Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce

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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wanted: School Board Candidates

Public employee unions are a hot issue around the country. As local and state governments and school districts struggle to balance their budgets and meet basic needs of their residents, the costs of wages and benefits for unionized public employees are raised more frequently. It might even be an issue in Fort Collins this fall during School Board elections.

Posted by: David May @ 12:00:00 am  Comments (0)Read More»»
Friday, May 27, 2011
Don't Worry, Be Happy

Like you, I have an amazing amount of information that flows across my electronic transom. It becomes a blur. Sometimes, however, there will be something so unusual that it catches my eye. A recent example is "The Happiness Project." A challenging economy and political crankiness seem to have left many people...,well, cranky. To then have someone evangelizing happiness is refreshing. I don't know anything about this person and I'm not promoting her book, but if you're looking for a brief respite, take a look at www.happiness-project.com.

Posted by: David May @ 12:00:00 am  Comments (0)Read More»»
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Governor Signs Chamber-backed Bill
Governor John Hickenlooper was in Fort Collins yesterday to sign House Bill 11-1045 concerning modifications to the Colorado Innovation Investment Tax Credit statute. The bill was originally championed by the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce through the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance in 2008 and signed into law by then Governor Bill Ritter. The bill was due to expire so the NCLA Board endorsed the renewal and asked lobbyist Sandra Solin to work closely with Representative John Kefalas of Fort Collins who was the bill's key sponsor. The bill was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Hickenlooper at the CSU Engines & Energy Conversion Lab on Monday afternoon.
Posted by: David May @ 12:00:00 am  Comments (0)Read More»»
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Keeping Up With Local Government

Keeping track of what’s happening with local government is a big part of what the Chamber does. Well, keeping track and, when appropriate, weighing in with the business perspective to influence the outcome.

We have an active local government, meaning that there is a lot going on. Based on the comments I get from members, I thought it might be helpful to provide a primer on how the City Council operates and where you can go for detailed information.

Posted by: David May @ 12:00:00 am  Comments (0)Read More»»
Monday, May 23, 2011
Report on Hours We Work to Pay for Public Services

Taxes and deficits are two of the more controversial topics of the day. A new report published by the Tax Foundation ranks the states by how much of a worker’s workday hours are spent paying for their local, state and federal taxes. On average, American’s spend 2 hours and 13 minutes of their 8-hour workday paying for government. Add in the federal deficit and that grows to 3 hours and 7 minutes or 39 percent. It’s an interesting way to look at how much the average person’s labor goes to pay for public services.

Posted by: David May @ 12:00:00 am  Comments (0)Read More»»
Solving or Perpetuating Poverty

The reaction I’ve received to the column I recently wrote in the Coloradoan about poverty has been interesting.

Posted by: David May @ 12:00:00 am  Comments (0)Read More»»
Friday, May 20, 2011
Chamber Report Card on Northern Colorado Legislators

The 2011 State Legislative Session has come to an end.  The Chamber's state and federal lobbying group is called the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance (NCLA).  It is a joint committee of the Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland Chambers of Commerce.  On Tuesday NCLA did a legislative wrap-up with area legislators. As reported in the Northern Colorado Business Report and Loveland Reporter Herald, NCLA had a good session representing business.

Posted by: David May @ 12:00:00 am  Comments (0)Read More»»
Thursday, May 12, 2011
New Fort Collins Museum & Discovery Science Center a Winner

Recently I was part of a group that toured the Fort Collins Museum & Discovery Science Center, which is under construction on the northwest corner of North College and Cherry. And it’s a winner.

Posted by: David May @ 12:00:00 am  Comments (0)Read More»»
The New Dynamics of the City Council
Fort Collins had a City Council election five weeks ago. Due to term limits, long-serving Mayor Doug Hutchinson and Council Member David Roy are gone. In their place are two Council veterans. Karen Weitkunat was elected mayor and had served for 8 years on the Council. Gerry Horak was elected to replace Roy. Horak was on the Council from 1981-94. The dynamics of the Council changed.
Posted by: David May @ 12:00:00 am  Comments (0)Read More»»
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Fort Collins, The Land of Good News

The community regularly gets external recognition about Fort Collins being a great place. As a community champion, the Chamber loves to collect those stories and rankings. Aside from being a sop for our community boosterism, the information can be of real benefit to managers and HR directors trying to recruit specific people to fill critical positions at their companies. The information can also be helpful to people considering relocating to Fort Collins.

Posted by: David May @ 12:00:00 am  Comments (0)Read More»»