City officials are in the process of crafting a policy for delaying or restructuring payment of fees for businesses looking to open in Los Ba&#241;os during the current recession.</p><p>Last week council members made having a policy in place necessary by agreeing to postpone full payment for Tractor Supply Co., which is expected to start doing business today.</p><p>In the original agreement $160,994 in fees, which includes about $43,000 in regional transportation impact money, would have had to be paid in full for Tractor Supply Co. to open. Instead, the council voted last week to allow the fees to be paid monthly during the course of the next 18 months with interest and city staff costs added on to the bill.</p><p>"I always thought the appropriate way to do this was always to go on a case-by-case situation as to what that company actually brought to the community. I still think that's the way in the future we got to go, how does the community benefit. And this is one case I think it is a great benefit," Mayor Tommy Jones said.</p><p>Councilman Joe Sousa agreed that any deferment of fees should be considered individually, but he thinks a policy on who gets additional time to pay and who does not should largely be based on the number of jobs the business will create.</p><p>City Attorney William Vaughn said many communities in California are deferring fees because of the economy.</p><p>"It's setting a precedence in the sense that it is the first time, that I'm aware of, the city has considered a deferral of impact fees," Vaughn said. "You are opening the door for other applications."</p><p>Vaughn said it may be a good idea to study some policies on what is and is not acceptable.</p><p>Redevelopment Agency Director Elaine Post said there are several businesses in a similar situation as Tractor Supply Co.</p><p>"Our office is being contacted on a regular basis from businesses who had bank loans to start projects and the banks have pulled out," Post said. "We have quite a few projects that are just about complete. They just need to get over the hump."</p><p>City Manager Steve Rath said the city really needs Tractor Supply Co. to open because of the sales tax revenue that will be paid to Los Ba&#241;os. </p><p>Councilman Tom Faria said he supports the city's agreement with the company, but really wants a policy put in place for the future.</p><p>"Something that can be followed," he said. "Case-by-case yes, but we don't want to be accused of being unfair."</p><p><i>Enterprise staff writer Corey Pride can be reached at 388-6563 or cpride@losbanosenterprise.com</i>