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Businesses Services Plan <br />Santa Ana's businesses services are done in a team approach with the City's Economic <br />Development staff alongside WORK Center personnel. We have found that this model to be <br />efficient expedites communication and facilitates delivery of services to the business <br />community. Staff is cross trained on city incentives and various economic development <br />programs in the community as well as trained on WIA programs such as general recruitment, <br />On- the -Job training (OJT), customized training for new hires as well as incumbent workers, and <br />layoff aversion /rapid response services. <br />Facilitation of business development, especially small business. <br />Training, counseling and support for small business and entrepreneurial development, <br />utilizing SBA, SBDC, CDFI (access to capital), community college, and other resources. <br />For more established enterprises, services also include general support and higher level <br />specific expertise by industry experts and consultants. Most of these services are free of <br />charge to the user. <br />The small business connection is especially important and the Santa Ana WIB is well <br />positioned to expand its activities here. Santa Ana is the location of a District office <br />of SBA. It houses numerous programs in both free and low cost counseling and <br />education and information, plus lending. Santa Ana's WIB Director meets regularly <br />with the District Manager to discuss issues affecting the business community. Two <br />other institutions amplify its resources in the area: the Small Business Development <br />Center(SBDC) for Orange and Riverside Counties is located in the city and the WIB <br />sits on their advisory board, and the three state CDC /CDFI, which offers direct <br />lending, loan packaging and referral, and counseling, is located in Anaheim a few <br />miles away. The Vice -Chair of the WIB is from the local CDC /CDFI office and has <br />been very accessible to meeting with local business owners and newly formed <br />businesses. <br />Workshops and other forms of aid to business in understanding and streamlining of <br />permitting, taxation (and tax credits), regulation, and other processes for inducing <br />businesses to come to and stay in Santa Ana. Of special importance was training on <br />how to make the highest and best use of tax credits from the Santa Ana Enterprise <br />Zone. These credits for employing local residents in an expanded area around the <br />Zone, can be substantial for a business and can extend back up to four years from <br />the time of application. <br />• Workshops and forums for managing existing and future workers and for facilitating <br />compliance with OSHA, ADA, labor laws, environmental, and other regulations. <br />Information services and marketing activities to attract and retain new businesses <br />for Santa Ana, especially in the emerging industry sectors. <br />• Recruitment services for business to aid in finding appropriate employees. In <br />addition, the Santa Ana Workforce Center offsets half the salaries for on- the -job- <br />training activities, provides no cost ETP training and apprenticeship opportunities. <br />30 <br />19F -36 <br />