Small Business Bill of Rights

Preamble | Bill of Rights | Exhibit A: Economic Development Statement | Exhibit B: List of Supporters

Preamble

The Small Business Advisory Council was created by the Portland City Council, under city ordinance, and is the city’s official advisory group on small business. We, the members of SBAC, strongly believe that a healthy, viable community must offer opportunities for local business to prosper and to attain economic sustainability. We also believe that the City must promote the attitudes, actions and conditions that encourage local business owners to take risk, invest resources, hire employees and undertake enterprises that will create financial return.

Growing, prosperous businesses create jobs for employees that result in increased tax revenues which, in turn, benefit the entire community. Nearly three-quarters of the net new jobs in Portland are created by small business. Our local economy is populated by thousands of small business enterprises, many of which struggle for viability and survival while providing hundreds of thousands of jobs with billions of dollars in payroll.

Principles:

• Economic development is made up of the attitudes, policies, regulatory interpretations and programs that promote business prosperity and that result in job creation, retention and expansion. Economic development is more than real estate development.
• Business and entrepreneurial ventures are resilient and adaptable, but there is a limit to the stresses that they can sustain. Just as the community considers the environmental impact before changing the physical environment, we must consider the potential impact of policy on business viability and job creation.
• Portland’s economic environment must encourage business enterprises to start up here, to relocate here, to stay here, to grow and to thrive.
• We must create an economic development environment where government and business can mutually benefit.

Based on these principles, the Small Business Advisory Council has developed the following bill of rights for small business. We hereby request that these rights be the framework by which policies, government actions, regulatory interpretations and the allocation of resources are considered from here forward.

Small Business Bill of Rights

Portland small businesses have the right to expect City council and the City bureaus to:

1. Work with the business community to develop, promote and maintain education, training and informational programs and resources that assist the start-up, operation and/or expansion of businesses.
2. Establish and maintain easy access to the information and resources necessary to support businesses in their relationships with City government.
3. Support and promote programs that provide access to capital, financing and city incentives for small business start up, survival and/or expansion.
4. Be held responsible and accountable for prioritizing City spending on Fire, Public Safety, Parks and Infrastructure.
5. Establish and maintain an adequate and efficient system of streets and roadways that supports the efficient movement of freight, the timely delivery of commercial goods and services, and adequate mobility of employees and customers.
6. Encourage budget and expenditure processes that are comprehensible and transparent to lay citizens.
7. Establish and maintain a fair system of taxation and fees that encourages small businesses to start, survive, grow and remain in Portland.
8. Ensure a simple, predictable regulatory environment/permitting process that is both efficient and cost effective. Make available a clear and stable system of documentation for these processes.
9. Actively seek and expand opportunities for small business to provide products and services to the City.
10. Support and promote the SBAC and other organizations that are representative of city small business. Confer with SBAC or the most appropriate small business advisory group and/or business owners prior to making decisions which may affect small business job creation, job retention or job expansion.

Exhibit A: Economic Development Position Statement

1. The essential elements for quality of life are a job and economic stability.
2. A former President once said “the best social program is a job.” Finding and keeping a well paying job is, for most citizens, essential to enjoying a high quality of life. Neighborhood residents, business owners and property owners must recognize that their concerns are interdependent rather than adversarial. Economic development must be a priority at both the policy and bureau levels. Business associations, neighborhood associations, City Council, City Bureaus, planners and regulators must work in concert to achieve a balance of economic vitality and livability.
3. When City bureaus and other public agencies concerned with development issues are pursuing redevelopment, changes to commercial corrids, or areas of commercial concentration, job retention and creation must be the primary factor. The anticipated impact on jobs through redevelopment must consider not only the number of jobs, but the wage and benefit quality of the jobs. Gentrification and densification of commercial corridors must not eliminate the availability of affordable commercial space which is vital to a wide spectrum of essential service industries. Existing industrial zones must be protected.
4. In order to be profitable and to create jobs, business requires a cost climate of certainty and constancy. Expanding regulations, high system development charges, the Business Income Tax/Business License Fee, retroactive tax increases and ever increasing water and sewer rates are all factors which will lead to a business decision to either leave, not expand, or not locate in the City of Portland or Multnomah County.
5. A sound transportation infrastructure is vital for a healthy business environment. Portland’s position as a global import/export facility is dependent upon the ability of goods and services to flow freely into and within the region. The City must be proactive in its endeavors and cooperate with both Multnomah County and Metro to prevent further degradation of our highway, rail and water transportation routes and facilities. The time and difficulty involved in offloading and transporting goods will be the primary factor in consideration of this region as a distribution center.
6. Small businesses and large businesses are mutually reliant. Small businesses, in most cases, rely on large businesses to purchase their goods and services. Consumer oriented businesses rely on the quality employment provided by larger businesses for the discretionary dollars which allow people to shop. Large businesses rely on the diverse range of products and services provided by the small employers. The City must recognize this mutual reliance and not adopt policies which appear to be small business friendly to the detriment of large business.
7. Availability of capital financing is essential to a healthy business environment. City policy makers and regulators must recognize that barriers to business not only impact the ability of a business to be profitable, but also affect its ability to obtain financing. Since most business failures are associated with debt burden, the city must recognize that high permit fees and system development charges increase the capital required for a business start. The city must fight to retain economic development dollars in the budget and distribute those dollars in such a way as to provide the broadest assistance possible.

