Thank you for your response to my recent letter regarding your proposed Small Business Plan. While I was pleased to receive such a rapid response, I believe your haste left a few matters unclear.
This is my attempt to restate the issues that I (still) see with your approach as well as to rectify some of your misunderstandings.
First I would like to publically state for the record that I do support Christian Price for the next mayor of Maricopa. Christian Price is a capable and responsible candidate and I firmly believe Maricopa will be a far stronger community with his involvement.
That said, my concerns with your plan stand on their own. They relate to your role as a councilmember, not as a candidate for some other office. Also, as I am not currently running for any elected office, I have no idea what you mean by “politically expedient.” It presumably relates to your view of my questions as an “attack” on your plan. This is somewhat torturous reasoning as just prior to calling my questions an “attack,” you say the following:
“By introducing (it) to the public now, I have been able to gain critical feedback in order to make adjustments and address any issues…”
Perhaps you could elucidate for all of our benefit exactly what distinguishes “critical feedback” from an “attack” in your view? Please be assured that my comments/questions were offered solely as critical feedback and I hope they were taken in that vein.
Second, as to my own comments from two years ago, please carefully reread the quote you used. Notice that I was specifically addressing large manufacturing businesses, not small businesses. Additionally notice that I stressed the importance of involving state, county as well as city government in aggressively pursuing these highly desirable, large manufacturers.
I still believe that today, and was highly disappointed to hear you state at the recent debate that you do not even attend regional economic summits because you feel you don’t need to and that they are of little benefit. Again, just so that we are all clear here, I supported then and still support today the efforts to change the entire way that Arizona municipalities attract and retain large manufacturers.
I feel it is important to stress because you continually refer in your response to Walmart. Walmart, as I hope we can agree, is not a small business. Your plan (and my questions) center on your small business plan; let’s focus there.
With regard to that plan, we seem to be at such opposite ends of the philosophical spectrum as it relates to the proper role of government and normally functioning capital markets that discussion appears not only useless but quite impossible. Also, please bear in mind that the scenarios that were presented were based on your plan, neither of the scenarios were “mine,”in fact I specifically asked you to correct any of my errors in presenting your plan. Nevertheless, and despite my better judgment, I ask the following:
Where do I say that under scenario No. 1 no expansion takes place? That is just flat out wrong. Scenario No. 1 assumes expansion happens under the “current” system as stated in the “givens” to the scenario.
How is the $160,000 reached? I don’t see any explanation of your calculation, so it’s a little difficult to arrive at intuitively. I surmise that you believe 2008 through 2016 is only eight years at $20,000/yr versus the actuality of nine years?
Either way, the point is moot as I never assumed that the expansion does not happen, just who pays for it and why.
There is no “increase of $50,000 that would cover the cost of the DIFs;” it’s simply not the case, that’s the whole point of my illustration of your plan in real dollars and cents.
Why do you believe that the city would be ahead any amount of money if it credits/waives/adjusts/whatever the DIFs via tax credits?
What exactly do you mean by “Many small businesses will not be ready to expand and add jobs to our economy without some sort of public participation”? What form do you envision this “public participation” taking? At what cost, and under what compulsion? What in your educational/business/political experience informs this very unconventional economic view?
Regarding the Small Business Ombudsman position that you plan on creating:
You say that “Our city is severely understaffed.” Upon what do you base that assertion? Has the council not reviewed the past four years of budgets, including the staff levels? I thought we, as a city, had adopted a “zero-based” budget approach last year? Surely that “line-by-line” review process would have revealed a “severe” understaffing situation within the city, wouldn’t it? Are you saying that council is aware of a shortage, but the budget didn’t (and doesn’t) support filling these understaffed roles? If that’s the case, how will we ever fill these jobs when your Small Business Plan cuts net city revenues further?
Given that “we have over 800 business license holders in Maricopa and a vast majority have no idea what to ask or who to contact at city hall” it begs the question: How did these beleaguered owners ever manage to get a business license in the first place, if they, as you say, have no idea how to contact city hall? It just isn’t logical … besides, what is a “vast majority”? 500? 600? Are you telling us that you’ve talked to 500-600 small business owners directly and yet they have no idea who to contact at city hall?Again, please carefully reread my earlier letter, in particular the very last numbered paragraph. I never suggested having “directors running around from department to department.” In fact, what I was hoping for is an acknowledgement of the role councilmembers such as you could and should play in the everyday affairs of the city’s small business owners. I imagine that once you look a little closer into this you will find that managing by exception will be easier and less costly to the city than creating yet another position at city hall.
Finally, I want to take a moment and express my personal thanks to you for all your efforts over the past four years as a member of city council. I have no doubt that the experience was educational, rewarding, and at times frustrating for you and I wish to clearly state that I have no personal disagreement, disdain, or dislike for you, my positions are simply ideologically different from yours.
I appreciate the fact that you eagerly volunteer your ideas with the council and I hope that even after you leave the position of councilmember, you will remain engaged and involved in the free exchange of thoughtful ideas.
