Subscribe to RSS FeedVote NO on Lakewood’s Impound Initiative
The West Chamber has signed on to partner with Coloradans for Safe Communities to oppose the Lakewood Impound Initiative that will go to Lakewood voters this November. Coloradans for Safe Communities is a broad-based coalition of public safety advocates, elected officials, faith groups, community organizations, small businesses, parents and other residents of Lakewood who oppose the vehicle impound policy.
We believe that every person and family should live free of harm, and we depend on our police officers to keep us safe. We believe that our law enforcement officers are the ones who know best when it is a priority to tow a vehicle. This impound initiative would tie the hands of police officers, and impair their capacity to do the important work of keeping the community safe.
WHAT IS THE LAKEWOOD IMPOUND POLICY?
The Lakewood vehicle impound initiative will come before voters on the ballot this November in the City of Lakewood.
If the Impound policy becomes law, police officers would be forced to impound the vehicle of anyone driving without their license or registration, even in the case of a driver forgetting their wallet or purse at home. Many licensed drivers, including veterans, parents and the elderly, would face the consequences of this unnecessary and excessive policy. This would add an unnecessary extra layer to the existing impound authority of
This policy micromanages the efforts of our police men and women by forcing them to wait for tow trucks and to fill out paperwork instead of spending their time safeguarding our city.
WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL IMPACT?
This dangerous policy would unfairly punish drivers who may have forgotten their wallets or purses at home. Once impounded, a driver could be forced to pay in excess of $2700 to repossess their property! This initiative would leave thousands of Lakewood drivers without access to their vehicles.
The Impound Initiative would also force Lakewood to spend precious tax dollars to tow and stow vehicles, rather than using their already limited resources to address the real concerns facing our communities. With these uncertain economic times, we cannot afford to waste our tax dollars or the energy of our police force by micromanaging their efforts to impound cars.
WHY WE OPPOSE THIS POLICY
A Bad Idea
Coloradans For Safe Communities (CFSC) is opposing this policy because:
It is unnecessary—there are already laws on the books dealing with unlicensed drivers, and police officers already have the ability to impound a car for many different offenses.
It is excessive—in these tough economic times, we just can’t afford to be punishing law abiding citizens with thousands of dollars in fees and adding costs to our cities and law enforcement agencies, which are already cutting valuable services in the face of shrinking budgets.
It is dangerous—micromanaging our police officers hurts public safety. There are far greater threats to our community’s safety; police officers need to do real police work, not wait for tow trucks.
Check out www.votenoonimpound.com for more information and to get involved!
Much success,
Amy Sherman
Well Said, Tom Donohue.
The U.S. Chamber sent an open letter to President Obama and Congress with a plan to put American back to work. Here is the press release about it.
The At its Jobs for America: Summit 2010 today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent an open letter to President Barack Obama, Congress, and the American people highlighting the uncertainty businesses are feeling due to growing government regulations, and offering solutions to what remains our nation’s number one challenge: creating jobs and reviving economic growth. The Jobs for America Summit is part of the Chamber’s comprehensive, multiyear American Free Enterprise: Dream Big. campaign to promote the creation of 20 million American jobs in the next 10 years.
“Taken collectively, the regulatory activity now underway is so overwhelming and beyond anything we have ever seen, that we risk moving this country away from a government of the people to a government of regulators,” said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue in his speech today in front of 500 business, trade association, nonprofit, government, and youth leaders at the Jobs Summit. “It is vitally important that the administration, the Congress, the regulators, and the private sector examine what has been created. We must address the cumulative job-killing impact of over-regulation.”
“Uncertainty is the enemy of growth, investment, and job creation,” states the open letter. “Through their legislative and regulatory proposals—some passed, some pending, and others simply talked about—the congressional majority and the administration have injected tremendous uncertainty into economic decision making and business planning. In the process, we are also eroding our competitive position globally, as other nations take steps to cut taxes, reduce regulations, and restrain the appetites of government.”