Exhibit B:

The following business associations, organizations, and representatives of Portland businesses have signed a petition in support of the Small Business Bill of Rights:

Business Associations/Organizations

Alliance of Portland
Neighborhood Business Associations (APNBA)
Central Eastside Industrial Council
East Portland Chamber of Commerce
Governor’s Small Business Council (GSBC)
Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber
Hollywood Boosters
Metropolitan Business Association
Nob Hill Business Association
North Portland Business Association
Oldtown/Chinatown Business District
Oregon Economic & Community Development
Department (OECDD)
Oregon Remodelers Association
Oregon Small Business Development Centers
Portland Business Alliance (PBA)
Small Business Advisory Council (SBAC)

Businesses

11th Avenue Liquor and Smokeshop
A-Ball Plumbing Supply, INC.
Action Business Coaching
Action International
Albina Community Bank
Artillery Tools, LLC
Automatic Transmission Service
AZH Painting
Babicky Performance Partners
Bamboo Life Styles
Bank of the Cascades
Bean Counter Bookkeeping
BG Marketing
Big Brothers/Big Sisters Columbia NW
Blue Ribbon Business Products Co.
Christopher B. Fowler, P.C.
Chuck Jones & Associates
CMS
Coleman Ventures
Comedy Sportz
Compensation Systems Northwest
Corcoran & Associates, INC.
CSNW/ORA
D & R Tile and Stone
Dealers Supply Co.
Directors Mortgage, INC.
Division Clinton Business Association
Division Do it Best Hardware
D-Lux Hardwood Floors
DNA Services of America
Donaghue’s Clean Through
Double J Construction
East Portland Chamber
Eastport Plaza
Edward Jones Investments
Emergence Communications, LLC
Emerson House
Environmental Building Suppliers
Ewing Design Concepts
Excelinet Communications
Fine Line Pacific
Foster Area Business Association
Frank Warrens Automotive Service
Futura
Gale Contractor Services INC
Gold Star Rental Equipment
Grand Avenue Floral
Habitat Restore
Han Ling Inc.
Hollander Consultants
Hollywood Farmers Market
Hollywood Lions
Holman’s Restaurant & Lounge
Home Run Graphics LLC
Ike Moore Company
Independent Insurance Agent – Tamara Totten
Interworks LLC
Jones and Jones Jewelers
KBMP Radio Inc.
Kennedy Restoration
Kornblatts Delicatessen
La Grande Public Relations
Legacy Realty Co.
Louis K.C. Lee CPA
Map Construction
Market Accelerators, LLC.
Martin & Lowe Interiors/ORA
Maylechi Capital
Medak Realty
Metalurges
Metsger Forbes LLC
Michael’s Italian Beef and Sausage
Milestone Electric
Montesi & Associates
Moonstruck Chocolate Café
Mottar & Co, Inc.
Motto’s Painting
National Builders Hardware Co.
National Marketing Associates Inc.
NHBA
Nob Hill Apartments
Northeast Community Center
Northwest Cutting Edge Technologies
NW Portland Ministries
O’Neill Transfer $ Storage Co.
Olson & Jones Construction, INC
Operation Hope
Orleans Candle Co.
Oswego Design and Remodelers
Pacific HR, LLC
PBSI
PDQ Signs
Pederson & Associates
Perkings Architectural
Perrinco LLC
Peter N. Lennon & Associates
Portland Classical Chinese Garden
Portland Indoor Soccer
Portland Saturday Market
Portland Store Fixtures
Portland Transmission Warehouse
Portland Tribune
Potter Webster Co.
Principal Financial
Pro Photo Supply
Pro Steering Systems
Produce Raw Property Management Co
Progressive Builders Northwest
RedPine, LLC
Reds Electric
Reynolds Optical Co.
Richard Neal Lishner
RJ Gordon Properties, LLC
Rose City Vision Care
Rubber and Plastics INC.
Salon 1515
Shur Architects
Silver Cloud Inn
SL Lithograph
Smith CFI
Sports Car Market Magazine
Square Deal Remodeling Co. Inc
St. Johns Health Center
Star Oilco
Steel Bridge Consulting
Stewart & Tunno
Sunbelt Business Brokers
Sunrise Window Services
Swider Medeiros Haver LLP
Synergy Restoration & Construction LLC
Tapered Design Division
Tech Chex, Inc.
The Bookkeeping Co. LLC
The Decorette Shop
The Nielson Group, LLC.
The Stratton Company
The Support Group
The Western Group
Thorpe Construction
Three Star Fix, LLC
Tire Disposal & Recycling, INC.
Tom Miller Remodeling, INC
Tom Wayne Entertainment
Trafalgar Capital Management
Transition Projects
Triad Mechanical, INC
W.B. Adams Company
Weber Insurance Services
Webster Family LLC
Weirs Cyclery
West Coast Bank
West Coast Finances LLC
Westside Secretarial Service
Whitman Plaza
Willamette Pattern Works INC
Windermere
Write it for Me
ZD Design/ORA
ZIVA Salon
Zookeeper LLC
Blackledge Furniture
Hollander Consultants