The Committee heard from three panels of speakers covering the program background and overview, academic research on the efficacy of the program, and recommendations for the future of the program. (Click here for the agenda).

I am working on getting the video of the three hour hearing to post; in the mean time, however, I just found out that no video was taken of the hearing, luckily I was able to capture an audio recording. Here is the audio for your iPod:

From the Tribune Weekly Chronicle:

The Calexico City Council will hear recommendations about the possible new Imperial County Enterprise Zone.

The Calexico County Enterprise Zone and the Imperial Valley Enterprise Zone in Brawley have discussed the possibility of merging into one zone that would include all seven cities and the unincorporated areas of the Imperial County. If approved, the Imperial Valley EDC could end up being the manager of the County Enterprise Zone.

The CCEZ is composed of the City of Calexico, Imperial County, and Imperial Irrigation District as designated by the State of California in 2006. The agencies contribute approximately $60,000 each towards the annual administrative cost. CCEZ Manager Daniel Fitzgerald told the council that John Nunn, State of California Enterprise Zone Manager, encouraged Imperial County to apply as one zone as this would free up one zone in the State that could be awarded to another jurisdiction. Fitzgerald said if he is given direction by the council to bring information for the deliberation of the Council to accept this merger or not. Deadline to apply for this new designation is August 18, 2010.

Councilman John Moreno said to be opposed to have one designation since El Centro has Imperial Valley Mall and other businesses that create tax revenue for the City. Moreno said Calexico could lose its competitiveness in bringing new industry if there is a valley wide enterprise zone. Moreno made a motion to deny this countywide EZ with Mayor Ouzan seconding the motion. Councilman Daniel Romero said that he had reservations about this countywide designation but after meeting with Daniel Fitzgerald he thinks that a regional effort will be good for the valley. He said that there will be a lot of impact and asked to have all the information presented to the Council before taking a final decision

Councilman Moreno agreed with Romero to have all the information be given to the Council and then vote on the resolution. Moreno said he doesn’t support the Countywide Zoning but agreed to give direction to the CCEZ Manager do research about the pros and cons of this initiative.

CONTACTS: Ernesto Lucero, City of West Sacramento
916-617-4539

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CITY OF WEST SACRAMENTO RECEIVES
ENTERPRISE ZONE DESIGNATION

West Sacramento, Calif., March 2, 2010 – The City of West Sacramento today announced that it has received final designation as an Enterprise Zone by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

The West Sacramento Enterprise Zone extends throughout the majority of the City and includes portions of the Clarksburg area. The zone has been granted designation until January 2023.

“This is an important step in our continuing efforts to strengthen and diversify our City’s economy,” said Christopher Cabaldon, West Sacramento Mayor. “The tax benefits and other financial incentives that this program provides are an important tool for encouraging the type of business and job growth we want to see here.”

The California Enterprise Zone program provides special state and local incentives to encourage business investment and promote job creation in economically distressed communities. There are currently 42 Enterprise Zones in California.

Businesses located within a California Enterprise Zone are eligible for substantial State tax and financial benefits, including a hiring tax credit, sales and use tax credit, increased expense deductions, and preference for state contracts.

The City expects a substantial number of businesses to take advantage of the Enterprise Zone benefits. Businesses can receive more information about the benefits of locating in West Sacramento online at www.cityofwestsacramento.org.

California communities receive these designations from the State of California through a competitive process. While Zones have similar goals for improving the economic vitality of their communities, each is unique in the local incentives and special assistance they provide to the businesses located within the zone boundaries.

By Eilene Zimmerman

Grappling with a $20 billion deficit isn’t easy. The California Legislature has put just about everything on the chopping block, including Medi-Cal, college and university funding, public education and prisons. So it’s not a huge surprise that the latest suggestion from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office is to cut the California Enterprise Zone program.

An Enterprise Zone is a defined geographic area that is economically disadvantaged, and businesses that locate there qualify for a variety of financial breaks, like tax credits on the wages paid to new employees, a tax credit for sales taxes on purchases of manufacturing equipment, exemption from certain city fees and more.