Donohue called on the Congress and administration to immediately put a stop to the cascade of new regulations that are a principal reason why businesses are so reluctant to make investments and create jobs. “Each time a new regulatory proposal is even floated in Washington, investors in the potentially impacted industries close their wallets,” reads the letter. Examples include the 533 new rulemakings, 60 studies, and 93 reports as part of the pending financial reform legislation; 41 rulemakings, 25 mandatory regulations, 38 studies and dozens of additional potential new rules and regulations that are part of the new health care law; and an EPA endangerment finding that would subject an additional six million small facilities to an onerous and costly permitting process.
The Chamber urged immediate action by the Congress and administration to help America turn the corner and revive job creation, including:
Moving toward a competitive tax structure that creates certainty for businesses by temporarily extending all of the tax relief passed in the prior decade and reducing the U.S. corporate tax rate. In one bold, swift move, this would substantially boost investor, business, and consumer confidence and would infuse our economy with fresh momentum.
Controlling the rising deficits and debt by generating additional federal revenues and restraining spending. The letter suggests that as much as $1.7 trillion in revenue could be generated over 10 years through numerous oil, gas, and shale leases on our lands and off our shores. Similarly, opening the more than 80% of national forest lands that are currently closed to timber harvesting would add billions of dollars to the tax base as well as thousands of jobs.
Expanding trade by passing the pending free trade agreements with Columbia, Panama, and Korea will protect at least 380,000 U.S. jobs that are at risk if Washington fails to act.
Modernizing all forms of American infrastructure, including surface and air transport, ports, inland waterways, water and power generation facilities, and broadband communications will generate millions of jobs. The letter points out that if America’s transportation and water infrastructure was fully opened to private investment, the $180 billion available today in private capital could generate more than 1.5 million jobs over 10 years.
In advance of today’s summit, the Chamber released two independent polls showing that small business owners and American voters are deeply concerned about the impact government expansion and debt is having on job creation. The polls, conducted July 6-8 by Lombardo Consulting Group, showed that nearly six in ten (57%) small business owners and more than six in ten (62%) of American voters feel that this administration does not have a clear plan for creating jobs. Nearly seven in ten (68%) small business owners and 60% of voters believe that this administration’s new rules and regulations are expanding the size of government “far too much, resulting in a weaker U.S. economy and fewer jobs.”
“The business community shares the view of most Americans that the current approaches are not working,” Donohue said. “We are offering an achievable road map to greater economic growth and more jobs, and we don’t care who gets the credit. We invite leaders in government and citizens across the nation to support it.”
Today’s Jobs Summit is one of over one hundred events hosted by the U.S. Chamber’s American Free Enterprise. Dream Big. campaign in an effort to focus the nation on the goal of creating 20 million new American jobs in the next 10 years. This comprehensive, multiyear effort is designed to support free enterprise through national advertising; grassroots advocacy; citizen, community, and youth engagement; and research and ideas leadership.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.
Don’t Hurt Colorado!
Could there be a voter approved recession? The answer is YES!
There will be three ballot measures on the ballot this fall which would throw Colorado into a deeper recession, just as we are poised to come out of it. I am speaking of Amendments 60, 61, and Proposition 101. On the morning of June 30, JEC, the West Chamber, Golden Chamber, and Arvada Chamber held an event to highlight the dangers of passage of any of these measures. Rick Reiter, Campaign Manager for Coloradans for Responsible Reform, and Marybeth Jones, attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck spoke. The event was well attended by approximately 70 business and civic leaders.
I think you are aware that Amendments 60, 61, and Proposition 101 will cause the elimination of more than 70,000 jobs in Colorado. State, and most local public financing of capital projects will be eliminated. Amendment 60 alone will cut school funding by more than a billion dollars annually.
