Barbara's Blog

January 30, 2012
Blog post: We Want Our Money Back!

It is of paramount importance for our City to project an image of fiscal responsibility, and the DC Chamber of Commerce will continue to do everything in our power to make the District an attractive place to do business no matter the economic climate.  Making DC a great place to do business, put residents to work, and grow our neighborhoods and communities can only be accomplished with proper fiscal management and restraint.

We call for Mayor Gray to exercise some fiscal responsibility, and refrain from spending any surplus, especially when the CFO has projected further shortfalls in revenue for fiscal year 2013 of over $100 million.  However, we at the Chamber would go even further; it is our contention that rather than simply banking the money, it should be used to revoke the recent income tax increase placed on residents and the new business taxes put forth in the FY12 budget.  It is time for the government to rein in spending instead of squeezing residents and businesses.

A further point for consideration--rescinding the tax hikes will inevitably lead to more business in our City and more jobs and opportunities for DC’s residents.  Currently (as pointed out by Mark Lee in his Our Business Matters column in the Blade), Virginia is reaping the benefits of being the metro region’s “sole business-friendly jurisdiction,” with a corporate income tax rate of 6%--significantly lower than Maryland’s 8.25%, and a far cry from DC’s 9.975%.  How can we expect growth in this City, when we foster such an anti-business climate?  And how does it help us to do so, when it’s business that provides the vast majority of tax revenue, jobs, and neighborhood amenities residents need and deserve in the first place?  It’s a self-defeating philosophy, and one the DC Chamber has, is, and will always be against.

January 24, 2012
Blog post: McPherson Square Has Been Occupied Long Enough

Our city has played host to hundreds of uninvited guests for months now, and it is well past time that this illegal protest moves on. The DC Chamber fully supports Mayor Gray’s assertion that McPherson Square should be cleared immediately.

As the DC Department of Health points out in a recent report, the Occupy DC protest represents a serious public safety and health concern--not just to District residents, but to the protesters themselves. Campers, and members of the public, are at risk for hypothermia, food-borne illness and communicable disease, and the occupation has caused a major rat infestation.

Furthermore, Occupy DC has become a burden on our city’s economy. We have been shouldering the cost of this protest, which was estimated at over $1.6 million a month ago. Beyond the cleanup costs, businesses are also losing customers, while nearby retail and office space declines in value. This hurts District businesses and residents--all a part of the “99 percent”--and for them to be responsible for these costs is in itself is wrong, and goes against the very purpose of the Occupy DC movement.

A clear solution is to allow the protesters to seek a permit, and rightfully occupy an area of the City, much as the movement has done at Freedom Plaza. This should be accompanied by a clear plan to ensure the upkeep of the area, safeguard the health and well-being of those occupying it, and protect the nearby businesses that will be inevitably impacted by their presence.

The DC Chamber respects all forms of public awareness campaigns, and we support First Amendment rights wholeheartedly. However, as a recognized leader in promoting the growth and strength of our city, we cannot allow for children and others to be put at risk, and we cannot condone the costs of such protests being passed on to our constituents. A solution must be found and put in place immediately.

January 3, 2012
Blog post: Sidewalk Safety & Fair Fines

Up for first reading on Wednesday, the Winter Sidewalk Safety Amendment Act makes residents and business operators responsible for snow removal and clearing of public sidewalk spaces in front of their homes or places of business. This is a public safety issue, and the Chamber is fully supportive of keeping DC’s streets and sidewalks navigable and pedestrian-friendly.

However, this legislation contains some flaws as written.  Currently, the Act would impose fines on those that do not comply within 8 daylight hours after snowfall--$25 for residents and $250 for businesses. Although we support the idea of prompt snow removal and realize the importance of an enforcement mechanism for this bill, the Chamber will be working to alter the language of this legislation so that warnings can be issued before fines are imposed. We believe that people should be aware of this new fine structure, and issuing warnings to violators before fining them is one way to ensure that everyone is given a chance to comply before incurring a fine. DC businesses face enough economic challenges without having to worry about being hit with an unexpected expense on a snow day.

December 21, 2011
Blog post: Putting the Ethics Debate Behind Us

In the culmination of months of debate and public scrutiny, the DC City Council passed a comprehensive ethics reform bill yesterday. In a nutshell, this law will:

• Establish a three-member ethics panel,
• Allow the Attorney General to prosecute misconduct by elected officials,
• Remove councilmembers (or mayors) who are found guilty of felony charges,
• Restrict donations to campaign transition committees,
• Halve the amounts councilmembers can raise for constituent service funds, and
• Require the disclosure of all outside income.

The Chamber supports this measure. For too long, the behavior and actions of our elected officials have been a distraction from the real work of government. Dysfunction has permeated all levels of government, and the situation has been disheartening. Our city will be stronger and better when these types of issues are behind us, and we can focus on working to make DC a better place to do business.

In 2012, we will specifically focus on making the legislative and policy goals outlined in The Chamber Fix (http://www.dcchamber.org/city/policy_and_legislation.aspx) a reality. We’re very proud that the first item on the list--lowering the franchise tax--has already been accomplished, but there are many more tasks on our agenda. We have support from the Council, we are talking with the administration, and in the coming year we look forward to working with you, our members, on pushing these initiatives forward.