San Diego’s first Enterprise Zone was established in 1986. It eventually became two different Enterprise Zones—the Metropolitan Enterprise Zone and the South Bay Enterprise Zone. In 2006, the two were merged and enlarged to become the San Diego Regional Enterprise Zone, expanding beyond the city limits to include parts of Chula Vista and National City.

What that’s meant to the region is some 25,000 jobs in economically depressed communities and more than $1 billion in investment, says San Diego city councilmember Todd Gloria.

“In my district, it’s been helpful in attracting and retaining businesses in communities like North Park and City Heights,” says Gloria. “The tax benefits are significant.”
Cutting funding of the Enterprise Zone program wouldn’t mean redrawing boundaries to make the zone smaller but would instead lessen the incentives that get new businesses to locate within these communities in the first place. Gloria says one of the biggest benefits of new business is that they employ locals who live in the neighborhood.

“We want to continue to have those jobs during a period like this, when there is really high unemployment,” he says.

There are benefits even beyond jobs. Putting new businesses in an economically disadvantaged or blighted community helps restore that community, allowing for redevelopment and renewal.

“If they cut incentives for businesses in Enterprise Zones, what is left for people in these communities who want to be working, supporting their families?” asks Gloria. “What happens to urban renewal?”

Ruben Barrales, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, understands that state legislators are between a rock and a hard place. But Barrales also finds it ironic that in the worst recession in modern history—where unemployment in the state exceeds 12 percent—the government is considering cutting a program that helps create jobs in areas where economic stagnation hits hardest.

“These are businesses that often provide jobs for blue collar workers in San Diego, and we are losing a lot of those jobs generally anyway,” says Barrales. “Anything we can do during this recession to help small businesses and manufacturers stay in business and hire people is a benefit to the region’s economy.”

Barrales hasn’t given up hope. Does he expect Enterprise Zone cuts when a budget fix is finally agreed upon?

“That’s the $1 billion question,” he says. “My expectation is that the process will drag out until the summer. We need a budget fix that the Assembly and Senate can agree on, and one that the governor will also sign. I hope they won’t cut the program; it would be taking a short-sighted view of the future.”
Instead, says Barrales, legislators should take the long view: that the tax incentives that enable businesses to employ people now is better for California’s long-term prospects than any short-term fix.

About the author: Eilene Zimmerman is a journalist based in San Diego who writes about a variety of topics, including business, social and political issues and family life. Her work has been published in national magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, FORTUNE Small Business, CNNMoney.com, CBS MoneyWatch.com, Wired, Harper’s, Salon.com, Slate.com, Psychology Today and others. She blogs at www.trueslant.com.

Assemblyman Perez Shares thoughts on the economic recovery.

We’re all familiar with the saying that ‘government doesn’t create jobs, businesses create jobs,’ and it’s quite true. The fact of the matter is that we in the Legislature have a limited set of tools at our disposal to help businesses create and retain jobs. And with limited state resources, we need to be creative. One thing we can do is to help businesses access credit. When last year’s budget froze the state program that provides small businesses with gap financing, I jointly authored a bill to get the program reinstated. I’ve also just introduced AB 2437 for a revolving loan fund that provides a gap financing mechanism for manufacturers that create and retain jobs in California.

Another thing we must do is build infrastructure. These are critical investments in our state’s future that also provide much needed jobs. A bill I authored last fall helps California leverage $3.2 billion in federal recovery bond authority. A third task at hand is workforce development. Making sure businesses have an educated and skilled workforce is critical. There are millions of federal dollars available to our counties to help assess and retrain displaced workers – we need to align those dollars to the fields and industries that are looking for workers so businesses don’t go looking elsewhere when they could be hiring Californians. I have authored AB 2628 to do just that. A fourth area is common sense regulatory reforms so that businesses aren’t burdened by red tape. AB 978 calls for the development of an online, one-stop application for businesses to apply for state licenses.

Finally, we cannot overlook the state’s Enterprise Zone program. I spent a lot of time last year facilitating a hearing process to examine many aspects of this program, and I appreciate the efforts of stakeholders to participate in the dialogue. Last month, I introduced AB 2476 to serve as a vehicle for statutory reforms to the program. As the bill currently reads, it makes changes to the eligibility criteria for Targeted Employment Areas. I see this measure as a starting point and look forward to ongoing and productive discussions as we refine the bill language and make an important program even better.