Business licencing in Chatham-Kent will take on a cost-recovery model come January 2016.
Those interested in starting or renewing a business will see user fees set at 80% cost recovery in 2016, and increasing to 100% in 2017. These will cover costs for health, safety and fire inspections.
Mayor Randy Hope says the municipality hasn't reviewed the bylaw since 2002, and wants the playing field to be even across the board.
"It's good to see we're streamlining, and again when you wait so long, over ten years, to update your bylaws, you're going to have some housekeeping that has to be done," says Hope.
The full bylaw review, including a list of fee changes, can be found here.