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| Branson License Bureau will be closed Nov. 20 and 21 and will reopen Nov. 24. |
When the Branson License Bureau closes its doors on Nov. 19 an era will end. Ross Summers, President/CEO Branson /Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB said that for over 15 years the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce has operated the bureau under a contractual agreement with the state, but that will stop as of the close of business on Nov. 19.
He said that the bureau will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 20 and 21, for transition to another operator and will reopen, in the same location, on Monday Nov. 24 under that operator. Summers indicated that the transitional closing is mandated by the state for auditing and inventory purposes and, except to say that it would be a “Fee Office” that was currently doing business with the state, had no other specifics as to the name of the entity that he could share.
Summers said the decision not to continue the contract is based on the economics of increased costs to the chamber and shrinking revenues. He said the state used to pay a lot of administrative costs such as office supplies and postage but no longer does so.
He went on to point out that the primary source of the bureau’s revenues were from fees the state paid on each transaction the bureau processed. While the state was increasing the bureau’s costs by reducing the amount of the administrative costs it paid it did not increase the per transaction fee it paid.
Summers said except for the two days the bureau is closed for transition on Nov. 20 and 21 he anticipates that there will be continuity in the operation of the bureau. He expressed the opinion that the fee office operator who will be operating the bureau when it reopens on Nov. 25 will be doing so on a temporary interim basis and that after the new governor takes office a permanent operator will be selected through the Request For Proposal (RFP) process. He anticipates that the bureau will remain in its current location at least temporarily but acknowledged the possibility that the location could change in the future.
Furnished Courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent https://bransoncourier.com/view_article.php?news_ID=41
