Roughly 25% of the City Arcadia‘s $48 million in annual revenue comes from local businesses, nearly $10 million from sales taxes and another $2 mil.-plus from licenses and permits.
And business owners have recently begun contributing even more to the economic health of Arcadia as the City has begun working with collectors of state income tax to identify home-based business owners who have not been paying for a required city business license. Revenue from that sector has climbed 20%, City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto said during his first State of the City address at the Chamber’s annual Planning Conference Feb. 24, 2013.
On the other side of the coin, Lazzaretto told the nearly 50 attendees that there has been no increase in the cost of a business permit and that the City recently adopted a strategy similar to the Chamber’s membership fee model of not charging real estate agents a full rate if they are working for a realtor company already paying a business license like Coldwell Banker or Century 21. (City Manager Powerpoint slides in photo gallery below...)
The 4-hour Planning Conference was hosted by Chamber member Embassy Suites, which provided a sumptuous and extensive breakfast buffet in the newly remodeled and renamed Peacock Polo Lounge that was highlighted by vanilla yogurt cleverly and elegantly displayed in martini glasses with a strawberry on top.
Chamber President-Elect Arlynn Robinson of Century 21, Earll, outlined some of the Chamber’s objectives for 2013-14, including further increasing Chamber member value and enticing more members, as well as providing more ways for members to become more personally involved in Chamber activities and social events. Scott Hettrick, whose title the board voted at the conference to change from Executive Director to Chief Executive Officer (CEO), described dozens of successful new initiatives undertaken by the Chamber in the past year to support and promote members and provide new revenue streams for the Chamber (listed at bottom).
Merchandise provided by Visit California
Other presenters during the event included Chamber board member Andrew Gregson of The Executive Factor, who presented an informative and enlightening summary and tutorial on the Chamber’s marketing efforts and how members are benefiting enormously from the new strategies on this web site, YouTube videos, Facebook, Twitter, and many other efforts. He showed statistics and cited anecdotes indicating that Arcadia Chamber members get a better representation in Google searches than others and that response rates and times spent on the Chamber web site and with e-newsletters is far higher than the industry average. (See Andrew’s PowerPoint presentation below.)
Antoinette Lou, director of marketing for the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, presented an overview of the economic vitality of the region, noting that healthcare is the largest and fastest-growing sector (SGVEP Powerpoint slides in photo gallery below…>. The number of jobs shrunk from 650,000 in 2008 to 597,000 in 2010 but appear to be rebounding, though the average salary wage is $43,960 in SGV compared with $53,559 in all of L.A. County. Lou also showed ways in which the SGVEP helps market the region and elements in which local businesses can participate in that marketing.
Kelly Yang, representing the state’s tourism bureau called Visit California, noted that one in nine jobs depend on travel and tourism. About 517,000 Chinese travelers visited California in 2011; that number is expected to grow to 1 million by 2015. Although overseas arrivals at LAX were flat in 2011-12, with more visitors to California from the States than overseas, international visitors significantly outspend American travelers, she said.
In addition, Yang noted that a growing number of Tourism Improvement Districts are launching in Southern California cities such as Pasadena, Burbank, and Los Angeles, which are set up much like traditional Business Improvement Districts in order to help local business owners draw more visitors.
<Story continues below the following photo gallery from the Planning Conference...>
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Bobbie Singh-Allen, executive VP / COO of California Lodging Industry Association, said her organization of independently-owned hotels is focused on many of the same issues that affected all Arcadia businesses in the past year, including frivolous lawsuits and threats of lawsuits regarding the American Disabilities Act, as well as the modified code approved by Arcadia voters last year that levies a tax on online travel agencies such as Expedia, which resulted in Expedia de-listing all Arcadia hotels from its listings. CLIA is opposed to the new Arcadia code, she said.
Lazzaretto said the City of Arcadia has been working with the Chamber to meet with local hotel operators and representatives from Expedia to find a solution to the issue since the financial ramifications went beyond the City’s intent to modify the code on principle, but thus far anything short of paying for another election to reverse the new wording has not been acceptable to the parties involved.
Lazzaretto also said he recognizes that the City could simplify the processes for business owners and be more helpful during the start-up process, so a new position is being established for a business assistance program ombudsman who would help business entrepreneurs through the process and answer any questions, and is developing a system where all business set-up can be conducted at a single counter at City Hall. The City is also working with the Chamber to create an updated and much more interactive one-stop business checklist.
Noting that only 9.6-cents of every dollar from property taxes goes to the City of Arcadia, Lazzaretto said that the City is currently operating at a deficit on paper of nearly $2 million, but that he expects that gap to be closed in the near future.
Of the $49.7 mil. in expenditures, police represent 35% of that figure, fire 25%, and public works 8%.
Of the $28.8 mil. the City generates in tax revenue, 33% comes from sales taxes and 33% from Property taxes.
