UPDATED: Arlington Heights Looks to Fortify Local Business

A zero-interest loan, and a new position dedicated to small business retention are two initiatives the Village of Arlington Heights is looking at to sustain and support small business.

The village plans to potentially partner with the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce to utilize its resources to focus on small business retention. 

The agreement will establish a program whereby the village provides funds to the chamber to utilize resources with the goal of assisting small business, said Jon Ridler, executive director of the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce. 

The proposed service fee is $50,000 per year for delivery of services. 

"This partnership really is meant to increase the attention to small businesses in Arlington Heights," Ridler said. 

The individual would be an Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce employee, and would conduct a minimum of 10 business retention visits per month. The aim would be to gauge the needs of area businesses and develop follow-up plans based on those that are identified.

The program will focus on businesses with no more than eight full-time employees or those that occupy 2,000 sq. ft. of spaces or less, Ridler said. 

“The village and the chamber will then follow-up on the business’ needs, whether they relate to parking, policing, flooding or other issues pertaining to retention visits,” Perkins said at a recent Arlington Economic Alliance meeting. 

The agreement will be considered by the Arlington Heights committee of the whole on Monday, July 8, Perkins said.

A zero-interest small business loan also is being contemplated.

The funds for the program would be derived from the Class 6B tax abatement awarded to larger businesses in town. Currently, for a business to qualify for the abatement, at least 25 employees must live locally.

Ten-percent of the projected annual savings for the first five years of the 12-year abatement would be paid by the business who receives it into a fund for the small business loans.

Perkins said when he asked for feedback from businesses who currently receive the abatement, the response was that they would rather receive some savings than none at all.

The funds would be earmarked for build-outs and other costly improvements to help sustain small businesses in the village.

The savings-sharing model would apply not only to businesses already located in Arlington Heights, but alos for new businesses that apply for the Class 6B Tax Abatement. 

The Arlington Economic Alliance pledged their support for the loan program, which will be considered by the Arlington Heights village board.

Currently, there are no business loan program sponsored by the village, Perkins said.