The Burnettown town council in a 3-1 vote Monday night, decided to postpone the business license ordinance, until such a time when a steering or ad hoc committee will be appointed.

Councilman Wayne New made the proposal in a crowded council chamber, and it was seconded by Kenneth Ferguson.

There will be two additional readings of the proposal, a public hearing is scheduled for June 2 at 6 p.m., and the final reading is slated for June 27 at 6 p.m.

"We want to look at everything we possibly can," New said. "These people have a voice."

The ordinance which is scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2005, has drawn the ire of business owners within the town, creating a sense of frustration and displeasure.

"The people who buy the business licenses will pass the cost of the licenses on to the consumers," Clifford Warner said. "The less government the better. Everyone should be allowed to do business with whomever they want to. It's all about supply and demand."

The only no vote was cast by Mayor Pro Tem James McIntosh.

Mayor Wayne Benson was unable to attend the council meeting.

"I think Mayor Benson should have been here to make comments regarding the business license ordinance," McIntosh said.

After listening to the concerns of town residents and business owners, New saw the need for a steering committee to be put in place.

"The reason I decided to make the proposal was because I've learned a great deal more about the process during the past two months than in the 16 months previous to that," he said.

The business license ordinance continues to be a source of contention, creating additional concerns.

"These people don't want the business license ordinance and taxation," said Mel Minitor, of Phoenix Computers.

"I haven't seen one person raise their hand in favor of the business license ordinance at the meetings. I'm glad they decided to form a steering committee. It shows that they're trying to listen to us. We have accumulated enough signatures on the petition to force the issue to a vote (and have the issue placed on the November ballot to overturn the business license ordinance)," he said.

The money from the business license ordinance will be applied toward hiring another full-time police officer. Additional money will be used to apply for matching grants, for town beautification projects and for the parks and recreation department.

The police department answered 116 calls this past month and issued 55 traffic tickets, 37 citations and 18 written warnings.

"From the feedback we had received, the police department was in dire need of funds," New said.

One council member gave his reason for voting in favor of the business license ordinance last December.

"My decision to vote in favor of the business license ordinance was because I was interested in and wanted to know who was coming into the town and into my neighborhood," said Robert Workman, a councilman.

Once again, talk about the possibility of property taxes reared its ugly head, but the council did its best to assuage residents' fears.

"We're not going to vote in favor of the property tax," McIntosh said. "We would have to have at least 75 percent of the people voting in favor of the tax. How can we guarantee this? We can make a resolution saying so."