A Message From Chamber CEO Nancy Lindholm 

​The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently released its quarterly Small Business Index, which reached a record high of 71.3, up 0.6 points from the third quarter of 2019. It's the highest score since the survey launched in 2017.

The high score for 2019 Q4 is the result of two elements: small businesses' strong outlook on their local economy and optimism about their own business health.

Key findings of the Q4 results are:

• 69% of small businesses report good health, up slightly from last quarter (66%). This is the first time the measure has grown over four consecutive quarters.
• An unprecedented 59% say their local economic outlook is good. This is the most optimistic businesses have felt toward their local economy since the survey's inception.
• 57% say the U.S. economy is in good health, similar to last quarter and continuing an overall positive trend since Q1.

Other highlights of 2019 Q4 findings are:

• 83% of small businesses feel comfortable with their cash flow, the highest level of optimism since the survey began.
• 20% of small businesses report increasing their staff size this past year. This also is the highest percentage since the survey's inception.
• Minority-owned small businesses are more likely than non-minority-owned small businesses to plan for an increase in investments. Minority-owned small businesses also are more likely than non-minority-owned ones to have plans to grow staff.
• Millennial small business owners are the most likely (51%) to have plans to grow their staff compared to other generations. In comparison, just 25% of Baby Boomer or older small business owners have plans to increase staff.

On the downside, manufacturers are growing pessimistic. Small manufacturers have become more pessimistic about the national economy over the last two quarters with an 11% decline (from 69% in Q2 to 58% in Q4).

To read the entire Small Business Index, go to www.uschamber.com/sbindex

A Message From Our CEO Nancy Lindholm 

There is bad blood between the City of Oxnard and the County of Ventura. Both sides have dug in and are not budging. Oxnard's denial of a local coastal plan amendment on November 7 was the latest episode in an ongoing battle. The victim was the redevelopment of Fisherman's Wharf, which the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce has supported for more than three years.

The fight is over control. The County owns all of the property adjacent to the water of Channel Islands Harbor south of Channel Islands Boulevard. However, they need Oxnard to amend its local coastal plan to allow residential, mixed-use development at the old Fisherman's Wharf site. If Oxnard issues that amendment, it loses control over the project. So, we have a stalemate.

The fight over control has not only stalled, if not destroyed, the Fisherman's Wharf project, but it has delayed the rebuild of the Casa Sirena Marina Hotel on the Peninsula in the Harbor. There is also fighting over park maintenance and harbor patrol services.

This has gone on long enough! It's like watching a very nasty divorce unfold. The City and County should call in an arbitrator to seek compromises from both sides. This fight has been going on for three-and-a-half years.

The Chamber urges both parties to work toward reconciliation of who has approval and permitting authority in and around Channel Islands Harbor. The maintenance issues also need to be addressed.

It is likely one of the current Oxnard City Council members will be elected to District 5 of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in 2020. How will that person deal with this conflict in their new role?

A Message From Our CEO Nancy Lindholm

The Oxnard Chamber's Board of Directors and Political Action Committee have both voted to oppose five local measures currently being circulated for signature gathering in our community. The Board believes each and every measure will have a negative impact on city operations, should voters pass them.

Here are summaries and excerpts from the proposed initiatives. This is not the exact language of each initiative.

Term Limits for the Mayor and Councilmembers; Extension of the Mayor's Term
This initiative would impose term limits on the Mayor and members of the City Council. The proposed initiative states that once a person has served as the Mayor and/or as a member of the City Council for two consecutive terms or a combination of full and partial terms totaling seven consecutive years, that person could not be elected or appointed to be the Mayor or a member of the City Council. That prohibition would remain in effect for two consecutive years before becoming eligible again. This initiative would also change the length of time of the Mayor's term from two years to four years starting on November 8, 2022.

Early Termination of Measure O Sales Tax; Extension of Measure O Sales Tax
This initiative ties the condition of the city's streets and alleys to the Measure O Sales tax. It uses the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) to measure pavement. The proposal states:

• PCI of at least 65 on or before September 30, 2022 or Measure O would expire on March 31, 2023
• PCI of at least 70 on or before September 30, 2024 or Measure O would expire on March 31, 2025
• PCI of at least 75 on or before September 20, 2026 or Measure O would expire on March 31, 2027
• PCI of at least 80 on or before September 30, 2028 or Measure O would expire on March 31, 2029

Measure O is currently set to expire March 31, 2029. Under this initiative, the City Council would have the ability to extend the termination date of Measure O starting on April 1, 2028 for an additional five-year period if an outside civil engineer consultant finds that the PCI for the city-owned streets and alleys was at least 80.