 

November 29, 2011
Increased Taxi Rates Should Bring Increased Service, Safety

DC is one of the most cab-friendly cities in the world, with over 7,000 licensed cab drivers--more than half the number in New York city, a metropolis of 8.5 million people! It is clear we have a strong a vibrant taxicab industry, and the Chamber recognizes that many of the licensed cab drivers are DC residents working for themselves--and are thus small businesses that we should all look to support.  However, we believe more information and data needs to be provided as to why a rate increase is needed and what that increase should be.  The Chamber would like to see a taskforce put together of taxicab owners and operators, government officials, and the business and hospitality community so that a true collaborative solution to the taxicab system can be achieved.

The Chamber is not opposed to raising the rate, but we do want the rate increase to be fully vetted and thought out instead of being created in a vacuum.  Further, as with any discussion of raising the cost of doing business in the District, there should be clear outcomes of improved services for those increases. Besides just increasing taxi fares, the Taxicab Commission needs to take other steps to increase safety, reliability, and efficiency. The Chamber recognizes that raising taxi fares could provide a boost to driver incomes--which has been shown to help to increase public safety. Cab drivers who are under financial pressure tend to work longer hours, and thereby become more fatigued and more likely to make mistakes that cause crashes.

We also feel that DC needs to modernize its taxi fleet. The business community, and those that rely on tourism in this city, would prefer to see cabs that are the equal of those on the roads of other major tourism destination cities (such as New York). That means the ability to accept credit card payments, GPS maps and tourism information screens in the back seats of cabs, etc. DC cabs should also be cleaner and more up-to-date overall. These sorts of upgrades--basic things that can be done with modern technology--would help increase tourism and business travel to DC, and make the taxi experience better for local passengers as well.

With the ushering in of the fare box system, and the removal of the $19 cap, taxi fares have 'de facto' already been raised recently. If there is going to be another increase in fares, there should be a concomitant increase in service and safety as well. Moreover, any decision that is made should be arrived at after careful thought and discussion.

November 9, 2011
Reducing Risk for Employers

The Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs held a hearing today on the proposed Equal Access to Employment for All Act, which would prohibit businesses from considering prospective employees’ credit history in making most hiring decisions--even when the applicant consents. The Chamber has always been supportive of equal opportunity for employment, and we work hard on initiatives that we believe will help put our unemployed District residents back to work. However, as the voice of DC businesses both large and small, we also must consider the risk that this legislation would impose upon our city’s employers.

Just one bad hire in this current economic condition could result in crippling financial losses and legal liability to customers or employers. Legislative attempts to outlaw the consideration of employee credit histories through a one-size-fits all model does not take into consideration the uniqueness of many businesses, especially our local small retailers and firms that handle confidential financial data. An employee’s credit history may be important in making a thorough and complete review of a person’s qualifications for certain jobs--especially those that involve control over company budgets, access to the personal information of customers or other employees, the ability to enter contracts, or access to sensitive and proprietary company information.
 
Another challenge with this legislation as currently drafted is that it would prohibit private employers from accessing information on prospective employees, while allowing the government the right to access the same information for their hires. Unemployment in DC is not a private sector issue--the government should hold itself to the same standards it imposes upon private businesses, instead of putting up roadblocks for our city’s employers. District business are being told that they are not hiring enough DC residents--while the District government workforce is made up of 66% non-District residents!
 
Credit approvals are not the main issue when it comes to hiring. Not all businesses look at credit histories, and I do not know of any business model that would call for hiring decisions to be made solely on a credit report. Proper matching of skill sets, experiences and ability are what matters when hiring. Outlawing credit reports will not fix that issue. The Council should be working to keep DC companies strong and solvent and to combat workplace fraud and theft. Let’s work on getting to the root of the problem and not over-regulate and not challenge the private sector even more. DC is still in last place—51st out of 51--in terms of having a business-friendly regulatory climate. The private sector is the key to economic recovery. Let’s not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs for the District of Columbia.



October 26, 2011
Ethics Reform in the DC Government

Today, I testified before the Committee on Government Operations at a hearing on the many ethics reform measures before the Council. This issue is of paramount importance to the 1,700-plus members the Chamber represents (who employ hundreds of thousands of District region residents, and fill the city’s coffers with millions in tax revenue). DC’s competitiveness in the regional market is being truly tested, and the ethical lapses we have all seen have only made it tougher to attract and retain businesses here. The Executive and Legislative branches need to right this ship not just for governmental stability, but to send a clear message that DC is a strong and stable place to do business. These issues go beyond ethics, ultimately affecting revenue and the growth of DC.

The fact that ten ethics bills are under consideration demonstrates that while the Council may realize the prudence of publicly stating that we need major ethics reform, they don’t know how to deal with the issue. I cannot recall another time in recent history when we’ve had ten bills introduced in a ten-month period, all on the same subject. The business community cannot help but question if this is a case of our government officials just not understanding right from wrong. No amount of legislation can fix that.

We have seen a marked increase of questionable ethical and criminal behavior in recent years. Millions stolen by DC employees, questionable use of public funds and constituent funds, and government officials under investigation—the City’s reputation has been battered. DC’s reliance on self-regulation, without meaningful and independent enforcement mechanisms, fails to adequately ensure that the highest ethical standards are achieved and maintained. The system must be meaningfully tightened. A code of conduct for the entire government, both executive and legislative branches, must be produced immediately and enforced – and we believe it should be one ‘code’ that applies to all.

Perhaps the Council could use the examples of some private companies as a benchmark when consolidating these 10 bills into a single code of conduct. In my many years at IBM and Fannie Mae, I was given an ethical code of conduct every year—if I did not sign it, and follow it, I was fired. Simple as that.
Whenever I have had a problem of this magnitude in the private sector, I simplify the work by asking the three pertinent questions that define the problem:

1. Where are we?
2. Where do we want to be?
3. How do we get there?