2011 has already been a very busy year with respect to advocacy work on behalf of Chamber members and businesses in the community. In April, Member Services Coordinator Katy Korkos, MainStreet Manager Suzette Fox, UNM-LA SBDC Director Don Wright, and Executive Director Kevin Holsapple visited New Mexico Secretary of Economic Development Jon Barela at his Santa Fe office to promote our community and discuss how the State of New Mexico can improve the environment for business development here and throughout the State. Barela was briefed on the status of the local economy and the contents of the Economic Vitality Strategic Plan (EVSP) that was adopted in 2010. The Los Alamos contingent made a special point of reinforcing input gathered from Chamber members earlier in the year in response to new Governor Susanna Martinez’s call for input on regulatory reform. Issues discussed included:
- Our retail businesses would like to see a level playing field in New Mexico in regards to the collection of gross receipts taxes on internet and mail order purchases
- Our construction-related businesses would like the state’s building codes to be streamlined and not put us at a competitive disadvantage with other states
- Our non-profit businesses would like continued state support for social services
- There was consensus among all of the sectors represented that education and state support of education is key to their success
- Competitiveness with surrounding states with respect to taxation and regulatory issues is very important to the future success of our state
Secretary Barela said that improving New Mexico’s competitiveness with neighboring states is recognized as an important need and that the administration will be expending effort to make improvements in tax and regulatory matters. He expressed some amount of surprise at the numbers of jobs generated by Los Alamos enterprise and in the large commuter workforce that is spread throughout the region. Our goal in visiting Sec. Barela was to increase his awareness of our community and its importance to the economic health of the region and state. Also to reinforce the input we have given to the Governor’s office about the issues that are on our member’s minds.
Also during March and April, the Chamber and LACDC were active in providing input into the County Council’s strategic planning process. A key concept we have been advocating is the need for improved “business friendliness” in County processes and actions. The Chamber made a concerted effort to raise this issue during last Fall’s Council candidate forum and it became an important issue in several of the campaigns. A key point that we have been making is that “business friendliness” is about more than just streamlining permitting processes. It is about an attitude and culture of service on behalf of business progress versus one of “who might criticize me if I help this business?” It needs to involve all County functions including community development, legal, utilities, public works, and procurement. Our input made specific suggestions about making progress on “business friendliness” and important part of the performance evaluation criteria for County department heads.