Hawkesbury council has agreed to make business licence fees fair for pawn shop owners.
At the January 24 council meeting, council approved reducing the yearly fee paid by pawnbrokers for a municipal business licence from $1,200 per year to $120 per year, which is the same fee paid by all other business owners in the Town of Hawkesbury.
The former $1,200 per year licence fee was the same amount charged to owners of adult entertainment establishments, none of which exist in Hawkesbury. There is only one pawn shop in town, the Hawkesbury Pawn Shop, located downtown on Main Street. On April 26, 2021, then shop owner Robert Portelance went to council and requested the fee be adjusted. Council agreed that the difference in licence fees was unfair and planned to make changes. Portelance has since sold the business to a new owner.
The Ontario Pawnbroker’s Act requires all pawn shops in Ontario to carry a municipal licence and to provide a security deposit of $2,000 to the municipality when the first request for a licence is made.
According to research done by Hawkesbury Clerk’s Department staff, pawn shop licencing fees vary from an initial request costing $200 and then $115 for a renewal of three years in Cornwall to an initial request in Clarence-Rockland of $56 with a $111 yearly renewal fee. The Pawnbroker’s Act is flexible. It sets a minimum fee of $60 but gives ultimate discretion to municipalities to decide the amount.
The pawn shop licencing fee reduction is estimated to result in a loss of revenue to the Town of Hawkesbury of $10,800 by 2031, based on only one pawn shop operating in town.
At the January 24 meeting, Hawkesbury council unanimously approved the recommendation to amend the by-law regulating pawn shop licencing fees without any discussion or debate.
