DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Alejandra Lopez
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-wide
SUBJECT: A briefing on a new cost-benefit analysis tool for economic development projects.
SUMMARY:
A briefing by the Economic Development Department (EDD) on the new cost-benefit analysis tool that will be used to calculate the City's fiscal impact when pursuing business relocation, retention, or expansion projects that are inclusive of City incentives, such as abatements, rebates, grants, and fee waivers.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
EDD currently uses a cost-benefit analysis tool to calculate the City's fiscal impact when pursuing business relocation, retention, or expansion projects that are inclusive of City incentives, such as abatements, rebates, grants, and fee waivers. In addition, the current cost-benefit analysis tool can estimate when the City could expect to break even on the project considering the duration of the incentive agreement. Per the updated 2019 - 2020 Tax Abatement Guidelines, the cost-benefit analysis tool also calculates the company's estimated incentive value which dictates the potential investment percentage into internships, education, workforce support, or partnership options that focus on small business development, sustainability, employee wellness, and commuter benefits.
In November 2018, EDD began exploring improvements to the cost-benefit analysis tool with the goals of increasing automation, reducing manual entry, and including additional factors in the calculation. As a result, EDD conducted an informal bidding process which resulted in the selection of Impact DashBoard due to its ability to provide a highly customizable profile for San Antonio and its enhanced customer support capabilities. Impact DashBoard is used by various communities around Texas including New Braunfels, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, along with Port San Antonio.
ISSUE:
The current cost-benefit analysis tool used by staff is a 22-tab Micros...
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