Kimberley Mayor Don McCormick was in Vancouver last Friday for meetings and while he was there, he attended the Small Business BC Entrepreneur Awards gala to pick up an award for Kimberley.
Kimberley won the midsize communities Open for Business Award.
McCormick says that four things led to Kimberley’s success.
One is the Investment Attraction Program, which gives business owners a three to five year tax hiatus on improvements or new construction. That was the primary one, he believes. Also helping Kimberley’s case as being business friendly is the zero per cent tax increase commercial properties and implementing the mobile business license with Cranbrook.
“Apparently not very many communities have done this,” he said, referring to the mobile business license, which allows small business to have a license to do business in both communities at once.
Finally, the Cranbrook Kimberley Investment Initiative was a factor.
In fact Cranbrook came second in the award, with Salmon Arm third.
“The evening itself was absolutely awesome,” McCormick said. “There were entrepreneurs from all over the province in attendance. The award indicates that Kimberley supports small business. We are constrained in what we can do by the Community Charter and the business community can sometimes feel that we are not doing enough. But we are doing everything we can when ideas come forward. That’s why our relationship with the Chamber of Commerce is so important.”