Expansion of Duties of Elected City Treasurer By Appointing the City Treasurer as Director of Finance and Giving the City Treasurer Additional Duties
City regulations currently provide for a Director of Finance to be responsible for city financial reporting, fiscal and accounting duties, budget management, grants, and risk management. The elected City Treasurer performs statutory duties assigned under state law and duties assigned by the City Manager. Under this proposed initiative, the City Treasurer's existing duties would continue and be expanded to include:

• Designated as Director of Finance and would assume all statutory duties of the Director of Finance.
• Supervise Finance Department employees and have authority over the Finance Department.
• Design, implement and oversee an internal control system to safeguard assets, ensure financial statement reliability, promote operational efficiency and encourage compliance with applicable laws and City Council directives. Although the City Council could establish additional financial controls, the initiative prohibits imposition of such controls if they would undermine the authority of the City Treasurer (acting in the role of Finance Director).
• Select and oversee an internal auditor who would not be a city employee. The internal auditor would conduct internal control reviews, compliance audits and performance audits.
• Implement a program that would include monthly reports published online of city expenditures, including supporting invoices, purchase orders, submitted bids and solicitations for bids.
• Submit monthly financial reports itemizing: monthly and fiscal year-to-date revenues and expenses with comparisons to budgets and historical amounts for specific funds; estimated changes in fund balances for specific funds; and cash receipts and disbursements in excess of $10,000.
• Establish performance measurements for each city department, with separate performance measurements based on cost, quality and timelessness. Reports on measurements would be prepared monthly and submitted to the City Clerk, with copies to the City Council.
• Submit a proposed operations and capital budget to the City Council for the next fiscal year. The City Manager is currently responsible for submitting annual budgets to the City Council.

The proposed initiative also requires the City Manager and the City Attorney to cooperate with and be responsive to requests for administrative services and information made by the City Treasurer. City Treasurer's reports to the City Council are to indicate if the City Manager and the City Attorney have hindered or supported the City Treasurer's fulfillment of the Treasurer's responsibilities under state law and the Oxnard City Code (as amended by the initiative).

New Requirements Regarding the Way in Which City Council Meetings, Council Committees and Other City Legislative Bodies Are Run
City meetings are subject to the Brown Act. This initiative would impose specific new local regulations regarding the way in which the meetings of the city legislative bodies are run.

• Roberts Rules of Order – This initiative would require that the latest version of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised govern subject to certain exceptions the way the city's legislative bodies (including City Council and Council Committees) are run. In addition, the city would be required to use the services of a Professional Registered Parliamentarian.
• Allowed Start Time for Meetings – This initiative would require with certain exceptions that meetings of the city's legislative bodies could not start before 5 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. on weekends.
• Pre-Taping of Staff Presentations – The proposed initiative would require that staff presentations for City legislative bodies must be videotaped in advance. Such videotape must be available for viewing at City Hall at the time of posting of the agenda for the meeting.
• Public Comments – This initiative adds the requirement that each person shall have no less than three minutes to comment on an agenda item at a meeting. This requirement will apply even if the matter has been considered at a prior committee composed exclusively of members of the City Council. In addition, the city will be required to make reasonable accommodations to allow for presenters to present video, PowerPoints and similar presentations during public comments.

Expedited Processing of Certain City-Issued Development Permits
This initiative would add a new chapter to the Oxnard City Code that would set up a streamlined permit review and approval process for certain projects that meet specific criteria. The initiative calls for the city to develop a training program for specified licensed professionals (architects and civil engineers) in order to file project plans with the city.

• Under this initiative, City Building Officials would need to notify applicants (including the trained professionals) of any project plans corrections within one day of accepting the project application. Any projects rejected would also require notification within one day.
• If it is determined that all the requirements on a project have been met, the Building Official is to issue a permit for the project.
• The proposed initiative includes procedures for auditing plans that have been submitted into the program. If issues are discovered, then the professional who has been trained in the program can be issued a warning and eventually suspended from the program or permanently removed.

The five ballot initiatives were drafted and brought forth by Aaron Starr, an unsuccessful candidate for city council and mayor. Mr. Starr was also the proponent of the attempted recall of the mayor and city council members that triggered a special election for Oxnard voters in 2018.
​
The Chamber will continue to follow the progress of these measures as they are filed with voter signatures, the signatures are verified, and (if applicable) which ballot they will appear on.

