The City Commission on Tuesday held a public hearing on the municipal licensing.
Developers say the licensing process is too time-consuming.
They said state certification of tradespeople should be sufficient. Local contractors argue that the licensing provides safety, and helps assure property owners that workers are qualified. The city's licensing procedure, which can take up to 90 days, dates to the 1950s. Typically, older communities have municipal licensing requirements while suburban areas don't, said Neal Barille, Middletown's director of development. But the City Commission, following complaints from developers that the process is unwieldly, is looking at revising the procedures and could institute a registration system.