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THE TIME IS 2:06 PM ON THIS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9TH, 2021.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL OUR CITY COUNCIL B SESSION TO ORDER.
MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU READ THE ROLE COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO? I'M SORRY.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT.
[1. 21-4179 Briefing on recommended updates to the City’s economic development incentive guidelines. [Alejandra Lopez; Assistant City Manager and Interim Director, Economic Development]]
WE HAVE ONE ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY.UH, SO LET ME TURN IT OVER TO CITY MANAGER ERIC WALSH.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
TODAY'S B SESSION WILL PROVIDE A OVERVIEW AND BRIEFING ON RECOMMENDATIONS TO UPDATE THE CITY'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, INCENTIVE GUIDELINES TO INCLUDE OUR CHAPTER THREE 12 TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS, AS WELL AS OUR, UH, CHAPTER THREE 80 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.
UM, TO PROVIDE SOME BACKGROUND, UH, THE CITY'S REQUIRED TO UPDATE AND APPROVE THE CHAPTER THREE 12 TAX ABATEMENT POLICIES EVERY TWO YEARS, UH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE STATUTE.
AND WHILE, UH, THE COUNCIL IS NOT REQUIRED TO APPROVE THE CHAPTER THREE 80 GRANTS, HISTORICALLY, UH, WE, UH, LOOK TO ENSURE ALIGNMENT WITH THOSE THREE 12, UH, GUIDELINES.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, THE CITY'S TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES WERE SET TO EXPIRE ON DECEMBER 30TH, 2020, UH, DECEMBER 31ST, 2020.
AND STAFF HAD PLANNED TO UNDERTAKE A COMPLETE REVIEW OF THE GUIDELINES.
HOWEVER, DUE TO COVID, UH, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT'S PRIORITIES QUICKLY SHIFTED AS ALL OF YOU'RE AWARE, LAST YEAR TO SMALL BUSINESS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
UH, AS A RESULT, UH, THE COUNCIL ADOPTED, UH, TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES IN SEPTEMBER, IN DECEMBER OF 2020 WITH CHANGES TO THE INCLUSIVE GROWTH AREA AND INCLUSION OF A WORKFORCE COMPONENT, UH, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT STAFF WOULD COMPLETE THE FULL REVIEW OF THE GUIDELINES IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR AND BRING REVISED GUIDELINES BACK TO THE COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.
SINCE JANUARY, THE STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING WITH CONSULTANTS TO ENGAGE ON, UH, THAT IN-DEPTH PROCESS, REVIEW AND RECEIVE FEEDBACK FROM OUR DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS, LOCAL BUSINESSES AND WORKFORCE ADVOCACY, UH, ORGANIZATIONS.
SO ON JUNE 1ST, THE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE PRESENTED TO THE, UM, E W D C, THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, AND WE'RE HERE TODAY TO PRESENT THE RECOMMENDED CHANGES AND OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM THE COUNCIL.
TODAY FOLLOWING TODAY'S BRIEFING, UH, WE WILL, UH, TAKE THE INPUT FROM THE COUNCIL AND RETURN, UH, LATER AT THE END OF THE SUMMER TO, UH, PLACE IT ON AN A SESSION AGENDA, UH, FOR YOUR APPROVAL AND YOUR CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL.
SO WITH THAT, UH, WE DO HAVE, UM, UH, JOHN KINS WITH T X P AND, UH, JUST TATE WHO WILL BE PROVIDING TODAY'S BRIEFING.
SO LET ME HAND IT OVER TO THEM.
EVERY, EVERY TIME I DO, EVERY TIME I, I STEP TO A PODIUM, THERE'S NEW TECHNOLOGY AND IT GETS BETTER EVERY SINGLE TIME.
SO I'M JOHN HOCK, AS ERIC SAID, I'M, UH, AN ECONOMIST.
MY FIRM IS ACTUALLY BASED OUT OF AUSTIN, BUT, UH, WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT.
I BELIEVE I HAVE BEEN WORKING OFF AND ON WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO SINCE 1991.
