City Repaying Contractors $2.6 Million

The city of Charlotte has agreed to refund about $2.6 million in business license fees that it collected improperly from a number of building contractors.A class-action lawsuit brought in January by Vision Ventures Construction prompted the settlement, which was decided in May.While other cities may be violating the same state law, the plaintiff's attorney said, Charlotte's fees were particularly high – contractors paid the city as much as $10,000 a year when they should have paid $10.“Charlotte is just such an extreme example,” said Jameson Wells, the attorney representing Vision Ventures.