Mayor Karen Bass has made some progress for small businesses, report says

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s office today released its first progress report regarding her executive directive No. 4, which aims to foster and support small businesses in Los Angeles, and it outlines four solutions that are intended to bolster business prior to the end of the year.

“Our city is open for business,” Bass said in a statement. “That is why I instituted Executive Directive 4 and ordered this report to take full stock of the city’s barriers to attracting and retaining small businesses.”

“This 90-day progress report is an honest look at our government processes and immediate opportunities to improve the way City Hall supports the nearly 500,000 businesses that are owned and operated in Los Angeles,” she added.

The comprehensive report summarizes initial findings and preliminary actions to address two priority areas — opening and expanding a business, and improving the experience of doing business with the city.

The report identifies four solutions the city will implement prior to Dec. 31 to support small businesses, which includes addressing delays in regard to opening up a business; providing virtual and in-person counters services to open or expand business — or in other words, educate Angelenos on the requirements to conduct their business; adopting strategies to expedite contract payments; and establish a Small Business Cabinet and ED 4 Community Business Taskforce to collaborate and create solutions for business owners.

According to Bass’s office, more than 10,500 businesses have opened since she became mayor.

Bass signed ED 4 in June to encourage small business and minority business creation, development and growth across the city.

The directive instructed a review of existing business taxes and fees with the goal of reducing some of those costs; an assessment of existing processes and timeliness associated with starting and operating a business, expanding a business and contracting directly or indirectly with the city; and lastly, a comparative analysis of the city’s taxes with taxes in other cities.

It also established the Los Angeles Business Steering Committee to identify barriers to business development and growth. The group is composed of members from the Business and Economic Development along with select city departments and bureaus.

The mayor’s office will continue to review and assess processes, timeliness, taxes and fees that create barriers for entrepreneurs and small businesses; evaluate how departments can improve businesses’ engagement with the city and gather feedback from the business community to address their “top priorities.”