Columbus City Council tackles business license delays

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) – There are new details on the public investigation of the Columbus Consolidated Government’s finance department, specifically the section in charge of business licenses and alcoholic beverage licenses.

Councilors began with an executive session to discuss personnel matters, followed by a lengthy discussion on the current status of the backlog of business licenses. Leaders expressed concerns about the ongoing cycle of delays.

Worries are mounting over a backlog of late and delinquent business and alcoholic beverage licenses from 2017 to 2023. A national law firm representing Columbus engaged Acuitas Inc. to conduct an internal audit. This forensic accounting and litigation consulting firm reported identifying nearly 25,000 business licenses and over 500 delinquent alcoholic beverage licenses during that six-year period.

As of October this year, there are still 18,223 delinquent business licenses, 320 delinquent alcoholic beverage licenses, and 4,659 delinquent businesses.

District 5 Council Member Charmaine Crabb asked for the actual amount of revenue the city should have collected based on these findings.

“I would like this report to be based on facts—not on assumptions or estimates. Do you have that?” said Crabb.

However, the auditors indicated they cannot determine potential revenue because the money has not been collected.

Acuitas stated that the primary obstacle to resolving the backlog is staffing shortages. From December 2023 through June, there were six employees in the Occupational Tax section of the Columbus Finance Department; now, there are only three.

“If you make it easier for the businesses, then they are going to do it,” Crabb said.

“We need to look into a company that already does this instead of reinventing the wheel; we should turn it over to them.”

District 4 Councilwoman Toyia Tucker and others suggested that the city outsource and fill these vacant positions.

“This is up there at the top with property taxes—this is a major source of revenue that we should be getting, and we’re not,” Tucker said.

Councilor Joanne Cogle of District 7 also voiced concerns about the Finance Department catching up.

“My fear is that we will be having this same conversation in 2025,” Cogle said.

Reports indicate there are 1,034 business delinquencies due to businesses not completing their annual business license applications. However, the department is on track to receive alcoholic business license renewals by the end of this year, according to Acuitas.

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