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a <br />Workgroup on Business Climate <br />Overall Strategy: By June 2009, public - private partnerships will have formed to create a <br />stronger business climate and Orange County will have a clear set of guidelines, standards, <br />and procedures designed to sustain and nurture existing businesses, encourage <br />entrepreneurship, and attract targeted employers <br />Why the strategy is critical: Orange County is widely viewed as being unfriendly to business. <br />Regardless of whether the perception reflects reality, it creates a difficult environment for <br />business retention and expansion, for business recruitment, and for entrepreneurship. By <br />improving the business climate, Orange County can demonstrate its support for the private sector <br />creation of good j obs and increased commercial tax base. This investment will, in turn, result in <br />increased tax revenues to support quality education and enhanced government services. <br />Key Sub - Elements and Action Steps: <br />A. Develop clear criteria defining desirable businesses for the next five years, including <br />agricultural businesses <br />1) Utilize community values as expressed in previous planning efforts (and <br />Economic Summit) as basis for promulgating criteria for desirable businesses <br />Potential criteria include': <br />➢ Builds upon or supports existing assets in the county <br />➢ Creates high quality jobs for Orange County residents (jobs pay well, <br />offer career advancement potential, offer good benefits) <br />➢ Increases commercial tax revenues (property and/or sales tax) <br />➢ Creates minimal impact on the environment <br />➢ Possesses viable business plan <br />➢ Preference for local ownership <br />➢ Commitment to remain in county <br />➢ Preference for headquarters <br />➢ Growth potential, particularly jobs <br />➢ Preference for business in one of ten industry clusters identified in <br />Research Triangle Regional Partnership's competitiveness plan <br />(Staying op Top)2. <br />2) Engage in open discussion with elected boards, business groups, and other <br />community organizations to develop criteria <br />• Identify and justify RTRP clusters with potential in Orange County <br />• Inventory existing assets in county <br />3) Develop a consensus for these criteria <br />1 The following are potential businesses /sectors: life sciences /medical technology effort; capture and retain <br />commercialization of technology out of UNQ agricultural biotechnology focus; tourism, conferences and sports <br />tournament, including cross marketing opportunities between urban and rural attraction; agricultural entrepreneurship <br />(with associated loan program ?) <br />2 The areas are pharmaceuticals; biological agents and infectious diseases; agricultural biotechnology; pervasive <br />computing; advanced medical care; analytical instrumentation, nanoscale technologies; informatics; vehicle component <br />parts; logistics and distribution. <br />