The Camas City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to require city business licenses following a public hearing Monday evening. The ordinance amends the Camas Municipal Code to add requirements and procedures for local businesses to secure licenses.

According to Camas Finance Director Cathy Huber Nickerson, the license requirement will take effect Jan. 1 to give the Washington State Department of Revenue time to add Camas to its online system for state business licensing. Once the system is updated, Camas businesses will be prompted to apply for a city license during the process of renewing or applying for their state licenses, and will be able to secure both licenses from the same online system.

Huber Nickerson said the license requirement isn’t intended to be a significant revenue generator for the city — the fee is only $10, and businesses with less than $2,000 in annual sales are exempt — but rather a way for Camas to maintain a more accurate list of businesses in the city and to help the city audit its sales tax revenue.

Camas is one of the last cities in the region to adopt a local business license requirement, Huber Nickerson said. The city plans to conduct an outreach campaign during the 2019 holiday season to inform local businesses about the requirement.