Our downtown needs small businesses to thrive.  Our hard-working small businesses can only be successful with community support.  Over the past few years, these businesses have been hindered by increased taxes and rising supply costs, which have caused several businesses to go under. This has left our town with underutilized buildings and extended real estate vacancies.  One glaring example is where the town currently imposes bans on certain types of plastics on all businesses in Reading. While I understand the positive intent, this ban is having a significant impact on our small businesses’ bottom lines.  These businesses sometimes run on slim profit margins as is; add to this costly plastic alternative and supply chain issues, and the impact is consequential.  Better communication and dialog on this issue could have helped here.  While this ban was being proposed, most small businesses were in the dark. Many businesses reported hearing about it from non-official sources, like the Chamber of Commerce. Is it any wonder that the businesses are closing and/or moving elsewhere?