By Gary Lloyd
The Clay City Council on Monday approved a resolution to extend a moratorium on check cashing, cash/payday advance and title loan businesses.
The extension is for one year, said Mayor Charles Webster.
The city council in May declared the moratorium on these types of businesses. It did not affect the one check cashing establishment already in city limits, but it kept new business licenses for this type of business from being issued.
Local businessman Ron Self disagreed with the moratorium in May. He said these businesses would bring revenue into the cash-strapped city.
“We need to bring (businesses) in, rather than keep them out,” Self said, adding that two renters of his properties were cash advance businesses, and neither had ever had any problems.
Councilwoman Becky Johnson in May likened the debate over cash stores to an earlier moratorium on pawn shops. The residents of Clay came out in numbers to speak against any new pawn stores from doing business in city limits.
Pawn shops and other loan-based businesses are considered “adult” stores, according to current laws and are often lumped in with other adult-themed businesses for zoning and business purposes, City Manager Ronnie Dixon said in May.
The resolution approved in May states the city is opposed to any business that can be seen as detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of residents. It further states payday advance businesses and their ilk “charge high fees that entangle borrowers in a vicious cycle.” The resolution also cites a 2011 study from American Society of Criminology that claims a correlation between payday lenders, violent crime and lowered property values.
Lee Weyhrich contributed to this story.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
