Hearings provide comment on at-home businesses

Town Hall, Tuesday morning at 8:15 a.m. is the site for a public hearing, though only a few people are in attendance. One of them is Ciciley Basse, who plans to open a daycare at her home.

Mayor’s Assistant Fred Crosby explained these hearings, specifically for home-based businesses, provide a chance for anyone to come in and voice their complaints. They are more of a formality, he noted, as there is a checklist of performance standards that is part of the application process.

This checklist includes assurances the business is secondary to the use of a home as a dwelling, designations for size, storage and parking, among other items.

“You can’t turn your entire house into a manufacturing facility,” Crosby said, but a room could be utilized or an address used for billing and other correspondence.

The hearings themselves are free, but it does cost the Town $35 to advertise, which is reimbursed by the people. He noted there is an extra trash charge — going from $19 to $29 — for having a business based at a residence; those who get out of doing an at-home business go back to the normal rate.

Crosby further added it is important to let the Town know when the business starts up so charges can be applied correctly; just as important is notification of address changes and when a business stops, to ensure correct billing.

For some businesses, the hearing might just be the first hoop to jump through, depending on how much State paperwork there is. For those who want to do an at-home business, local paperwork can be picked up at Town Hall, though Crosby noted they still have to deal with the State for sales tax and other items.