Chamber speaker: State budget could be trouble for small businesses

NEW BREMEN - The new state budget could present problems for small-business owners in Southwestern Auglaize County, according to Keith Lake, vice president of government affairs for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Lake was the keynote speaker at the 2015 annual Southwestern Auglaize County Chamber of Commerce meeting Tuesday afternoon at the Faith Alliance Church.

He spoke about possible ramifications of the 2106-17 state budget.

"It's a $73.2 billion budget with a 5.1 percent increase in spending for Year 1 and a 4.5 percent increase in Year 2. The governor has six tax reductions planned that would amount to $5.7 billion in cuts and he has 17 tax increases planned that would amount to $5.2 billion. Part of those tax cuts is a 23 percent reduction in personal income tax rates. Sounds pretty good, right?" Lake asked.

"However, the governor plans to offset those cuts by raising taxes in several areas. Many of those areas impact the business community," he added.

Lake listed several budget areas he and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce see as problematic for businesses.

"The governor plans to raise the commercial activity tax by 23 percent. He plans to increase the state sales tax to 6.25 percent, up from 5.75 percent. He plans to tax a variety of services previously not subjected to sales tax, such as management consulting, cable television, parking, travel packages and more. He wants to cap the amount retailers can keep to cover the cost of collecting and submitting state sales tax to the state. He wants to raise the cigarette tax by $1, up to $2.25 per pack," Lake said.

Lake said the state chamber will fight to address the causes of rising unemployment compensation taxes and "battle initiatives proposed by anti-business special interest groups."

The Southwestern Auglaize County Chamber at the meeting also presented its annual awards.

Mike Donnelly accepted the Community and Business Pride Award on behalf of Dannon Co. Inc.

"In 2014, Dannon completed a $90 million equipment and building program to facilities in Minster. Their additions included over 50,000 square feet of new building additions and plant remodeling, including expanded trucking, silo storage and offices. Electrical expansion also occurred. Dannon also added full-time positions at the plant," Logan O'Neill, executive director of the chamber, read from Dannon's recommendation.

Patty Cisco of Marketing Essentials was honored as the Outstanding Business Person of 2015.

"Patty has created a vibrant business in New Bremen, which she started from nothing and has grown to nine people in a very short time," O'Neill read from Cisco's nomination letter.

Lock One Community Arts received the Special Achievement award.

"In addition to providing excellent musical and theatrical performances for area families, Lock One has provided live theater to thousands of students from local schools. Performances are based on award-winning books and connect to curriculum goals. It has been able to enrich the lives of these students through the arts. It has found a way to impact the lives of area residents by keeping live theater alive for all ages," O'Neill read from Lock One's nomination letter.

Lori Rindler received the Past President Award.

"Without leadership, the chamber would have no vision. We hereby recognize Lori Rindler for leading the chamber in 2014," O'Neill said.

O'Neill also gave an annual report.

"We had $107,000 of total revenue for the year and $97,000 of total expenditures. This is compared to five years ago when revenues were $73,000 and expenditures were $86,000," he said.

He attributed "more efficient business practices" as the main reason for the change.

O'Neill also said the chamber added nine members in 2014, while it lost only three. This brought the number of members to 316, he said.

He spoke about the Golden Triangle Radio Campaign and Save Local Now initiatives and what each had added to the chamber's services.

The radio campaign began in October in coordination with WCSM, Celina. The initiative consists of producing bulk radio ads for multiple chamber members.

"It's a cost-effective way for chamber members to do radio marketing," O'Neill said.

The Save Local Now initiative began in December and offers chamber members a free way to improve mobile app, email and social media marketing.