What: An Ordinance amending the SF Administrative Code to re-define the functions and duties of the Office of Small Business and require it to operate a Small Business Assistance Center.
Why: There's a funky little legislative history here that dorks like me find interesting, so here goes: In 1985, voters rejected Proposition B, which would have created a Small Business Commission in the City Charter. Then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein came out in opposition to the measure, saying that there was no need to make the SBC a Charter Commission when it could be run out of the Mayor's Office more cheaply. After the proposition failed, an SBC was set up and codified in the Administrative Code so it didn't need the voter approval that Charter Amendments require. That initial SBC reported to the Department of Business and Economic Development (see deleted language). In November 2003, voters passed Proposition D, which took the SBC out of the DBED and made it an independent Charter Commission. The actual proposed text of Prop D did not define the duties of the SBC, simply stating that it would "oversee the San Francisco Office of Small Business."
Then, in March of 2004, the Board of Supervisors passed an Ordinance (remember, while the SBC was now a Charter Commission, the specifics of the SBC's functions were still in the Administrative Code where they could be changed by a simple Board vote) which changed the SBC's functions to reflect its new independence. The 2004 amendment also added a provision that the SBC shall, "Review rules and regulations adopted by City departments that affect small business and recommend modifications that would promote the health of small business." That 2004 Ordinance also abolished the "Office of Small Business" - the one thing that the voters thought the SBC was supposed to oversee.
Since then the SBC, with a budget of $272k, has centered its efforts almost entirely on the duty to perform legislative analysis on how proposed laws affect the the small business community. With only two paid staff members, they SBC Director Agnes Ubalde admits that they don't have the capacity to advise people on how to get permits, etc.
Which brings us to this year's budget. The Mayor's office proposed a Small Business Center that would be devoted to assisting small businesses with regulatory and administrative issues. The Board of Supervisors declined to fully fund the Center (probably because it had the word "business" in it) so that's why we have Proposition I today. The proposed Ordinance resurrects the Office of Small Business (remember, it is still referenced in the Charter as an SBC function) and orders the Office of Small Business to, among other things, run a Small Business Assistance Center. That Center is supposed to have at least 3 case managers who will provide "concierge" assistance to small businesses to help them run the gauntlet that we have in place to make sure anyone who wants to business here really wants to do business here.
Pro: Those brave souls who strike out on their own and have the stomach to start a business in his city deserve all we can offer. These people have to deal with things like public hearings every time they want to change a lightbulb because some lunatic narcissist demands that their block be designated "historical" since dear old Aunt Fanny used to make pancakes in a house there. And lets not forget the paperwork maze that would make Joseph Heller proud. Our small businesses are all that stands between us and the Olive Garden-ing of San Francisco so we should give them the resources they need to thrive here. And hugs. Lots of hugs.
Con: In a capitalistic society, we must recognize the function of survival of the fittest. Can't figure out the paperwork? That's just god's way of saying you shouldn't be running a business. Besides, according to the Office of Economic Analysis, SF has 29,000 "small businesses" (fewer than 100 employees). How are three people going to handle that kind of caseload? And hey, aren't the functions of the new Center the same stuff the SBC is supposed to do? I mean, do we really need the SBC, an Office of Small Business and a Small Business Assistance Center? This sort of bureaucratic inefficiency would never survive if it were a small business in San Francisco.
Vote FOR this if: you understand that local government uses tax dollars to create the need for help and then gets to use tax dollars to fill that need. Here you go, City. Keep up the great work!
Vote AGAINST this if: you are the head of development for the Olive Garden.
-Melissa
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