I have been struggling to make sense of the arguments laid out by the opposition to the paid family and medical leave campaign, which claims businesses won’t be able to afford the reasonable paid leave program created by Proposition 118.

As an owner of an engineering and manufacturing company, I am analytical and thorough in my approach to policies that affect my business. I take my time to understand and research the proposals, and Proposition 118 was no different. What I’ve found has been far from a doomsday scenario. On the contrary, the policy contained in Proposition 118 is affordable, needed, and would benefit my business, both in the long and short term.

In my industry I compete with large, multinational corporations for highly skilled assemblers and engineers. I’ve found that strong benefit packages that include things like paid family and medical leave are often what helps people decide which job to choose. As a small-business owner, I don’t have the same economic resources or economies of scale to offer the types of benefit packages larger companies can, meaning it’s much harder for me to attract new talent and retain the hard-working employees who make my business run in the first place.

Still, like any diligent business owner, I plan for the eventuality that one day an employee might need to take time off. I have good operational procedures and manuals, I keep additional inventory, and I provide short-term disability insurance, even though it is expensive, hard to navigate, and not comprehensive. I would much rather have access to a public program that I know will be comparable to other businesses with predictable costs and guaranteed coverage for all my employees. For my current monthly cost of about $100, this policy offers a much stronger benefit to my employees: a 10% longer benefit period; 10%-25% higher benefit payout, and no two-week delay before the benefit kicks in. Most importantly, it includes coverage for family leave in addition to medical and disability.

That price tag, when compared to the costs of hiring and training a new employee, is a bargain. What’s more, the smallest businesses in Colorado like mine, with fewer than 10 employees, would be exempt from paying this premium altogether while my workers would still have access to the benefits. The opposition wants to make it seem like the costs for this are extravagant, but they neglect to mention the cost savings you reap when you decrease turnover and increase worker productivity, two specific outcomes of paid leave policies.

With only three employees on my payroll, every single one of them is absolutely essential to my company’s success. Just last year, I saw firsthand how far offering your employees extra economic security through paid leave can go, when my manufacturing employee had a baby and took short-term disability leave to be with her newborn. It was much less disruptive for my business to have my other employees and a temp worker cover her responsibilities while she was on leave than it would have been to hire and train someone new full time. I could afford to hire a temporary worker because my employee’s salary was paid for by my insurance policy, just as it would be with Prop 118. But while short-term disability only covers certain types of leave like maternity, Proposition 118 would have much broader uses, protecting my workers from other unexpected emergencies as well.

Lastly, I know this policy is a good investment. The policy in Proposition 118 is based on recommendations from policy experts, business owners, economists and actuaries included in a report from a Task Force that studied the best way to implement paid leave in Colorado. For an affordable price, Proposition 118 would give me and my employees certainty that we can plan for our futures.

We all know that life happens. Whether it’s a family member getting sick or an employee wanting to take time to bond with their newborn, nobody wants to have to choose between their loved ones and their income. Small businesses like mine want to offer the same kind of protection and benefits much larger companies can. I strongly support Proposition 118 because I know it will level the playing field for small businesses like mine without breaking the bank.

That’s why when I see people cry wolf about the cost burden to businesses, I’m left scratching my head. After analyzing the policy in Proposition 118, I’m confident it will give me the ability to give my employees economic security, while saving my business money and helping me compete with larger companies for the talented workers I need to succeed. For the good of Colorado businesses, let’s pass paid leave this November by voting “yes” on Proposition 118.

Katharine Knarreborg is the owner of Merlin Instrument Company, an engineering and manufacturing business with three employees in Centennial.