The Small Business Ambassador Program will assign a single contact at city hall to shepherd business owners through the permit and development review process.

"We hope this will both reduce the cost of development and the time it takes for getting permits for our small businesses," Gonzales said in a press release. "We've heard our businesses say very clearly that time is money, and we intend to help them save both."

The city's building department will manage the ambassador program, and when city operations move into the new city hall, the process will be easier, as the headquarters will have a one-stop small business assistance and customer service center.

Next month Gonzales will also name members of a Counter to Council task force that will conduct a study over the summer of how to streamline the permit process even further. In October the city council will consider the task force recommendations.

The city's convoluted permit process has been a thorn in the side of business owners hoping to keep shop in San Jose. Last year, for example, Vijay Patel spent $35,000 while trying to obtain permits to open a Quiznos at Almaden Plaza on Blossom Hill Road.

District 10 Councilwoman Nancy Pyle had planned to release her own permit process improvement suggestions in upcoming months. She said she's pleased about the commitment to cutting red tape for small business.

"Small business is the economic engine for San Jose," Pyle said.

According to statistics compiled by the California Employment Development Department, 82.3 percent of local businesses have 20 or fewer employees, while only 3.5 percent have 100 or more.

"The city council has a vested interest to ensure that our processes and permits encourage as many businesses as possible to settle in our city," Pyle said.

In April Pyle told the Almaden Resident about her own 10-point permit process improvement plan. She also proposed assigning a single point of contact. Other suggestions included stripping out any duplicate steps, giving business owners a checkpoint list for each stage of development, and expanding the amount of online information available on city websites for project requirements. The Counter to Council task force will hear those recommendations.

"My proposed 10-point plan will then have a terrific forum through mayor-endorsed and directed solutions," Pyle said.

The San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce also applauds the new ambassador program and is interested in partnering with the city on the project, said Angela Reid, vice president of membership for the Chamber. "It's great that [city hall] recognizes that the permit process can be cumbersome and intimidating for small businesses."

The Chamber has been creating new programs of its own to give small businesses a helping hand. A membership survey conducted by the Chamber found that 75 percent of the 400 respondents said marketing their small business was their biggest challenge. As a result, the Chamber staged a business expo May 10 that focused on teaching small businesses how to market in a tight economy, Reid said. Another new program takes advantage of a partnership with the University of Phoenix to offer online marketing classes.