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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: February 17, 2003 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~_ <br />SUBJECT: 2002-2003 Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) <br />Contract <br />DEPARTMENT: Economic Development PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Orange County Success Stories <br />SBTDC Contract <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Dianne Reid, ext 2326 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough <br />Chapel Hill <br />Durham <br />Mebane <br />732-8181 <br />968-4501 <br />688-7331 <br />336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: The purpose of this contract is to continue support of small business development <br />services for Orange County citizens, as stated in the Economic Development Strategic Plan <br />adopted May 14, 1996, and reaffirmed by the Economic Development Commission in its <br />strategic planning session in August 2000. <br />BACKGROUND: A primary goal of the Economic Development Commission since its inception <br />has been providing assistance to small businesses to enable them to grow and prosper in <br />Orange County. The Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) provides <br />significant services to local businesses and has operated under contract with Orange County <br />since 1990. The contract provides for $10,000 to be paid in two installments of $5,000 each. <br />The first is to be paid on or about March 15, 2003 and the second on or about May 15, 2003. <br />During calendar year 2002, the SBTDC served 184 Orange County clients for a total of 1,510.5 <br />hours of counseling time: <br />16 were considered pre-venture clients (in the process of starting their business) <br />representing 46 hours of counseling. <br />155 were existing businesses representing 919 hours of counseling <br />13 were High Growth/High Impact businesses representing 545.5 hours of counseling <br />(The 2002 Orange County figures represent a significant increase over 2001, with a 70 percent <br />increase in the number of Orange County clients - 184 versus 108 - and a 30 percent increase <br />in counseling time - 1,510.5 hours versus 1,165 hours.) <br />During 2002, the SBTDC helped six local businesses secure $1,170,000 in financing, enabling <br />these businesses to create 9 part-time and 4 full-time jobs and to retain 5 full-time jobs. Annual <br />economic impact assessments undertaken at the state level (performed by an independent <br />assessment firm) show that SBTDC clients significantly outperform the average for all North <br />