03-15-1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

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In response to her request for additional topics, Councilmember Lutz asked that the "17th Street Corridor" be added to the list. Economic Development Strategy Nelson introduced John O'Sullivan and John Austin from Municipal Resource Consultants and Jack Tomasik from Economic Strategies Group who presented their initial findings from an economic analysis of City revenues known as GRIP (Geo-based Revenue Information Program). O'Sullivan reviewed current economic conditions and conventional short-term strategies for responding to revenue shortfalls. He outlined the scope of the GRIP study and described the methodology used to measure business revenue generated compared to "physical presence" or service demand. O'Sullivan compared Santa Ana's revenue sources to other cities', noting a real decline in City revenues in terms of 1983 dollars, and discussed the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities for the City's major revenue sources. He concluded by providing the Council with a copy of Assembly Bill 3505, a proposal to allocate sales tax on a per capita as opposed to site basis which would be detrimental to Santa Aha. Tomasik presented an overview of the findings from a "Target Industry Analysis" conducted by his firm. He commented on Santa Ana's business climate vis-a-vis other cities identified as competing with Santa Aha in attracting new businesses. He recommended several industries he felt Santa Aha should target for business attraction, such as publishing and construction suppliers, and outlined a strategic approach for marketing Santa Ana. O'Sullivan enumerated the services Municipal Resource Consultants would provide to the City including technical support, advocacy, completion of the GRIP analysis, and economic strategy development, and concluded that economic development was not a program with a specific completion date, but a continuing process. Federal Enterprise Community Application Housing Programs Analyst Scott Kutner provided an overview of the City's effort to apply for designation as an Enterprise Community under a new federal program. He outlined the economic benefits to be derived from such a designation including preferential consideration for future federal funding. Kutner reported a team composed of members from several City departments was preparing the application, and indicated the team was soliciting extensive community input through focus groups in such areas as housing, social services, education, and other key areas to draft the comprehensive community strategy due for submission by May 1994. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 71 MARCH 15, 1994