More than 90 percent of our members at the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce are small businesses.
When the California Public Utility Commission announced it was adding a new area code that would affect North County, the chamber wrote a letter and testified at a public hearing. The chamber expressed its serious concern over the commission's proposed decision to split the 760 area code.
Early this year, the commission approved the split of 760 to 442, affecting most of coastal North County. This decision goes against history by splitting the 760 area code away from its largest populated area, North County.
Since this is a matter of grave concern to the chamber, we started working with Assemblyman Martin Garrick and other affected chambers to see what we can do to overturn this decision.
As a business owner, you know that a change in area codes is burdensome and inconvenient for anyone with a phone, but the burdens are particularly significant for companies that rely on the telephone to conduct their businesses. Companies expend significant financial resources to promote their businesses contact information.
One estimate that we received showed that most businesses will spend an average of $2,500 to produce new marketing materials, including letterhead and business cards. At a minimum, that is an astonishing $4.25 million for Carlsbad Chamber members alone. The minimum for all business licenses in the city of Carlsbad would be $12.5 million.
With the help of Garrick, and in cooperation with other chambers, we are appealing the commission to reverse its decision and adopt another area code relief alternative that does not result in North County residents and businesses having to change their telephone numbers.
When the California Public Utility Commission announced it was adding a new area code that would affect North County, the chamber wrote a letter and testified at a public hearing. The chamber expressed its serious concern over the commission's proposed decision to split the 760 area code.
Early this year, the commission approved the split of 760 to 442, affecting most of coastal North County. This decision goes against history by splitting the 760 area code away from its largest populated area, North County.
Since this is a matter of grave concern to the chamber, we started working with Assemblyman Martin Garrick and other affected chambers to see what we can do to overturn this decision.
As a business owner, you know that a change in area codes is burdensome and inconvenient for anyone with a phone, but the burdens are particularly significant for companies that rely on the telephone to conduct their businesses. Companies expend significant financial resources to promote their businesses contact information.
One estimate that we received showed that most businesses will spend an average of $2,500 to produce new marketing materials, including letterhead and business cards. At a minimum, that is an astonishing $4.25 million for Carlsbad Chamber members alone. The minimum for all business licenses in the city of Carlsbad would be $12.5 million.
With the help of Garrick, and in cooperation with other chambers, we are appealing the commission to reverse its decision and adopt another area code relief alternative that does not result in North County residents and businesses having to change their telephone numbers.