Interview with State Representative Scott Bruun:

By Aaron Crowley,

Scott Bruun is not your typical business owner or Oregon State Representative.   He is one of only a handful of citizen legislators serving in Salem who owns and operates a business enterprise.  This business experience brings a much needed perspective to the capital and the decisions affecting not only the residents of West Linn, South Lake Oswego, and Tualatin, but every business and employee in the state.

Q: What do you feel is the greatest challenge facing your company and other businesses in Oregon?

The regulatory structure in Oregon hamstrings businesses and our tax policy is one of the worst in the country.  This creates a drag on our economy because it slows the growth of businesses and makes them less competitive.

  Read more »

BUSINESS ALERT: Right now, Congress is onsidering raising new taxes, includign tobacco, to help expand the federal SCHIP expansion.   The timing of such new taxes is awful for business.  Currently small businesses are being slammed on all sides!  

-Oregon gas prices are among nation’s 10 highest!
-Food prices are rising 5%
– Utility prices are rising as high as 40% Read more »

Oregon Small Business Association Board Member, Aaron Crowley spoke at a business advisory breakfast meeting in NE Portland on May 20th.  Crowley commented on how the voice of Oregon’s small businesses needs to be restored to the public debate and discussed data on how small businesses are still teh most common catagory of business in Oregon.   Crowley further spoke on how small business are the first to feel the brunt of a poor economy, high taxes or overbearing regualtion.

Note: As Portland considers a new mayor, an interview with Small Businessman Steve Gann of Gann Publishing was made to offer guidelines and insight on what that new mayor must do to improve Portland.

            The city of Portland seems to be in chaos. Construction cost overruns, crime rampant, traffic congestions, water and sewer lines poorly maintained and bridges in disrepair while public funds are used for favored enterprises, lack of accountability for million-dollar mistakes, and a disenfranchised electorate.

Read more »

Defending our cars, our freedom    
Saturday, January 26. 2008
By Aaron Crowley,
Oregon Small Business Association

Of all the symbols of independence in America, the automobile stands out. Nothing else gives a man the ability to take any road or highway to wherever he wants to go, whenever he so desires.

The Oregonian apparently has a problem with this in a recent article.

In a column about Randy O’toole’s recent seminar on planning, the reporter choses to mock Houston, TX residents as having a “love affair with the automobile.” I think it is time to stand in solidarity with our freedom loving friends from the great state of Texas and point out that it isn’t so much the vehicle itself we are in love with. Read more »

HB 2575 narrowly passed the Oregon House of Representatives which would raise a $35 million tax on Oregon business to pay for a particular family leave insurance fund.   It is a one cent/hour tax on all employees in Oregon.  This would effect over one million Oregonians who work.   Oregon businesses would collect and pay the tax and a new government entity would be created to administer it through the Bureau of Labor and Industries.

It is still unknown why the legislation was not officially listed as a tax increase by Legislative Council, even though it raises $35 million in new taxes.

In March the Oregon Small Business Association mailed out 500 “Small Business Bill of Rights” petitions to Portland businesses.  This has been a special project of Chuck Jones who is on the Portland Small Business Advisory Committee and is a Oregon Small Business Association supporter.

Here is our letter:

Dear Portland Business,

The Portland Small Business Advisory Council has created a Small Business Bill of Rights.  These rights are designed to protect small businesses and help Portland become more business friendly and responsive to the needs of the city’s smallest of businesses. Please join your local businesses by reading and signing the Small Businesses Bill of Rights.

Here is the Small Business Bill of Rights Text:

Small Business Advisory Council – Small Business Bill of Rights Preamble

Small Business Bill of Rights 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.

• 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 • 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.

Portland small businesses have the right to expect City Council and the City bureaus to: 1. Work with the business community to promote and maintain the education, training and informational resources that assist the start-up, operation and/or expansion of businesses. 2. Guarantee ready access to the information and resources needed to support business in their relationships with City government. 3. Support and promote programs that provide access to capital financing for business start up, survival and expansion. 4. Be held responsible and accountable for spending the City dollars in the same priorities as outlined in the City Charter. 5. Encourage complete transparency in all budget and expenditure areas. 6. Provide a system of taxation and fees that encourages small business to survive and grow. 7. Ensure a simple, predictable regulatory environment/permitting process that is both efficient and cost effective. 8. Make available a clear and stable system of documentation of City processes and practices. 9. Provide an adequate and efficient system of streets and roadways that support: a) the ontime delivery of commercial goods and services; b) the mobility of employees and customers. 10. Provide that small businesses have the opportunity to participate in the City’s procurement process by opening to bid all purchasing of products and services. 11. Provide small business with access to city incentives and services. 12. Support and promote the Small Business Advisory Council, an organization representative of city small business, and consult with the SBAC prior to making any decisions which may affect small business job creation, job retention or job expansion. Economic Development Position Statement

I. The essential elements for quality of life are a job and economic stability. 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.

II. When City bureaus and other public agencies concerned with development issues are pursuing redevelopment, changes to commercial corridors, 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.

III. 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.

IV. 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.

V. 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.

VI. 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.

Jim Haynes, Small Business Coordinator for the Oregon Business Roundtable Committee and Oregon Small Business member issued a list of business that have left Oregon that was published in the 2006 voter’s pamphlet statement.  It is called “Oregon’s Big Government is Bad for Business” and has been used frequently.   Here is an excerpt.

“Big Problem!  Many businesses have left Oregon, taking jobs, wages and families with them:

– K-line container shipping, moved Tacoma, 2004

– Hyundai Merchant Marine, moved in 2004

– Albertson’s NW Headquarters moved to Idaho, 2004

– Wells Fargo Financial moved Vancouver, 2003

– Kuni Automotive moved Vancouver, 2003

– Albina Fuel moved to Vancouver, 2003

– Gardenburger moved to Utah, 2003

– Louisiana Pacific moved to Nashville, 2003

– Meier & Frank moved to Los Angeles, 2002

– Willamette Industries moved to Washington, 2002”

….

Wood Village Business (sales tax) idea stopped.

“No tax without a vote of the people” measure by 86%.

Business Income Tax

Terri Williams, Manager Portland Licensing and Tax Division gave a review of the proposed Business Income Tax changes for Portland/Multnomah County.

Williams explained various proposals ranging from reduction to elimination of the Business Income Tax.   Williams then took questions from the audience.

Schumacher Furs

Two security guards detailed how protesters have harassed customers and vandalized their building.  The showcased photos of the damage and obscene acts by the protestors.   Police response was not helpful to the Schumaker’s concerns.

Dave Lister spoke against the Mayor’s new tax proposal.

Lister is a columnist for BrainstormNW Magazine who specializes in Portland business issues.  Lister is also Vice-Chair of the Cost of Doing Business in Portland Work-Group for the Small Business Advisory Council.    Lister explained his own plan to help work for tax reform.

Prosperity or Portland

Steve Buckstein of Cascade Policy Institute.  Buckstein is Senior Policy Analyst for Cascade Policy Institute and author of the award winning report: “Prosperity or Portland?”  The report is about removing Portland’s Business Income Tax to Improve the City’s Economy, and also adjusting to contracting our more government functions to the private sector.