Agenda - 06-03-2008-5b5e - Laserfiche WebLink

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Workgroup on Business Climate Overall Strategy: By June 2010, public-private partnerships will have formed to create a stronger business climate and Orange County will have a clear set of guidelines, standards, and procedures designed to sustain and nurture existing businesses, encourage entrepreneurship, and attract targeted employers. Why the strategy is critical: Orange County is widely viewed as being unfriendly to business. Regardless of whether the perception reflects reality, it creates a difficult environment for business retention and expansion, for business recruitment, and for entrepreneurship. By improving the business climate, Orange County can demonstrate its support for the private sector creation of good jobs and increased commercial tax base. This investment will, in turn, result in increased tax revenues to support quality education and enhanced government services. Key Sub-Elements A) Develop clear criteria defining desirable businesses for the next fve years, including agricultural businesses This activity has been a major focus during the year. As shown in Attachment A, the workgroup has identified potential criteria and suggested the levels of importance to be attached to each. This matrix will be utilized to test support for the criteria as we meet with business groups and elected officials. During 2005-06, the workgroup met with the Executive Vice President of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership and the Director of Community and Economic Development for UNC-Chapel Hill to ident~ those RTRP clusters with potential in Orange County and to inventory existing assets in the County. Discussion participants have included stafffi~om both Chambers of Commerce, the Director of the Small Business and Technology Development Center, Carrboro's Director of Economic and Community Development, UNC's Chancello~° for Economic Development, and the Director. of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership. The results of these contacts are included in the list of targeted businesses in the matrix. . A major goal for the upcoming year will be to take the preliminary findings and the matrix to various boards, commissions, and civic groups to begin the process of developing consensus. In this effort, warkgroup members will work closely with the allied organizations listed above, as well as municipal groups, such as the Hillsborough Growth Plan Task Force, the Carrboro Economic Development planning study, and Chapel Hill Town Council's Oversight Committee on Economic Development. B) Identify barriers During the initial planning year (2004-OS), the Business Climate Workgraup hosted four separate focus groups: one for home-based business owners; one far