Hot Air! Part 4?
We’re into Part 4 of the Arlington County Board’s chairman’s New Year’s Day speech at the Board’s “organization meeting.” Previously, we covered his thoughts on global warming (Part 1); lack of discussion of his service on Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA)’s board of director (Part 2); and taking credit for a laundry list of capital projects with no mention the Board has virtually max’ed out the county’s credit card (Part 3).
Today, we’ll growl about his desire to help small business with no apparent concern for the tax burden they bear. Mr. Chris Zimmerman, who was selected by his colleagues to serves as chairman for 2011, said:
“To realize our goals for our community, we need businesses to succeed. Their success is important for the fiscal vitality of the county, and for its overall economic health, as well as for the availability of goods and services that we want. It is especially important for small businesses and retail to thrive, because they are essential to the vibrancy of our “street life,” and they are key to establishing the unique character and identity which makes a place authentically distinct from all others.
“The County should be seen as a facilitator, a partner with small businesses to create a robust local economy to benefit everyone who lives here.
“Of course, local government has an important oversight role to play. The County must always enforce regulations that protect the public’s health and safety, and ensure that particular commercial activities do not unduly impose upon others. But good regulation exists for a purpose, not as an end in itself. We don’t intend to throw unnecessary obstacles on the path to success. I am convinced that we can do a better job, by modifying practices in a way that will benefit the whole community.
“This year, I will lead an effort aimed at helping small businesses meet local permitting requirements for locating in or expanding their businesses as quickly and efficiently as possible. We will consider streamlining processes, improving quality of and access to information about requirements, providing customer-friendly service to business owners, and offering assistance to businesses to solve problems and overcome obstacles.
It’s good the chairman will be leading such an effort, but why has it taken him over a decade to realize the local bureaucracy is an impediment to small business? Besides, government should not a facilitator, but rather should not even be perceived as putting up roadblocks. Although he says he wants to do a “better job” regulating small business, he ignores fact that the areas of concern he cites have largely existed throughout his years on the board.
Most important, though, he mentions nothing about lessening the tax burden on small businesses – ignoring the fact that the commercial real estate tax surcharge for transportation, enacted on his watch, usually falls directly on small businesses, and is the funding source for the Rosslyn Metro entrance project (which adds NO actual passenger capacity) and the Pike Trolley (which many believe many actually worsen overall transportation on Columbia Pike).
As we said earlier in this series, hot air doesn't come cheap.