Property Tax
HF 2274, is a compromise bill brokered between House Republicans and the Governor.  The new bill combines aspects of both original bills (HSB 500 and HSB 519).  The bill includes the House of Representatives provision to move the School Foundation Aid from local property taxes onto State General Fund dollars.  The bill also includes rollback of 5% a year over 8 years as well as a 15% exemption for properties under $400,000 valuation in order to bring more relief to smaller businesses sooner.  The bill includes the same spending limitations for local government as both bills originally included and a 2% cap on the rate at which taxes can increase.  The bill passed out of committee on Wednesday and should see action on the House floor as early as next week.

Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
HSB 540 and SSB 3118 were discussed in subcommittee meetings this past week.  Both bills are aimed at limiting TIF, although the Senate bill is more measured in its approach.

Economic Development Programs
SSB 3110, introduced by the Iowa Economic Development Authority overhauls and cleans up several aspects of existing economic development programs and makes an effort to create a new funding stream for economic development incentives.  The subcommittee met for the first time this past week regarding the bill.

Chamber members mark your calendar for next week’s Government Relations meeting with guest speaker Rep. Jeremy Taylor.  The meeting will be on Friday, February 17^th at 7:00 a.m. in the lower level conference room at the Chamber of Commerce.

 The Siouxland Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce the Siouxland Social Media Conference in partnership with Morningside College on Friday, November 4, 2011 on the Morningside College Campus. 

The Siouxland Social Media Conference will be highlighted by two trailblazers of the social media world: 1:45 p.m. presentation by Gary Vaynerchuk, best-selling author, self-trained wine and social media expert, and Noon presentation by Erik Deckers, author and co-owner and VP of Creative Services.

Gary Vaynerchuck is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best-Selling  author who is also a self-trained wine and social media expert. Gary does not claim to be a ‘techie’, but in 2005, he began video blogging and is known as a true social media trailblazer! He has close to 1 million followers on Twitter and was included in BusinessWeek’s list of the ‘Top 20 people every entrepreneur should follow’. In his session, Gary Vaynerchuk teaches entrepreneurs how to take advantage of the current business environment, while also preparing them to succeed as it changes and evolves into what he’s termed “The Thank You Economy.” Gary discusses the incredible tool that allows brands to show customers that they care: social media.

Gary has appeared on countless programs from Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Ellen to MSNBC, CNBC, CNN and NPR. He was also notably featured in Decanter Magazine’s 2009 Power List which is a list of the 50 most influential people in wine.

Erik Deckers co-authored No BS Social Media (Pearson 2011) and Branding Yourself: Using Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself (Pearson, 2010). Erik is the co-owner and VP of Creative Services for Professional Blog Service in Indianapolis. He has been blogging since 1997, and has been a published writer for more than 24 years. His session will be based on his latest book, why you should be using social media to communicate with your customers and business partners. It disproves the myths and knocks down the excuses, and shows you the biggest reason why your business needs social media: because you want to make money.

Other sessions during the day include “Why Businesses Need to Worry about Social Media”, “Social Media in Siouxland: Trends & Tactics”, “I have an Account, Now What?” and “This Sounds Great…but is it Practical?” presented by local experts and local business people finding success with their social media strategies.

The Siouxland Social Media Conference on November 4 will begin with check-in at 7:30 a.m., with four presentations and panel sessions starting at 8:00 a.m., author, Erik Deckers, will present during the Noon lunch and the keynote presentation by Gary Vaynerchuk will be at 1:45 p.m. in Eppley Auditorium. The keynote presentation is open to the public.

Reservations are $99.00 per person for Siouxland Chamber of Commerce members and $199.00 for non-Chamber members.  All sales and reservations must be made in advance. Register online today at www.siouxlandchamber.com. For further information or reservations, call the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce at (712) 255-7903 or register online at http://business.siouxlandchamber.com/Events/details/navigating-the-social-media-world.

Pledges to Walk--Darker the Green=More Pledges

So join us and find a walk or thank those businesses who have participated.

We invite everyone to join us by taking the pledge to walk . As a part of the Community Enhancement Committee we will be starting at City Hall at noon and taking the first steps toward a heathier Siouxland and a healtheir Iowa. See you at noon!

-Beth Trejo, Director of Investor Relations.

Woodbury County Call Center
Woodbury County has opened a Flood Call Center for Sioux City and Woodbury County residents.  This call center can provide answers you may have related to flooding in Woodbury County.  The call center is open and staffed from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., 7 days a week.  The call center phone number is (712) 224-5262.

