Council has not yet passed a resolution regarding the waiver of licence fees.