While the Laurinburg City Council may have made it more convenient for food truck vendors to operate in the city limits back in the August monthly meeting, they surely have not made it cheaper to afford the annual permit to do so. In fact, at the September meeting, they voted to increase the cost of an annual permit for food truck vendors from $50 to $300 and they did so in one of the most deceptive and sneaky ways possible.
The fee schedule increase was buried amongst a multitude of consent agenda items that once read off by our “beloved” mayor, were consolidated for a vote that saw all actions passed in one fell swoop. There was no public hearing and no justification or discussion from city council members as to why the fee schedule was being increased so dramatically.
In searching through previous council meetings from 2023 and their minutes, I found no other discussion on this subject. Also, in looking at fee schedules for food truck vendor permits in other cities and counties in North Carolina, I found that the range of these schedule fees varied and that most of these cities on the higher end of that spectrum were either larger cities or those with better revenues. Knowing that Scotland County is considered a poor county, I am baffled as to why our city council members, who speak highly of wanting better for our community would place such a burden on these business owners and then seemingly want to seek food vendors for the annual Christmas on Main event.
A notification of a special called meeting does not suffice, especially when most citizens do not frequent the city’s website. Citizens should have been made aware of this fee schedule change via an announcement in a previous meeting or by council members reaching out to the community, but just like the City Hall issue of 2016, we have been left in the dark once again. Apparently, we may never know why this fee was increased because as soon as the consent agenda was passed, it was on to other business. Once again, someone has been done a disservice by a city council that looks out for the wants of special interest and not the needs of its citizens. If I were a food truck vendor, I would find another city to peddle my services to.
Just saying.
Donald M. Anderson Jr.
Laurinburg
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