The campaign to defeat these measures is expensive. The campaign team at Coloradans for Responsible Reform has raised cash and commitments for approximately half of the approximately $6 million campaign. I can tell you that they need your help. Is your company active in defeating these measures? If not, may I ask someone from the campaign to give you a call? For additional information you might want to visit the campaign website at: http://www.donthurtcolorado.com/
Immigration Reform Policy from the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
I re-tweet on Twitter all of the time so I think it’s okay to re-blog, right? A friend of mine, Jack Camper, runs the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. I was in Tempe last week for a Western Association of Chamber Executives Board Meeting and, of course, immigration reform was a hot topic of conversation. Jack told the WACE Board that they created a comprehensive immigration policy and wanted us to share it with chambers back in our home states. So I thought I would share his blog with you. Here goes my re-blog…
Immigration Reform: A solution Arizona needs NOW! – By Jack Camper
Unless you have been away from media outlets for the last week or so, you are well aware of the emotional turmoil the Arizona legislature and Governor Brewer have kicked up with the passage of SB1070. A drastic step to be sure, but one our state representatives and senators apparently felt was critical for the overall safety and well being of our citizenry. Make no mistake: protecting our national borders is a federal—not state—responsibility. But failure to act at a national level created an untenable situation at the state level that required action. Apparently our legislature and Governor believed that SB1070 was the right solution.
Congressman Raul Grijalva compounded the problem by making the irresponsible call for businesses to boycott Arizona in response to the passage of SB1070. Here in Arizona, the housing market is still reeling, the unemployment rate for the state is at nearly 10%, and the overall effects of the recession are continuing to devastate businesses and the economy in general. His comments did not appear to address the problems that brought about SB1070 in the first place. He presented no reasonable solution with his call for a boycott.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson called out the National Guard to assist at the border. There are two problems with that decision: 1) the cost of that deployment is now incurred at the state level rather than the national level (where it actually belongs) because the call-out was generated by the Governor, not the federal government, and 2) the National Guard is severely limited in what they can and cannot do in this effort given the current laws (the Guard may only observe the situation; they cannot detain or arrest illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border, but must instead call in the Border Patrol who have the only legal jurisdiction). Governor Richardson’s action made a bold statement but again was not a solution.
The Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce has a solution. Three years ago, it created an Immigration Reform Policy which was distributed to every member of Congress in Washington, D.C. It is a well reasoned and workable plan that considers economic impacts, practical logistics, as well as previous failed attempts. Although Congress chose to put TMCC’s plan on the back burner back then, it may well be time now for a closer look at our proposal. This proposed policy could create the foundation for a viable immigration reform plan.
Here is the proposal:
Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Immigration Reform Policy
Border Security
- Comprehensive immigration reform legislation should be phased in, but executed as fast as possible. Legislation must detail the appropriation of funds.
- Border security and enforcement must be the primary focus so as not to repeat the errors of the 1986 immigration legislation in which millions of undocumented aliens were legalized and border security was not enforced.
- Adequate resources must be made available to detain and deport illegal aliens; legal reform may be necessary to hasten the deportation process. More apprehension facilities need to be constructed and all those apprehended must be identified for security purposes.
- The Border Patrol should be more involved in decisions regarding the appropriate allocation of funds for border security.
- Greater resources should be given to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agencies to identify and deport illegal aliens. Currently, there are instances where ICE will only act when there are large numbers of illegal aliens to be apprehended.
- Enhance instant communication between local and federal law enforcement agencies.
Guest Workers
- There should be an allowance for extended residency for guest workers, but no new path to citizenship. Existing pathways to citizenship must be used.
- Any guest worker program should apply only to workers. Family members of guest workers must only be admitted under existing visa requirements.
- Employers must be sanctioned for hiring illegal aliens. These penalties should be directly related to the sophistication of verification tools. If there are not sufficient verification tools to identify undocumented workers, employers cannot be fairly punished for violation of the law.
- Enforcement must not be selective, but rather industry-wide to avoid driving workers from one company to another within the same industry creating unbalanced competition and no incentive to follow the law.
- It is necessary that any part of a worker program must include an eligibility verification system that is close to fool-proof with a quick response to employers. The fraud-proof system must be developed by the federal government to give relief to employers.
