JANUARY 2007: AROUND THE STATE
“No teeth” in Portland’s rights resolution
PORTLAND
Since its inception, the Small Business Advisory Council
has been working to ease the tension between city government
and members of the Portland small-business community, who often
feel their interests are overlooked when decisions are made.
With the city council’s recent unanimous adoption of the
Small Business Bill of Rights, they hope they’ve reached
a truce.
The 12-point document lays out a list of things
small-businesses expect from the city council, such as a
predictable regulatory environment, maintenance of a system of
streets and roadways that don’t inhibit commerce, and
opportunities to bid on city contracts.
“On the government level, we hope as projects and
policies are being proposed it will be taken into
account,” SBAC chair Jackie Babicky-Peterson says.
Passed as a resolution — not an ordinance — the
bill of rights cannot change policies or laws affecting
small businesses, and that has some wishing it went
further.
“It’s two or three steps away from binding the
city to anything,” says Kevin Spence, a Portland attorney
who also runs the website PortlandSmallBusiness.com. “I
just don’t think there’s any teeth to
it.”
Babicky-Peterson acknowledges that weakness but says the
advisory council is already working on an ambitious 2008 action
plan that includes working with commissioners to add line items
to public works projects to mitigate construction
inconveniences for businesses, and cooperating with the
Portland Development Commission to secure short-term working
capital loan funds for small
businesses.
JAMIE HARTFORD
Have an opinion? E-mail feedback@oregonbusiness.com
