BOARD MEETING DATE: March 5, 2004
AGENDA NO. 22

Report on Small Business Roundtable

SYNOPSIS:

A Small Business Roundtable was convened on January 16, 2004 at AQMD Headquarters, comprised of representatives from AQMD Governing Board and key government organizations that provide small business loans and financial assistance. The purpose of the meeting was to build strategic partnerships with organizations primarily involved in business development, business retention and business assistance. As a result of the meeting, several action items are being pursued to work more closely with participating organizations and assist the small business community to address their concerns.

COMMITTEE:

Administrative, February 13, 2004, Reviewed

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The Governing Board has an ongoing interest in assisting small business owners and operators, so that economic viability is maintained along the path to clean air. While AQMD has had a robust small business assistance program for some time, periodic assessments are beneficial to identify ways to enhance or optimize the services offered to small business owners.

In December 2003, Chairman William Burke called upon Board Members Jane Carney, Jan Perry and Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta to convene a Small Business Roundtable with key government organizations that provide small business and other financial assistance. The goal was to discuss programs of mutual interest so that AQMD could pool resources with of other organizations for enhanced services to small business owners in Southern California. The Chairman also requested a report to the Board summarizing the proceedings of the Small Business Roundtable.

The Small Business Roundtable was held at AQMD headquarters on January 16, 2004. The meeting agenda and summary are attached. The following action item, mostly dealing with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), were recommended and are being pursued by staff at this time:

1. Develop a Memorandum of Understanding between the AQMD and the U.S. SBA to formalize a cooperative approach to small business loans.
2. Develop list of future proposed rules and possible loan assistance demand areas.
3. Participate in February 9-11, 2004 SBA Small Business Matchmaking event in Anaheim.
4. Conduct an analysis of SBA loan programs.
5. Develop a business matrix of lender and borrower profiles as a matching tool.
6. Place an AQMD small business assistance advertisement in the SBA Resource Guide.
7. Convene a focus group of business leaders and agency representatives to discuss loan programs.
8. Attend the SBA’s Small Business Conference June on 2-5, 2004 in Sacramento.

Attachments

Attachment 1 – Small Business Roundtable Meeting Summary
Attachment 2 – Small Business Roundtable Agenda

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