Protecting Small Business is a Big Deal

Tuesday's sales tax vote is a big decision. I guess that's why so much of the debate has been about bigness.

There's the flood protection plan, with a $375 million price tag, that would get half of the tax money. That's big. Big walls and levees designed to protect against another big flood.

There's been a lot of talk about public trust in government. That's big. Opponents of the 20-year sales tax extension contend that city leaders have made big mistakes authorizing big post-flood projects with hefty costs.

Opponents also point to the $450,000 war chest raised by the vote-yes side to fund its campaign, much of it donated by big businesses. It's all about the elites and corporations getting what they want, critics insist. It's David vs. Goliath, who, you guessed it, was big.

But when I think about the ballot issue, I tend to think small.

Because if the tax fails Tuesday, the bags are going to be just fine. The movers and shakers and elites, whoever they are, will move on and shake off the loss. You don't get to be big if you can't handle setbacks.

But I'm less sure about the smalls, and I'm talking about small businesses.

There are 647 businesses in what's called “greater downtown,” which includes parts of surrounding core neighborhoods. Sure there's Quaker and Penford and two hospitals. But in between the big businesses are dozens of small ones.

I've heard the endless sneers of “downtown is dead” during this campaign. Lots of amateur economic coroners out there. And I'm not going to try to make you believe that downtown is red-hot and hoppin'. It's not. Truth is, some flooded businesses never came back.

But I'm also not going to pretend that the ones still hanging on don't count because I'm mad at the City Council or the Chamber or big business. Small businesses are a revered institution in this country, and downtown has one of the highest concentrations of them in this city. But for some reason, critics usually leave that out of their downtown diatribes.

So when I think about who might get hurt if flood protection isn't funded, I think of the shop where I get my hair cut, the places I eat lunch, grab a coffee or down a beer. I bought my kids' Easter baskets at Simply Divine and grabbed a pack of brats at the City Meat Market, where Roger Vogel rolled out the grill for lunch Thursday for the first time this season.

“Where's this city going to be if it happens again?” asked Julie Ganoe, who owns the City Beat bar and grill on Third Ave. SW. A 2008 flood line plaque hangs high on the refurbished bar's wall.

These are the sort of places I mourned walking through a deserted downtown just after the water receded, with National Guard Humvees patrolling and sandbags still sitting in futile piles.

They're the spots we missed while recovery ground painfully forward. They're the businesses that came back and gave us some hope, thanks to owners who cleaned out their savings and took on tons of debt just to keep their dreams alive.

If we shoot down flood protection, they're the most vulnerable to the future consequences. If it happens again, many more businesses won't come back. Even the risk of flooding is enough to squelch new private investments that could boost existing businesses. Reports of downtown's death may no longer be greatly exaggerated.

Maybe you sneer “take that, elites,” or “good riddance.” But I think letting that happen would be a very big mistake.

Comments: (319) 398-8452;todd.dorman@sourcemedia.net.