- Illegal workers must report to document themselves to receive the above-mentioned identification documents within a period of 1-2 years after enactment or they will face deportation and permanent debarment from any U.S. guest worker program.
- In the event of a labor shortage, increases in caps on worker visas may be needed.
- An assessment needs to be completed by the federal government to ensure that U.S. citizens are not eliminated from job opportunities by the guest worker program.
- The current seasonal agricultural worker program should be continued without interruption. Ports of entry need to be expanded to expedite ingress and egress.
- Mexican economic development should be included in any sort of comprehensive plan.
- Audit functions should occur every two years.
Once again, the Chamber will distribute its proposed policy to every member of Congress in an effort to jog them to action. While enacting SB1070 and calling out the National Guard are extreme measures, allowing Congress to ignore the problem clearly can no longer be tolerated by those states most negatively affected by illegal immigration.
So what is the right solution? The Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce believes the answer is obvious: comprehensive and complete immigration reform. NOW!
City of Lakewood – big supporter of small business
I went to Lakewood City Council last night to watch the Economic Development and Sustainability Division present to Council about support for small business. Many of my chamber colleagues across the country would be jealous that I have such a pro-business City Council. Did you know that 8 out of 11 of our City Councilors and Mayor are small business owners? At the West Chamber we feel it is a pleasure and an honor to have the partnerships and relationships we have with Lakewood.
I want to highlight a few of the new programs that have started in the last few months to support our local businesses. All of these can be found at www.lakewood-colorado.org under the small business tab. First, the “Open for Business” television show runs each month highlighting two different local businesses. The host is former City Councilor, Mike Stevens, and he does fun tours and explains the history and significance of the business. Many of our West Chamber members have been featured. Next is the “Support Lakewood, Shop Local” Campaign. The West Chamber continuously promotes using services and products from our membership and we know the economic impact of shopping local.
The Economic Development team has designed a Small Business Resource Guide for a start up business or existing businesses. it includes information on licenses, permits, applications and other tools necessary to start and support a business. They are also developing a Small Business Academy and will have a Business Bar in their office, for businesses to have increased access to resources and information. Businesses that complete the Small Business Academy will be eligible for a free one-year membership at the West Chamber.
Take some time to watch the presentation from last night’s meeting on www.lakewood.org and let us know what you think. We are proud of the City of Lakewood!
Much success,
Amy Sherman
Like it or not, health care reform is here.
This last week was historical when a health care reform package was signed by President Obama. I reached out to Congressman Perlmutter’s office to get information on what the “tax credits for small business” really means for our chamber members. Please email me at asherman@westchamber.org if you want me to pass along the two-page document for small business. I did find a good summary from Aspen Group Benefits Advisors, a long-time chamber member.
“I would like to take this opportunity to provide you a summary of the key components of the health care reform legislation and how it may impact you and your business. I expect that given the number of years that it will take to fully rollout these reforms, there will continue to be changes to many elements of the legislation. However, for the first time in over a year, we have a much clearer view of the changes that will potentially take place. This bill will:
• Mandate that everyone must have insurance.
• Result in more than 30 million additional people becoming insured.
• Provide for subsidized coverage for people that can’t afford it and increase the number of people that will qualify for Medicaid.
• Make cuts to Medicare Advantage Plans and change their payment formula.
• Increase taxes and fees to many individual Americans and Corporations.
• Make many changes to the way Insurance Companies do business from not allowing them to use pre-existing conditions to limiting their rates based on medical loss ratios.
Many of these elements do not phase in for many years. Those that are most immediate and are expected to occur in 2010 are:
• Tax credits for certain small businesses.
• Elimination of pre-existing conditions and an increase in dependant coverage to age 26.
• Creation of a temporary reinsurance program to provide coverage for retirees over 55 who are not eligible for Medicare.
• The further creation of a temporary national high risk insurance pool.
• The prohibition of lifetime limits on benefit payments.