For residential Availability please contact:
Kelly Burge, Executive Officer, Greater Sioux City Board of REALTORS, 1001  6th Street, Sioux City, IA  51101, PH: 712-255-8810, FAX: 712-255-6427

Dry Storage
Lew Weinberg has dry storage available at the Davidson Building.  Businesses should contact Lew at 490-7365
Dakota PC Warehouse has space available in our SSC warehouse 815 F, Street, trailer parking in SSC, and also short-term office space.   People can contact Jim Stanek at  712-204-5815.
1^st Restoration has 50,000sq ft of storage space avail on the 2nd floor of Gateway. Must call 224-6333 to get on the list and set appointment for “move-in.”

Southern Hills Mall. Any businesses that are in need of storage or that may need an alternative location while displaced, please contact Esther at 712-274-0109
Box Update – NOTE TIME CHANGES
General Public use: 3,000 boxes from Mercy Medical Center to North Sioux City Gateway lot at 2:30 this afternoon.
General Public use: 7,000 boxes to South Sioux Mercy Medical Clinic at 2:30 this afternoon.

Business Equipment
Dakota PC Warehouse’s “All Business Rentals” division has short term rentals on PCs, TVs, and some networking equipment.  Contact Pat Foley at 712-253-6310

Scams
We have been advised to be particularly wary of scams during times of crisis – please be careful and do not compromise your due diligence

Thank you,

Siouxland Chamber Staff

Chris said the most interesting part of working at the Chamber is not only the diverse issues and projects that they work on but also the unique businesses we interface with on a daily basis.

When asked “what is the funniest thing that has happened to you here at the Chamber?” Chris took no time to answer.   He remembers when he first started working here his boss insisted that he apologize to a local business executive he had allegedly treated rudely.  When he went to apologize and introduce himself to the executive, the executive apologized to HIM, saying it was a case of mistaken identity!

Chris would like you all to know that this organization is absolutely committed to doing all that we can to help the broader Siouxland region grow, prosper, and thrive.

These are in no order
1. Having two profiles: Personal and Professional
2. Creating a profile for your business instead of a page
3. Turning off wall posts for your business
4. Not updating your page
5. Uploading compromising pictures of you and your friends
6. Status updates (every 5 minutes, song lyrics, play by play, life story, private information)
7. Don’t “like” everything
8. Grammar and spelling errors
9. Don’t Facebook when breaking an appointment or “ill”
10. Stay logged on public computers
11. Limit the use of emoticons
12. Send or accept friend requests to people you don’t know
13. TYPE IN ALL CAPS or Every Word You Write Capitalized
14. Don’t complain about your job, boss, or coworkers
15. Don’t add every application

Living Vicariously, TechRadar, and HubSpot are just a few of the sites online that have helpful lists of what not to do on Facebook.

Katie Brannen
Social Media Intern

Barbara said the most interesting part of working at the Chamber is the variety of issues and initiatives that she gets involved in.  It is not the same thing everyday.

Like Nicole , Barbara’s funny memory involves Debi.  On a trip to Pierre, South Dakota Debi was on a mission to find a scone.  She asked everyone where she could find one, but the only thing that turned up was doughnut!

If you have any creative ideas for air service development or your business is having legislative issues feel free to contact Barbara at the Chamber!

Katie Brannnen
Social Media Intern

When asked about the most interesting part of working at the Chamber Teresa said it was the people she gets to work with on various Chamber committees and the Dakota Valley Business Council.

Teresa provides specific demographic research for Chamber members and  community economic development specialists to promote business in the Siouxland community. Teresa enjoys creating Chamber and TSI marketing campaigns and handling the web presence.

Katie Brannen
Social Media Intern

For example if you are trying to find out more about a Personal Page vs a Business Page try searching “Facebook personal page vs business page April 2011″  you will get the most recent articles.  If you search with out ‘April 2011′ the most recent article you will get is from February 2011.

Another way to search for Facebook help is on Facebo0k.  You can search questions that other users have asked or you can search a set list of common help topics.  On your homepage click “Account” in the upper right hand corner.  On the drop down menu select “Help Center”.  Once on the Help Center page you can select almost anything you need help with, or if you don’t see what you need help with you can type in what you need help with.

If you still need help or can’t seem to find what you are looking for you can call or email Beth and her interns at the Chamber, they are more then willing to help you!

Katie Brannen
Social Media Intern