Lazzaretto also dispelled a myth that the City ecnourages police officers to issue more traffic citations as a way to raise more money for the city. Revenue from all types of fines and forfeitures combined barely amounts to one-percent of the City’s revenue, he said.
<Highlights of the Chamber’s accomplishments in the past year follow the three galleries below featuring the Powerpoint slides of the City Manager and the SGVEP…>
City Manager State of the City presentation…
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Andrew Gregson’s Chamber marketing presentation…
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SGVEP “Marketing the San Gabriel Valley” presentation…
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Chamber highlights February 2012 – January 2013
- Launched new web site:
— Robust intreractive member directory
— Many daily news, calendar, event photo updates
— Already grown to average or more than 100 different visitors every day, 3,000 per month, and spending average of 3-minutes looking at 3 different pages on each visit. - Launched first-ever Chamber YouTube channel – loaded 40 videos already that have generated nearly 3,000 views
— Launched free member videos – 9 produced so far, several more in process - More than tripled Facebook “Likes” to 315 Likes
- Doubled Twitter followers to nearly 200
- E-mail newsletter list grown to more than 2,000 subscribers; now top source for delivering Chamber news to members, creating rsvp responses for events, and driving traffic to web site.
- Sold two dozen $250 first-of-a-kind All Access Pass since Jan 2012 launch
- Biggest Taste of Arcadia in years
— Added first-ever Business Showcase at the Taste; big success in providing opportunties for 30 new non-food/beverage businesses to participate
— First-ever live 3-hour morning telecast by KTLA Channel 5
— Great Gold & Silver sponsors: Westfield, Methodist, Breeders’ Cup/Santa Anita, Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo, and many other sponsors. Professional Advisory Services locked for $2,500 Silver Sponsor in 2013.
— First-ever Biz Showcase sponsor for 2013: $2,500 from Rose Hills - Responded to Chamber member issues:
— ADA lawsuits: City/Chamber seminar
— Hotel “TOT” tax ordinance to online travel services like Expedia – met with all hotel managers, facilitated meeting with City Manager, set up meeting with Mayor, Expedia, City Manager
— Bureaucratic challenges for start-up Taza: Social Coffee House
— Closing off alley access for Arcadia Blues Club and others
— Oppose County water parcel tax for all property owners
— Provided support for School District Measure A campaign - Chamber created ribbon-cutting media events for debut of Cal Phil at Santa Anita and Pasadena Pops at Arboretum
- More than 100 Chamber-driven or quoted stories in media, many including focus on Chamber members, including spotlight on Arcadia in Sunset magazine and several stories on local network TV affiliates relating to Breeders’ Cup, etc.
- Continued increasing attendance and high-quality speakers at Networking Breakfasts
— Annual Business Awards attracted more than 90 to Networking Breakfast – David Burke Biz Person of Year - Downtown Arcadia taxing district consultant approved by City and vote by property owners expected soon
— Chamber attends every meeting and hosts new Community Benefits District meetings, and provides voice at City Council meetings along with others - City maintained same Chamber service payment of many years – could have cut due to elimination of Redevelopment funds
- Renewal and addition of Community Builder and Keystone Club member sponsorships
— Westfield Santa Anita’s Community Builder Presenting Sponsor – $15,000
— Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary – $2,500
— Expedia – $2,500 - Awarded $5,700 grant from Gas Co. to help educate re: launch of Advance Meters
- New City Manager – great meetings and relationship already
- First and best-attended Meet the Candidates Forum
- Welcomed new Assemblymember Ed Chau and representatives of new Congresswoman Judy Chu to Government Affairs Forum
- Citizen of Year Alice Wang and announcement of upcoming COYs Jim and Shelly Romo
- 90th birthday for Peter Ulrich
- Member value reinforcement letter and 10% discount on renewal offer to all active Chamber members January 2013
- Successful holiday mixer at Chamber by Denise Weaver and others
- First-ever flash mob at Santa Anita Park – supported Relay for Life, Santa Anita, and raised awareness for Chamber among hundreds of participants
- Sri Lanka: Welcomed new member from Consulate General’s office, created well-attended “Get to Know Sri Lanka” event at Chamber office
- New IT for Chamber office – new member IT SystemHouse; saves money, more efficient
- Touch Arcadia: touch-screen news/advertiser display in Chamber lobby; plus web site
- Relocate.org to soon feature Arcadia businesses
- Chamber trips for Chamber members (discounted) and others –
— Trip to Italy last fall; Trip to Eastern Europe March 14; Booked three more trips this year and 2014: Islands of New England / fall colors Sept. 27; Christmas on the Danube river cruise in Austria/Germany Dec. 3; South Pacific Wonders: Australia, Great Barrier Reef, New Zealand, Figi Feb. 24, 2014 - First-ever Winners’ Circle Business Expo at Santa Anita
- First small raises for three Chamber support staff in years