• Closing the so called “doughnut hole” by providing immediate tax credits for Medicare patients who face a gap in prescription drug coverage.
The real impact in the health insurance system won’t occur until the year 2014. During the interim, there will be the phase-in of additional new taxes that will provide added government revenue to pay for these changes. The four most significant changes occurring in 2014 are:
• Insurers will be required to take all applicants.
• Insurance will be mandated for all Americans.
• Tax credits to help pay premiums will start flowing to middle-class working families. The most aid – including help with copayments and deductibles – will be made available for those individuals and families on the lower end of the income scale.
• Insurance exchanges will be created to help administer subsidies for those individuals that require them.
When fully implemented, I believe that the majority of working-age Americans and their families will continue to have employer-sponsored coverage as they do today. In addition, through mandates and other subsidies, the number of people insured will grow by more than 30 million.”
Please let me know if we can help you get information to help you navigate through the new package.
Much success,
Amy Sherman
Transform your life and your business!
I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. You may have heard of her – her name is Kate Ripp, the queen of action for results that matter. I have been working with Kate, as my personal and business coach. She has helped me with a program called “Best Year Yet”, which I loved! With Kate’s help, I’m in a better place with balancing running the West Chamber and running around 5-year-old twins! Many of my BYY goals have helped the West Chamber staff with our 2010 Program of Work and we are all marching to the same tune.
Well, Kate wants to teach YOU exactly how she’s helped her clients double their income, eliminate distractions, and live a life that they love, with confidence, and filled with success in relationships, finances, health, creativity and business. And she’s doing it for free with Best Year Yet in her BRAND-NEW webinar “5 Steps To Transform Your Life And Your Business” on Thursday, March 25, at 11 am MDT.
In a hurry? Grab your seat here
On this ground-breaking call you’ll:
1) Learn the key “Magic” steps to becoming a master at producing “the right” results
2) Highlight the most useful lessons of the past twelve months and apply them as powerful advice to keep you focused on doing the things that make the most difference
3) Uncover the underlying assumptions and mindsets that keep you vulnerable and slow you down—so you can release them and unleash the strong and powerful person you are meant to be
4) Make your short list of the Most Important RESULTS to have your best year yet
5) Leave the session re-energized and inspired with a renewed vigor t become a highly productive master at producing results
Here’s that link again to reserve your spot in this complimentary webniar
I hope to see you on the call!
Much success,
Amy Sherman
P.S. As you may or may not know, getting great results again and again is easier when you can tap into the secrets of masters who produce results. Let Kate walk you through the 5 Steps To Transform Your Life And Your Business. Here’s the link again
Amazing Philanthropy in Jefferson County
I’ve been blown away lately at the amount of philanthropic activity in Jefferson County. I had three of the most energetic meetings last Friday and couldn’t decide which one to talk about first. So I’ll mention all three.
You’ve seen the construction on the new animal shelter on 6th Avenue by the Jeffco Fairgrounds for months. Table Mountain Animal Center will become Foothills Animal Shelter this summer. It will be the second largest animal center in the metro area. The new 30,000 square foot facility will be more than double the size of the current one and will allow them to significantly improve current services. The capital campaign is underway and they are seeking to raise $3 million in a short amount of time. All animal lovers should consider the new Foothills Animal Shelter for charitable giving now by going to www.tablemountainanimals.org
From there, I moved on to another massive construction project, the St. Anthony Hospital off of 6th and Union. I am on the Art Committee, a group of people dedicated to raising money to place a beautiful piece of art in every room of the new hospital. The artwork collection for the new hospital is a blend of nature with an urban contemporary feel. Establishing a common foundation for patients, docs, nurses, and staff, the art collection will create an uplifting atmosphere that represents our physical being, as well as the spirit within all of us. We reviewed the overall art work themes – they are amazing. From “zen” to a sense of place to butterflies to family to colorful Colorado, the themes will support all employees and patients. All art lovers and fans of St. Anthony Hospital should consider donating on www.stanthonyhealthfoundation.org to help raise $2 million for the artwork collection.