SO I HAVE BEEN AT THIS A LONG, LONG TIME, AND I'M, I FEEL PLEASED AND PRIVILEGED TO BE ABLE TO HELP YOU ALL THINK THROUGH HOW YOU ARE GOING TO PERHAPS TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT YOUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE POLICIES, MAYBE MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS ALONG THE WAY, AND HOPEFULLY MAKE THEM MORE EFFICIENT, MORE EFFECTIVE, AND BETTER ALIGNED WITH THE NEEDS OF THE MODERN ECONOMY.
SO I'M GONNA START THE PRESENTATION.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT ON THE PROCESS WE'VE GONE THROUGH TO ASSEMBLE INFORMATION THAT INFORMS THE CONVERSATION WE'RE GONNA HAVE TODAY.
I'LL THEN TURN IT OVER TO JUSTINA AND SHE'LL WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE SPECIFICS.
AND THEN WHEN THAT'S ALL SAID AND DONE, WE'LL PROBABLY GET TO THE MEAT OF THE MATTER, WHICH IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU ALL TO ASK QUESTIONS, PROBE US A LITTLE BIT, SORT OF FIGURE OUT WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM, WHAT WE'RE SAYING, AND HOPEFULLY PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION THAT'S USEFUL TO YOU ALL AS YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT MAKING POLICY.
SO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING, AND I I'M BLESSED TO WORK ON THIS IN THIS AREA, LITERALLY ALL OVER THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND OFTENTIMES WHEN THE COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS ARE COMPETING WITH OTHER STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, RELOCATIONS, I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE RIGHT NOW.
I'VE TOLD THIS STORY ABOUT A BILLION DOLLAR, UH, BATTERY MANUFACTURING PLANT, ADVANCED BATTERY MANUFACTURING PLANT THAT IS COMPETING A SITE IN THE EASTERN SIDE OF HOUSTON WITH A SITE IN THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA SITE IN THE JACKSONVILLE AREA.
AND WHAT WE FIND IS THAT AT THE STATE LEVEL, STATE OF TEXAS IS LARGELY UNINVOLVED
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COMPARED TO OTHER STATES.WE HAVE MOVED AWAY FROM THINGS LIKE THE DEAL CLOSING FUND, THAT'S CALLED THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE FUND.
THERE IS RELATIVELY LITTLE COMPARED TO MOST OTHER STATES WE COMPETE WITH IN THE WAY OF A STATE TAX BURDEN ON LARGE POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS.
LOOKING AT THE STATE OF TEXAS, RELATIVELY SPEAKING, THERE IS A GREATER TAX BURDEN PLACED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
WE HAVE RELATIVELY HIGH PROPERTY TAXES.
WE HAVE RELATIVELY HIGH SALES TAXES.
AND SO WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING IS THE STATE IS RELATIVELY UNINVOLVED.
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE MORE INVOLVED BECAUSE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE WHERE THE RUBBER TENDS TO MEET THE ROAD IN TERMS OF TAX BURDEN AND BY EXTENSION, POTENTIAL TAX INCENTIVES.
HAVING SAID THAT, TAX INCENTIVES ARE THE TAIL, NOT THE DOG.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, A TAX INCENTIVE WILL NOT MAKE UP FOR A FAILURE OF SOME FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT THAT A COMPANY NEEDS TO JUSTIFY LOCATING SOMEWHERE.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF WORKFORCE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF PHYSICAL SITE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF ACCESS TO MARKETS, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS, PERHAPS WITH EITHER EXISTING SUPPLIERS OR THE CAPACITY FOR SUPPLIERS TO COME IN, AGAIN, TALKING ABOUT THESE BIG RELOCATIONS, YOU'RE NOT GONNA MAKE THE SHORT LIST NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOUR TAX INCENTIVES ARE.
HAVING SAID THAT, OFTENTIMES THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PLACES THAT DO MAKE THE SHORT LIST, AND THAT'S WHEN TAX INCENTIVES BEGIN TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
THEY TEND TO MAKE MORE OF A DIFFERENCE ON A TIEBREAKER THAN THEY DO IN TERMS OF DECIDING FUNDAMENTALLY WHERE SOMEBODY'S GONNA GO.
