DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Alejandra Lopez
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-wide
SUBJECT:
Briefing on upcoming Economic Development Department public engagement activities?.
SUMMARY:
This item provides an update on public engagement processes, including the plan to collect feedback for the SBEDA Significant Business Presence policy?, the Workforce Ballot Initiative?, the COVID-19 Workforce Recovery Plan, and updates to the Tax Abatement Guidelines.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Economic Development Department (EDD) is planning various public engagement processes regarding the following programs and policies below:
SBEDA Significant Business Presence Policy
The City's Small Business Economic Development Advocacy (SBEDA) program promotes the use of local small, minority and women-owned business enterprises on City contracts. To qualify for SBEDA incentives under the SBEDA ordinance, businesses must be certified by the South Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (SCTRCA) and must be headquartered, or have significant business presence in the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area (SAMSA). Currently, business not headquartered in the SAMSA are eligible for the incentives if they maintain a branch location for one year and at least twenty percent of total employees are based in that branch. As of August 2020, less than one percent of businesses (seventy vendors) listed in the City's Central Vendor Registry are headquartered outside of the SAMSA that qualify for SBEDA incentives under the significant business presence policy.
Workforce Recovery
City Council approved the COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency Plan on June 4, 2020. The strategies associated with this Plan are categorized into four pillars: Workforce Development, Housing Security, Small Business Support, and Digital Inclusion. Through the Workforce Development Pillar, up to 10,000 eligible City residents will receive skills and career assessments followed by sho...
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