Fredonia Trustee James Lynden is correct. Businesses already have enough hoops to go through without having to be licensed to operate in the village.

His comments came this week during a board gathering Monday. Lynden had been tasked with putting together a committee to study a proposal.

“I reviewed a number of other communities and all the ones I found associated fees with … an additional licensing for businesses,” he said. “I spoke with (Chief Code Enforcement Officer) Chuck LaBarbera about it for a pretty good length. He thought it might not be a bad idea, but then again, as we discussed it further, without any kind of penalties or charges to go along with it, it really has no teeth.”

This consideration was put forward by current Mayor Doug Essek in September after he told the board about dangerous elements in the downtown during late nights. At that meeting he noted, “There’s a couple businesses that I would like to eradicate from our village because they bring nothing in but trouble,” without naming those establishments.

Already, Lynden has heard from small business owners in the community who believe it could hurt future shops opening in a downtown that needs more foot traffic. Government, especially in this case, needs to do more to promote a positive environment.

Licensing is not part of that solution — and could likely lead to even more headaches.