Bellaire Mayor, Businesses Urge To Shop Local

BELLAIRE, TX — The Bellaire Business Association recently kicked off its "Shop Local" campaign, urging residents to look no further than their own city limits for their holiday shopping needs. Along with the convenience of staying nearby and avoiding the hassle and stress of fighting the crowds at the mall, shopping local creates tangible benefits for Bellaire.

"It’s like giving yourself a gift, and it’s one that keeps on giving," Bellaire Mayor Andrew Friedberg said in his weekly blog. "That we’re often described as a "City of Homes" doesn’t mean our retail sector is unimportant."

A combination of a robust commercial property tax base along with the sales taxes local businesses generate directly offset Bellaire's heavy reliance on residential taxpayers to fund municipal services and projects.

"When commerce is lagging, we feel it," Friedberg said. "A recent decline in sales tax collections led to an almost 8 percent decrease in budgeted sales tax revenues for fiscal year 2018, requiring us to make up the difference elsewhere in the General Fund. Also, many aren’t aware that METRO rebates back to us a portion of the 1 percent sales tax it collects from Bellaire businesses (the State gets 6.25% and the City the remaining 1%), providing needed funding for city streets and mobility projects."

Over the past decade Bellaire has gone to great lengths to encourage the redevelopment of its commercial corridors, appropriate to the residential character of our community. It was a major focus of the Comprehensive Plan adopted in 2009 and updated in 2015.

"Our commercial zoning changes are starting to pay off, with a number of high-profile projects currently and soon to be underway," Friedberg wrote. "Supporting both new and existing businesses will help in attracting others."

The BBA is a nonprofit organization of business owners and interested residents whose mission is to promote Bellaire-area businesses, provide professional networking opportunities and foster local economic development. It also supports the community through frequent event sponsorships and fundraisers.

To learn more about the BBA and its membership, check out its new website at bellairebiz.org.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images