Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan recently signed an Executive Order to help small businesses thrive in Seattle.
According to Durkan, small businesses with fewer than 50 employees provide nearly 200,000 jobs in Seattle.
“Inventing the future and fostering vibrant neighborhoods means supporting the small businesses that call Seattle home,” said Durkan. “Our small businesses must be a part of solving our urgent challenges of affordability and growth.
“One year ago, I created the City’s first-ever Small Business Advisory Council to help ensure the voices of small business are heard before we enact the policies and legislation that directly impact them,” continued Durkan. “Small businesses are an economic engine for Seattle, and we have a responsibility to break down barriers so they can continue to provide good-paying jobs and thrive.”
The Executive Order, which was based on policy recommendations by the members of the Small Business Advisory Council, will take three key steps to support Seattle’s small business owners and employees:
• Direct the City Budget Office to study ways to reduce the impact of taxes and fees on small businesses, explore a possible holiday from the B&O tax, and look for others ways to support small business employees; and,
• Immediately re-establish the Citywide Business Advocacy Team (CBAT) to reduce bureaucracy, increase support for workers, and better help Seattle small businesses navigate government. The CBAT’s first task, in conjunction with SBAC, will be to develop a “Welcome Packet” for new small businesses that provides a comprehensive guide for information on the permitting process, labor standards, taxes and fees, and support resources; and,
• Direct the Office of Economic Development to study options for connecting small businesses with trained Seattle youth seeking employment and adults seeking career development and retraining programs. The study will address eligibility requirements, training resources, and participation incentives for businesses.
“The Small Business Advisory Council has created a voice for small businesses that seemed to be missing in City Hall,” said Rachel Marshall, owner of Rachel’s Ginger Beer and member of the Small Business Advisory Council. “Over the course of a year, we’ve included our input on legislation moving through the City and have come up with ways the City can make doing business in Seattle a little easier for small businesses. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can get done next year and in the future with the help of Mayor Durkan and the City Council.”
