Local Politics (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1)
Stay Alert Given the realities of local politics, how can you protect your business from damaging regulations? First, you need to be informed about what’s going on in your town hall, including pending legislative initiatives. “Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to local laws and regulations,” says Nancy Bocskor, a political consultant in Arlington, VA ( nan- cybocskor.com ). Second, you need to set up your own early warning system so you hear about harmful regulatory changes be- fore they are so far advanced that you can no longer effec- tively counter them. “When a story about a new regulation appears in your local press, it’s too late for you to make an impact,” says Fairfield, Connecticut based attorney Cliff Ennico, author of Small Business Survival Guide (Adams Press). “A lot of debate occurs before votes are taken on a proposed measure, and you need to get your voice heard early in the decision cycle. If there’s a hearing in three weeks about rezoning the downtown business district, and that’s where your business is located, you want to be at that hearing.” So how do you set up an early warning system? One way is to take advantage of existing resources. “Most municipalities have a web site,” says Pfeiffer. Many local agencies now post their calendars on line making it easy to check their activities. Is a meeting scheduled for the near future? Obtain a copy of the agenda to see what top-
An unfriendly ordinance passed in any of those areas can throw a monkey wrench into your own business en- gine. Consider especially the control that local govern- ments have over roads, including their quality, their clean- liness, and the placement of navigational signs making it easy or difficult for customers to find a business. Even the direction of traffic depends upon local regulations. Imag- ine waking up one morning to discover the street in front of your business has been changed to a one-way con- duit—in a direction not favorable to your customer pool. Business ambitions can often be stymied by apparently arbitrary regulations. “Zoning issues are a local concern and an issue many people don’t worry about until they start to expand or make business improvements such as installing new signs or larger and brighter windows,” says Hadley. “Then they can run into problems with a require- ment to preserve structural elements or utilize certain themes or colors.” Business-government conflicts can also arise when measures are passed that affect employment practices— paid sick leave and minimum wage laws among them. When you try to resolve your own issues in any of the above areas, points out Hadley, you’ll get no help from politicians at the national level. “Changes to city and state regulations can only be addressed by your local represen- tatives, not by Congress or the President.”
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