And in the evening, my husband and I attended a fundraiser for the Jeffco 150 for Kids – a mission to bring a Boys & Girls Club to Jefferson County. We don’t have one, hard to believe isn’t it? We have a goal of raising $1 million by Saturday, May 1. All of Jeffco’s top leaders are chairing this effort. We know that Boys & Girls Clubs help kids build confidence and character and appreciation for civic and social achievement. This fundraising event was held at the new Paul Mitchell School in Belmar and we heard from top leaders, but most importantly the kids who have been saved by the Boys & Girls Clubs. We were so moved that we about volunteered to pay for college for one amazing young girl! We watched as almost everyone in the room went up on stage and donated $1,000 of personal money. Donations to the B&G Club effort are tax deductible and qualify for a 50% Colorado State Income Tax Credit. I have no doubt from the energy in that room that they will raise the $1 in the next six weeks. And you know what I’m going to say next…please help us! Go to www.bgcmd.org and join the effort to bring a Boys & Girls Club to Jefferson County.
Please give what you can to our amazing non-profits of Jefferson County – our future depends on it! Thanks for reading.
Much success,
Amy Sherman
Bitter battle over tax exemption eliminations
As most of you know from reading the local news, the business community is in a bitter battle this General Session with several tax exemption elimination bills on the way to Governor Ritter. Yesterday, one of our small business members told me that it would cost his company $85,000 and he would have to lay off two employees. So much for job creation.
Our lobbyist, RJ Hicks, sent an email reply the other day to explain why these bills are so detrimental to the business community and that the business community DOES support education. Here are his words of wisdom.
“The short answer to your question is that if business does not lose their tax credits and exemptions, the General Assembly will be looking for that money from somewhere. We could offer some ideas, but these measures for the most part will pass. The Chamber’s point of view is that business is reeling now, job losses have been substantial, unemployment continues at levels at or above 8%, and businesses have had to cut back on many expenditures including health care for their employees and other benefits as well. What I think is missed sometimes is that business is what makes the whole system work. Without jobs and healthy businesses, revenues go down and everyone in the food chain suffers- state-county-local governments.
Therefore school funding suffers. Business has been assessed over one billion in new fees from the 2009 legislative session on top of the economic woes we have been facing. So we have been asked several times to pay our share. The Chamber supports education, always has and always will. We need an educated work force and K-12 delivers that work force.
Tough times for all, but we must also look at setting realistic priorities for our government. We have to start to say we will focus on good schools, higher education, better roads, and workable safety net for social issues. But after that, we need to start making tough choices on what we fund. This cannot be business as usual. The Chamber also supports fixing the budget mess caused by our competing constitutional issues.
Unless we can find some real leadership to begin to tackle that issue, we will end up a sub-par state always settling for second best.”
Join our business advocacy efforts and check out www.jeffcobusinesslobby.org for more information.
Much success in business,
Amy Sherman
Welcome to the West Chamber Blog!
Welcome to the West Chamber blog! We hope you enjoy the new look of our website and find it simple to navigate. The website was designed with members’ feedback on what features they used most often. We will be adding pages/features over the course of the next two weeks so visit often to see this helpful work in progress. A huge thank you to the team at EduCyber for their wonderful work on the site and help in making this process virtually painless.
The West Chamber continues to develop our social media campaign. If you attended the Chairman’s Inaugural Celebration in January, you saw that we had our Twitter live (@westchamber) and members tweeted during the event. We gave our members a sneak preview of the new website to our Facebook group (www.facebook.com/westchamber) and asked for feedback on the initial peek. And I’m writing this from a hotel in San Fran at the Western Association of Chamber Executives conference where I am about to go into a Social Media for Chambers breakout session to learn more about what we can do for our members.
We have kicked off 2010 with several High Tech/High Touch tools and are excited about this year! Thank you for being a member of the West Chamber Serving Jefferson County!
Amy