Joe Forte
Submitted photo
By Joe Forte | Tempe
As a small business owner and nonprofit board member, I urge the Tempe City Council to reject the proposed general business license at its May 22 meeting. This program, affecting nearly 30,000 businesses and nonprofits, is a bureaucratic overreach that threatens Tempe’s economic vitality.
I run a small business in Tempe. This licensing process would divert time from delivering for my clients.
More concerning, I serve on the boards of Keep Tempe Beautiful, Kiwanis Club of Tempe and Tempe Sister Cities, and am a member of the Tempe Diablos, nonprofits with no paid staff. This license would burden these volunteer-driven groups with compliance tasks, sapping energy from our missions to enhance Tempe.
The $25 fee, while seemingly small, risks ballooning. Tempe’s $20 million budget shortfall from the residential rental tax repeal makes fee hikes likely, as seen in Mesa, where licenses fund general budgets.
But the real issue isn’t the cost, it’s the administrative burden. Small businesses, solopreneurs and nonprofits would face annual renewals and paperwork, pulling focus from growth and service. This affects anyone doing business in Tempe, not just local entities, stifling contractors and mobile vendors who drive our economy.
The city claims the license will build a business database to improve support, but there’s a better way. Tempe could create a voluntary online portal for businesses and nonprofits to share data, avoiding mandates and respecting privacy. The proposed public database raises concerns. Many, like home-based solopreneurs or minority-owned businesses, may not want their details exposed. Neighboring cities like Chandler and Scottsdale show licensing adds red tape without clear economic gains, while Phoenix thrives without a general license.
You can claim to support small businesses, but until policies hit home, it’s just words. My business and the nonprofits I serve would feel this license’s weight.
I’ve launched a petition on to rally community opposition. Sign it here to show the council we stand together.
The council must scrap this plan and explore voluntary, privacy-respecting solutions. Tempe’s small businesses and nonprofits deserve policies that uplift, not obstruct. Join me at the May 22 Tempe City Council meeting, wearing red to show our united opposition, and demand better.
Editor’s note: Joe Forte is a small business owner and candidate for Tempe City Council. Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
