HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 09-20-2016 - 6-c - Reimbursement of Fees Paid for Massage Licenses 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: September 20, 2016
Action Agenda
Item No. 6-c
SUBJECT: Reimbursement of Fees Paid for Massage Licenses
DEPARTMENT: County Attorney/Tax
Administration
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dwane Brinson, 919-245-2726
John Roberts, 919-245-2318
PURPOSE: To authorize the Tax Administrator to reimburse massage license fees collected
from individuals to whom the massage license did not apply.
BACKGROUND: Orange County, through Chapter 8, Article II of the Code of Ordinances
regulates the provision of massage services in Orange County and has done so since 1985. In
1985 there was no other regulation of this industry. In 1998 the North Carolina legislature
enacted the North Carolina Massage and Bodywork Therapy Practice Act (the "Act"). This act
established statewide licensing requirements applicable to individuals who engage in massage
or bodywork therapy. Many of the provisions of the Act are similar to the requirements of the
ordinance enacted by Orange County in 1985.
The provisions of the ordinance only apply in the unincorporated areas of Orange County. The
County Attorney has confirmed with the attorneys for Hillsborough, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill
that the ordinance was never adopted by the town governing boards for enforcement within the
towns. Many of the individuals who paid the fee were not subject to the requirements of the
ordinance and paid the fee under the mistaken belief that it applied to them. Much of this
confusion was eliminated earlier this year when the BOCC amended the ordinance and
removed the fee collection requirements for massage practitioners and kept them only for
massage businesses located in the unincorporated areas of Orange County. The BOCC at that
time instructed the Tax Administrator and County Attorney to provide a recommendation to
reimburse those fees collected in error.
The Tax Administrator has compiled massage license fee data to 2008, this being the earliest
year the county has full records, and recommends that massage license fees collected from
individuals working within municipalities in and after 2008 be reimbursed to those individuals.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The total reimbursement of fees collected dating back to 2008 is
approximately $3,500.
2
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: There is no Orange County Social Justice Goal impact associated
with this item.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board authorize the Tax
Administrator to reimburse the fees to those individuals who qualify dating back to include 2008.