Winchester passes 36% resolution

Frederick County is next

Frederick supervisors to mull ‘payday’ loan resolution

By Robert Igoe
The Winchester Star

Winchester — Frederick County officials want to join a movement by Virginia communities to rein in predatory cash lenders.

At its regular meeting tonight, the Board of Supervisors will examine a resolution drafted by County Administrator John R. Riley Jr. asking the General Assembly to limit the authority of businesses that lend cash in exchange for a personal check or a vehicle title that is left as collateral.

Staunton is one of many communities that want to regulate these "payday" lenders. Such lenders, critics say, prey on low-income clients, who may borrow the money for emergency use, only to find themselves trapped in a cycle of continuous loans with high interest.

The county’s resolution asks the state to cap such loans at 36 percent interest and to prohibit the use of a personal check to gain access to a borrower’s bank account or to use a car title as collateral for a payday loan.

The Winchester City Council, at a work session in September, was asked to consider a similar resolution. The council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday capping the rate at 36 percent.

Also at the meeting, the board will consider a request by the county treasurer’s office for a public hearing to consider changes to the county’s dog license ordinance.

One change would allow residents the option of purchasing a license that will last as long as 36 months to cover a similar period of vaccination.

Another change would allow a 50 percent discount on fees for licenses for spayed and neutered pets and would double the kennel license fees.

The board will meet in the Frederick County Office Complex at 7:15 tonight.    

— Contact Robert Igoe at
rigoe@winchestersta r.com

 


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