A Message From Our CEO Nancy Lindholm

​Over the 100+ years the Oxnard Chamber has been serving the business community, we have addressed countless challenges for our members. Many times, these are run-of-the-mill issues such as business license fees, water rates and code compliance, but sometimes major issues surface.

One that comes to mind is the 2008 Oxnard Traffic Initiative ballot measure that would have stymied economic development for decades. This particular measure would have prohibited development of more than 10,000 square feet that was located within a five-mile radius of an intersection that performed poorly at peak traffic flow times. The Chamber realized the long-term impact of such restriction, partnered with real estate and labor interests, and waged a strong campaign to successfully defeat the measure. Problem solved!

​Businesses approach the Chamber all the time with challenges they are experiencing. 

We are currently working with a handful of companies that are being asked to eliminate boron from their wastewater, and we understand there will also be new limits for TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in wastewater. The new mandates are coming from the California State Water Quality Control Board. There is currently no restriction on the amount of boron that can be discharged into the ocean, but since Oxnard recycles its wastewater, new rules come into play. This is an ongoing issue we hope to have resolved soon.

The Chamber started working with a couple of craft breweries in Oxnard about six months ago. We discovered that Oxnard restricted anyone under age 21 from being in a brewery that did not have its own kitchen to serve food. We checked with other cities in Ventura County and no one else had that provision (maybe that's why Oxnard only has two breweries!). Chamber staff worked with the Community Development department of the city and found that ABC regulations do not allow cities to impose an age restriction for this alcohol license type. City staff reached out to both breweries and have administratively modified their permits and removed the condition with the age restriction. Problem solved!

Over the 15+ years I have worked for the Oxnard Chamber, we have addressed scores of problems challenging the business community. Some of them just take a bit of common sense; others require a coalition to fight. This is what we are here for and why we exist.

​If you run across a problem, please don't hesitate to let us know about it. We just might be able to resolve it!

A Message From Our CEO Nancy Lindholm

​Sexual harassment prevention training is not an option – it's the law. Employers must take reasonable steps to prevent harassment. Every California employer with five or more employees is required to provide every worker with prevention training.

A work culture that tolerates harassment not only incurs legal risks (along with legal fees and costs), but also creates other problems including:

• an unpleasant work environment;
• decreased productivity;
• morale issues;
• attendance problems; and
• negative publicity and damage to your organization's reputation and credibility, which can extend to your ability to recruit and retain talent.

Take this quick quiz (from the California Chamber of Commerce) to test your understanding of your responsibilities for providing sexual harassment prevention ​​training. ​

1. Which employers must comply with California's sexual harassment prevention training?
   a. California companies with five (5) or more employees
   b. Only private sector companies
   c. All California companies
2. Which employees must receive sexual harassment prevention training?
   a. All employees
   b. Only supervisors and managers
3. How often do I need to provide this training?
   a. Every year
   b. Every two years
   c. Whenever I feel like it
4. I can pick pretty much any type of training course to comply with the law, right?
   a. Yes
   b. No
5. I see all sorts of advertisements for trainers. Am I free to choose whichever trainer I like best?
   a. Yes
   b. No

How did you do?
​

1. Answer: California companies with five (5) or more employees - All California companies with five (5) or more employees must provide sexual harassment prevention training.
2. Answer: All employees - California law now requires sexual harassment prevention training to be provided to all employees. Supervisors must receive at least two hours of training, and nonsupervisorial employees must receive at least one hour of training.  
3. Answer: Every two years
4. Answer: No - The law specifies certain types of information that must be included in the training, as well as minimum standards for the trainer and interactivity requirements. You must ensure that the training you use meets the content requirements.  
5. Answer: No - Only trainers with very specific credentials may legally conduct sexual harassment prevention training. You must make sure to use properly credentialed training professionals.

 
Harassment prevention training for all supervisors and employees is required in California (for companies with five or more employees). Training is an essential component of any harassment prevention program – especially when combined with company leadership on these issues. Those at the top level of company management must not only set the proper tone, but also dedicate the necessary time and resources to meet their prevention obligation and ensure their efforts are effective.
 
Training must be completed by January 1, 2020 or within six months of hiring a new employee. However, there is no need to wait! Harassment prevention training now can help avoid a potential claim.

​The Oxnard Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the California Chamber to provide easy, affordable training for workers and supervisors.
 
Order your online training today! You will receive a 20% discount when you purchase through this link.

You will have to create a CalChamber store account, but you are not required to become a preferred member. The Oxnard Chamber 20% discount will be applied during checkout.