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17 <br /> 1 $134 million. This lost potential, when contrasted with the County's widening <br /> 2 residential/commercial tax gap has not surprisingly raised the issue of economic development <br /> 3 to the forefront. Orange County is home to numerous CEOs, COOs, CFOs, and other <br /> 4 executives. It is time to become home to their businesses also. The question the Economic <br /> 5 Development Commission has spent the past year addressing is: what steps should Orange <br /> 6 County take to reverse the county's revenue and jobs slide and engage with investors and <br /> 7 decision-makers who are clearly willing and able to invest in the region. Having spent a year of <br /> 8 fact-finding and exploring needs expressed by the decision-makers themselves, the EDC has <br /> 9 identified a critical path towards increasing Orange County's options for attracting and retaining <br /> 10 healthy, growing businesses. <br /> 11 <br /> 12 Estimated Financial Impact: Fiscal Years 2010/2011 —2015/2016 <br /> 13 $2.3 million plus developing the UDO $ plus NC Department of Commerce Certified Site status <br /> 14 for Buckhorn EDD + 100% water, wastewater, and other infrastructure to Eno EDD <br /> 15 <br /> 16 Budget Request: Fiscal Year 2010/2011 <br /> 17 $525,000 in new spending - $500,000 for cap/recap of tools, $25,000 to continue investment in <br /> 18 research. <br /> 19 <br /> 20 Context <br /> 21 - Investing in Revenue-Producing Assets Allows County to invest in programs valued by <br /> 22 its citizens <br /> 23 o Economic Development is the only tool available to local governments that are <br /> 24 capable of increasing revenues, jobs, and wealth <br /> 25 - Invest in County Revenue-Producing Assets First <br /> 26 o Revenue-Producing capital <br /> 27 o Ongoing revenue stream <br /> 28 - Focus on Low-Hanging Fruit First <br /> 29 o Local Entrepreneurs and Established Businesses <br /> 30 o Businesses of Current and Incoming Residents <br /> 31 o Established Industry Clusters <br /> 32 - Eliminate Silos and Barriers <br /> 33 o Open up to regional best practices <br /> 34 o Actives responsiveness to investor needs <br /> 35 <br /> 36 Our recommendations follow some tried and true maxims which are good for households, <br /> 37 businesses, and government, alike: Failing to plan is planning to fail; you can't help others <br /> 38 unless your own well-being is taken care of first; it takes resources to grow resources; educate <br /> 39 yourself by interacting with experts— reinventing the wheel is never effective, and base <br /> 40 decisions on current data, best practices. The proposed investment in the places, tools, and <br /> 41 knowledge proposed tonight and found in our recommendations and white paper is how the <br /> 42 EDC has expressed these basic principles in relation to economic development interests. <br /> 43 <br /> 44 Economic Development <br /> 45 Critical Path Elements <br /> 46 Places —Tools— Knowledge <br /> 47 <br /> 48 Like the mobius triangle, the three elements-Places, Tools, and Knowledge, inextreicably <br /> 49 comprise the critical path necessary for economic development to take root and prosper. The <br /> 50 more prolonged and shallower the implementation, the longer it will be before Orange County <br />