Rising inflation is taking its toll on business owners like Ankit Patel, who has owned the Bombay Spices Grocery Store in Sudbury for the last four months.
Patel, like many others, said the next city council needs to look at lowering taxes on the business community, to reflect the higher cost.
"Everything has increased, like gas, so the freight is higher," he said.
"The margin will be the same, so the cost will be higher, the selling price will be higher."
On Tuesday, the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce released its priorities for the business community heading into the October municipal election.
The top priorities are leadership, municipal red tape and attracting labour and talent.
Anthony Davis, a business owner and chamber chair, said city hall has not served the business community very well.
"The miscommunications, the lack of decision-making, the lack of speed at city hall is prevalent," Davis said.
"Our members are being affected by it and our businesses are struggling because of it."
The chamber said excessive regulations and unnecessary bureaucracy is a major issue -- and has been for more than a dozen years.
Chamber CEO Debbi Nicholson said she's hoping the next council can finally cut red tape.
"Certainly the number of years we've been identifying this, (we expected that) the yardstick would have moved a little bit further than it has," Nicholson said.
The chamber will hold a debate for mayoral candidates Oct. 6 at College Boreal.
For more on the priority platform, click here.
