Update of current Business Retention and Expansion efforts (Presentation by Samuel Helm, Economic Development Coordinator, and Andrew Killingsworth, Associate Director of Business Retention and Expansion)

Staff Report & Agenda Item Details

In recent months, Samuel and Andrew have been working on building relationships with the San Angelo business community, specifically targeting legacy businesses in our community that are NAICS code eligible. This has consisted of several phone calls, networking events, lender meetings, and more. So far, we have successfully scheduled 8 site visits specifically for business retention and expansion. These site visits and relationship building are creating a pipeline of business support and projects that have already led to local businesses reaching out to discuss project opportunities. Furthermore, Andrew and I are spearheading a "BRE group" where business support players in San Angelo meet monthly to exchange leads and make sure San Angelo businesses have access to all of the programs and support they need to flourish in our community. We are continuing to build out our BREP marketing campaign and have high hopes for its contribution to our efforts in the community. We are excited about the momentum BREP is building in San Angelo and look forward to future projects that communicate to San Angelo COSADC's engagement in our communities' local economy.

This motion is scored as EXPANDS_GOVERNMENT (Impact Weight: 2.0/10). Under the Bastiat Liberty Watchdog Index, measures that increase tax rates or fee schedules, issue new debt or Certificates of Obligation, expand regulatory/zoning restrictions on private land use, or authorize unbudgeted spending expansions reduce an official's Freedom Score when voted YES (and reward dissenting NO votes).