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<br />Worlcgroup on Business Climate <br />Overall Strategy: By June 2010, public-private partnerships will have formed to <br />create a stronger business climate and Orange County will have a clear set of <br />guidelines, standards, and procedures designed to sustain and nurture existing <br />businesses, encourage entrepreneurship, and attract targeted employers. <br />Wlry the strategy is critical: Orange County is widely viewed as being unfriendly to <br />business. Regardless of whether the perception reflects reality, it creates a difficult <br />environment for business retention and expansion, for business recruitment, and for <br />entrepreneurship, By improving the business climate, Orange County can demonstrate its <br />support for the private sector creation of good jobs and increased conunercial tax base. <br />This investment will, in turn, result in increased tax revenues to support quality education <br />and enhanced government services. <br />Key Sub-);lements <br />A) Develop clear criteria defining desirable businesses for the next five years, <br />including agricultural businesses <br />This activil)~ has been a major' focus during the year. As drown in Attachment A, <br />the workgr°oup has identified potential criteria and suggested the levels of <br />in:por~tmrce to be attached to each, This n:atrtx will be utilized to test support, for° <br />the criteria as we meet with business groups and elected officials. <br />Dzu•irrg 2005-06, the workgroup nzet with the Executive Vice Pr°esident of the <br />Research Ti•imrgle Regional Pm tnw-ship and the Director of Community and <br />Economic Development for UNC-Chapel Hill to identify those RTRP clusters with <br />potential in Orange County and to inventory existing assets in the Cornrty. <br />Discussion: participm:ts have included stafffi•orn both Chambers of Commerce, <br />the Director of the Small Business and Technology Developrrrent Center, <br />Can•rboro's Director of Economic acrd Conumarity Development, UNC's <br />Chancellor for Economic Developrrrent, mzd the Dir°ector° of the Chapel Hill <br />Downtown Parbzerslrip. The results of these contacts are included in the list of <br />targeted businesses in the n:aU•ix, <br />A major goal, for the zcpcominrg year will be to take the pr°eliminary findings mtd <br />the rncah•ix to various boards, conmrissions, and civic groups to begin the pr°ocess <br />of developing corzserrsus. In this effort, workgroup member°s will work closely <br />with the allied organizations listed above, as well as municipal groups, such as <br />the Hillsborough Grrowtlr Plan Task Force, the Cmrbor•o Economic Development <br />plmzning-study, and Chapel Hill Town Coznzcil's Oversight Conur:itiee on <br />Economic Development. <br />B) Identify barriers <br />Dtn•ing the initial planning year (2004-OS), the Business Climate YVon lcgroup <br />hosted, four sepm ate focus groups one for° bonze-based 6usirress owners; one for <br />