Last week we told you about the City Council's plan to charge taxi operators a trade license fee of $120.00 dollars per year.
Now taxes on taxis are never popular, but there haven't quite been howls of protest - the taxi operators and unions have been measured in their response - saying the principle may be correct but the timing is wrong.
Today a general meeting was held with taxi operators and the city council at the St. John's Credit Union to dialogue, and if necessary, argue about the issue.
Mark Humes who heads one of the biggest taxi unions in the city told us what they hoped to achieve:
Mark Humes - Novelos Terminal Market Square Taxi
"Our main concern is coming together with Taxi Unions, Cooperations, and Associations across the City about the Trade License Tax. One, we're concerned about the legality of it, and two, if it's legal, come to some kind of agreement where it be lowered. So those are the two issues that we are concerned about."
Jules Vasquez
"Now, I have seen a document saying that, in fact, that there is nothing on the books that says you can charge specifically a taxi driver a Trade License Fee. I gathered this is something you will have gotten legal advice on, is that the collective position of these various taxi groups?"
Mark Humes
"Yes sir, we've had a meeting prior to this in the beginning of this initiative here, and we as taxi drivers - as across the City - had come together, and we said that we want to map a way forward. We came in unity and we had lawyers investigate this situation, and so far we don't see any legality. But, may be, it's nothing that we have seen so far."
Jules Vasquez
"So, but at this point, you all aren't closed to it completely, you all are just deepen the consultation with the City Council?"
Mark Humes
"Yes, and we want to have a proper avenue of dialoging. We don't want to have to get into demonstrations other stuff, because this is where you meet with the people that will make the difference and have proper change. We don't have to have a lot of riot on the streets and that kind of thing. We want to meet with the people and, if it's legal, negotiate and move from there. Our members are not in agreement with what's going on, because there are many things happening right now. There are high gasoline charges; we are already paying to license our vehicle - a $120, $165 - we're paying for our own driver's license. So there are a lot of things involved besides of an over-taxed economy, and then, we cannot collect extra additional income because people say, "I don't want to pay you $7, 8 or whatever - $9 per ride. So we are not making more, but we have to pay more. So that is our main concern."
The meeting started at 3:30 and finished about an hour and a half later, with no resolution other than the commitment to continue the dialogue.
The follow up meeting will be with the executives of the taxi unions since today's meetings got a little rash and raucous from time to time.
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