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1 import-replacement businesses.What the city government of Pequot Lakes can do to is to create a framework for 2 growth that provides the widest variety of local entrepreneurs the greatest chance for success. 3 To do this,the City must focus on the following three principles: 4 1. Improve businesses competitiveness by reducing the tax burden. 5 2. Encourage business development by streamlining the regulatory process. 6 3. Improve business opportunity by growing the market of customers wanting good and services from the 7 businesses of Pequot Lakes. 8 Reduce the Tax Burden 9 The city tax rate is a function of the size of the tax base and the amount of government spending. Over the long 10 term, the City controls the amount of spending, but can only influence the size of the tax base. While sometimes 11 the City needs to make strategic investments to grow the tax base, those investments need to have a clear return 12 if the public spending is designed to reduce the overall tax rate. 13 Since the City has an implied obligation to maintain existing infrastructure systems,the way for the City of Pequot 14 Lakes to control the tax burden over the long-term is to make better use of those infrastructure investments.This 15 means encouraging new investment in areas where infrastructure already exists. 16 Streamline the Regulatory Process 17 If Pequot Lakes is going to remain competitive, it needs to be easy to do business in town. In the past, some of the 18 processes and regulations inherited or developed locally created unnecessary obstacles for businesses and did not 19 provide enough value to justify their application. That has started to change with recent initiatives, and further 20 unwinding is necessary. 21 It is important, however, to maintain a common set of standards in order to protect existing investments.The City 22 should not adopt the standards of neighboring communities in a "race to the bottom" approach to deregulation. 23 Pequot is a unique community with an approach to economic growth and development that differs significantly 24 from the area communities of Brainerd, Baxter, Nisswa, Breezy Point and Jenkins 5. The City needs to have high 25 standards that fit with the community and then focus on how those standards are applied and what can be done 26 to streamline the approval process. 27 Grow the Market 28 Businesses in Pequot Lakes sell goods and services to people around the world. However, there are a significant 29 number of transactions that take place locally, serving people that live locally. Growing the market of potential 30 consumers involves different strategies for local, regional and distant markets. 5 The "DNA" of Pequot Lakes — the framework upon which the city is built — is different than any of the other communities in the immediate area. Baxter and Breezy Point are exclusively auto-oriented communities, lacking the downtown created around the historic railroad stop as in Pequot Lakes. While Nisswa and Brainerd have this traditional pattern, it differs significantly from Pequot Lakes. Brainerd's development is on a different scale and has a different character due to transportation choices made within its traditional neighborhoods. Nisswa has maintained the historic character of its downtown, but it is not set up to connect that area to the surrounding neighborhoods.As such, development in Pequot Lakes is more diverse and less seasonal than that in Nisswa. 151 Pa - e