Local & State Business Advocacy

LOCAL BUSINESS ADVOCACY

2019 GREATER FLAGSTAFF CHAMBER BUSINESS PRIORITIES FOR FLAGSTAFF CITY COUNCIL

Delivery of City Courthouse

• Design and construction of the new City of Flagstaff Municipal Court Services Complex is a top priority for our community. We encourage the process to move swiftly and expeditiously through the City’s Community Development department, so contractors can meet or exceed construction schedules. Simultaneously, we encourage a community-wide conversation on future use of the existing city court building and adjacent parking lot at the corner of Beaver and Route 66.

Capital Improvement Plan Adoption - Transportation

• The Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce supported passage of Proposition 419, continuation of existing sales tax revenues, during the 2018 election. Although the proposition was loosely defined, the Chamber’s support was contingent on prioritizing sales tax revenues to be used first towards the completion of Fourth Street to JW Powell Blvd.

• Equally important is widening Fourth Street over I-40. The Chamber supported federal grant requests for funding this project with letters of support to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, both directly and through ADOT, at their request.

P3 Completion of Mill Town/ADOT

• The Chamber supports expediting construction improvements on the former Harkins Theaters building to enhance the move of ADOT services from their location on Milton Ave. to ADOT’s new home in Flagstaff. We also support Community Development prioritizing construction of the Mill Town project on Milton and alignment of Beulah Rd., as approved.

Review City Sales Tax for Competitiveness

• The City of Flagstaff’s local sales tax is one of the highest sales tax rates in Arizona. We support quantifying the impact our current sales tax has on retail sales, and potential “leakage” that may or may not occur given our sales tax rate. Flagstaff is a regional shopping hub for northern Arizona, and Flagstaff businesses benefit from consumer purchases made in Flagstaff by those who live in outlying areas. We are very sensitive to future sales tax increases for any reason, believing that increased sales tax rates will drive consumers to other regions of Arizona for purchases resulting in lost sales to local businesses, and lost sales tax revenue to the City of Flagstaff.

Establish Housing Commission

• We support the Mayor and Council’s position to establish a City of Flagstaff Housing Commission with the purpose of reviewing the City’s current housing stock, and to review and propose solutions to the City of Flagstaff’s above average housing costs. Housing costs within the City of Flagstaff consistently rank 45% higher than the national average. This problem greatly impacts our existing business community, and works as a deterrent, no

matter how great one’s perspective is of the Flagstaff lifestyle, when attracting new business and economic development opportunities to Flagstaff. We are grateful to the Mayor and Council for prioritizing a community discussion on the challenge and look forward to having all community interests at the table as official participants on the Housing Commission.

Review New Code Adoption & Proceed with Caution

• We anticipate the City’s Community Development department will bring forward for Mayor and Council review and approval new residential and commercial construction standards in the form of updated building and energy codes. We request a full and thorough vetting of any code changes, and clear delineation of increased costs associated with updated code adoption prior to adopting new construction standards in the form of new codes. We have great concern that code updates will increase the cost of both residential and commercial construction, which contributes to higher housing costs and higher retail prices for local consumers. Further, we know that higher housing prices push our middle-income wage earners, e.g. firefighters, police, teachers away from qualifying for mortgages, and thus singlefamily housing attainability.

Climate Action Plan

• The City Manager’s office indicated during initial 2019 Budget Workshops that a presentation of an 18-month plan related to the goals of recently adopted Climate Action and Adaptation Plan would be brought forward, and we look forward to thoroughly reviewing this roadmap, and understanding the costs associated that may or may not be needed for its implementation.

City Manager Goodrich’s Office: “Journey to Excellence”

• We were pleasantly surprised by the City Manager’s office recommendation related to the proposed "Journey to Excellence" presented in the final hour during the City's recent Budget Workshops, and support the proposed goal of moving to zerobased budgeting. There are many positives to undertaking this journey, and we look forward to supporting the City’s progress through this process.

Address the City’s Pension Needs Short & Long Term – Immediately

• We support a full vetting of the City’s pension requirements, and immediate attention to possible solutions to any short or longterm challenges.

Moratorium on City Fee Increases

• Given a series of recent City fee hikes, we do not wish to see any City fee increases proposed for the duration of 2019 and through Q1 2020.

CHAMBER STATE ADVOCACY

HB2523 YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

Government wage mandates force younger employees out of the workplace. As governments mandate employers pay employees higher wages, employers seek to find older, more developed, skilled workers closing the entry-level wage market to students. Rep. Travis Grantham has an answer in the form of HB 2523. House Bill 2523 addresses Arizona’s youth employment challenges by re-opening the employment door for individuals 22 years of age or younger, who are full-time students and work 20 hours a week or less on a casual basis.

“It’s very exciting that our Arizona legislators recognize the labor market is often skewed towards higher-paid, more-experienced workers and as a result, job opportunities for young people are fading away from our small business family,” commented Chamber President & CEO, Julie Pastrick. “Representative Grantham’s Youth Employment bill will be a boon for Flagstaff’s young people, creating for them more opportunities to learn key job skills in the everyday workforce,” continued Pastrick. “We are excited for the job opportunities the Youth Employment bill will bring to Flagstaff’s students,” Pastrick finished.

SB1225 DISABLED SERVICE PROVIDER ASSISTANCE

The City of Flagstaff’s recently adopted wage mandates, and subsequent mandated wage hikes on local employers have taken a toll on much more than Flagstaff’s small businesses. Beyond the price spikes and employee layoffs from private employers, social service providers, particularly those who assist the developmentally disabled, have been forced to find money to keep going – money that just does not exist. Senator Sylvia Allen has introduced an initial solution to assist developmental disabled providers in Northern Arizona in the form of Senate Bill 1225.

SB 1225 authorizes financial support in the 2019-2020 fiscal year to the tune of $1.68 M in state assistance. These one-time monies are desperately needed to keep local services going and families who need assistance in Flagstaff. Developmental disabled care providers in Flagstaff employ 600 annually, and contribute over $15M to the local Flagstaff economy. The Greater Flagstaff Chamber supports Sen. Allen’s SB 1225, and will work diligently to see its passage this legislative session.