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Downtown Ithaca businesses urge caution: surveys show capacity and compliance worries
Summary
Presenters from the Downtown Ithaca Alliance and the College Town Community Collective told the committee small employers lack HR capacity, flagged documentation burdens and language access concerns, and urged education and templates before enforcement begins.
Representatives of downtown businesses told the committee they support fair treatment of workers in principle but warned that many small employers lack the staff, time and legal resources to comply immediately with a prescriptive city ordinance. Nan Roer (Downtown Ithaca Alliance) summarized a June survey of 74 downtown employers showing most are small — 88% have fewer than 50 employees and 58% have 0–10 employees — and many lack HR departments or funds to pay for counsel in disputes.
Dan Carney and Vicky Wu from the College Town Community Collective urged the committee to consider language access and the seasonal nature of Ithaca’s economy. Carney said he fears the ordinance could push small entrepreneurs out of the city market and called for an economic impact analysis before final passage. "There's a lot of misinformation and a lot of unknowns," Nan Roer told the committee, and she urged an education‑first approach that pairs templates and training with any new city rule.
Committee members incorporated those concerns into the instruction manual they approved, directing the city attorney to draft a pilot ordinance paired with funding for outreach and templates and a phased enforcement timeline.