IN THE CASE I REFERENCED EARLIER, ALL THREE OF THOSE POTENTIAL LOCATIONS, THE PHOENIX AREA, THE JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA AREA, AND THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA OVER ON THE EAST SIDE, WHILE THEY HAVE RELATIVE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES BETWEEN THEM, THEY ALL WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE TO THE COMPANY I'M WORKING WITH.
AND SO AGAIN, NOW THE INCENTIVE STRUCTURE BEGINS TO MAKE MORE AND MORE DIFFERENCE.
IN THE OLD DAYS, IT WAS ALL ABOUT, OKAY, WHERE'S THE SAWMILL GONNA GO? IT WAS ABOUT MANUFACTURING.
IT WAS ABOUT, TO SOME DEGREE ACCESS TO MATERIALS.
IT WAS TO SOME DEGREE ABOUT SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS.
BUT WHAT REALLY MATTERS THESE DAYS IS PEOPLE, PEOPLE MORE AND MORE AND MORE ARE THE FUNDAMENTAL BASIS OF ADDING VALUE FOR MOST COMPANIES.
NOW, WHETHER THAT'S ACTUALLY DOING THE PHYSICAL WORK OR WHETHER IT'S EMBEDDED TO SOME DEGREE IN THE PROCESSES THEY'VE PUT IN PLACE, AND THE TECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE HAS PROBABLY NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAN IT IS RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT'S ESPECIALLY TRUE WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT THE LIST OF INDUSTRIES THAT TEND TO SHOW UP ON MOST TARGET INDUSTRY LISTS.
WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT EVEN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, YOU START TALKING ABOUT STUFF RELATED TO INFORMATION, STUFF RELATED TO BIOSCIENCES, STUFF RELATED TO MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY.
ALL OF IT REQUIRES WORKFORCE CAPACITY.
AND SO, AS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT TAX INCENTIVES, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT, AGAIN, THIS IS ONE ELEMENT OF THE EQUATION.
WORKFORCE IS HUGE AND GETTING BIGGER.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT IS REALLY INTERESTED, AND IT'S REALLY INTERESTING AND IT'S RELATED TO THE PEOPLE QUESTION, IS THAT WE ARE SEEING MORE AND MORE THE CAPACITY OF PEOPLE TO WORK WHEREVER THEY WANT TO.
REMOTE WORK IS SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE WITH US.
IT IS NOT GONNA BE THE SIMPLE IDEA THAT, OH MY GOD, I NEVER NEED TO GO TO THE OFFICE, EVER.
BUT IT DOES, IT DOES A RISING FACTOR IN THE EQUATION.
WE HAD AN INTERVIEW WITH A TECHNOLOGY COMPANY AT ONE POINT IN THIS PROCESS WHO TOLD US THEY WERE HEADQUARTERED IN SAN ANTONIO.
THEY HAD 36 EMPLOYEES, 28 OF THEM DIDN'T LIVE IN TEXAS.
WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? 'CAUSE PLACE MATTERS.
IT HAS TO BE ABOUT, DO I WANT TO BUILD MY LIFE, YOU KNOW, RAISE MY FAMILY, LIVE IN A COMMUNITY IF I CAN WORK ANYWHERE.
AND SO THAT IS AGAIN, AN ISSUE.
THAT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT WE THINK SAN ANTONIO HAS THE POTENTIAL TO COMPETE PRETTY EFFECTIVELY ON, IN PART BECAUSE IT'S A HIGH VALUE PROPOSITION IN COMPARISON TO THE BAY AREA, IN COMPARISON TO EAST COAST.
HELL IN COMPARISON UP TO AUSTIN, HALFWAY UP THE ROAD, YOU CAN GET A HELL OF A LOT MORE HOUSE IN SAN ANTONIO FOR THE SAME DOLLAR THAN YOU CAN EVEN 75 MILES ON UP THE ROAD.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S JUST SOME GENERAL CONTEXT.
WHAT WE BASICALLY SAY HERE IS THAT WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT INCENTIVES, YOU SHOULD BALANCE THESE THREE FACTORS.
YOU NEED TO BALANCE THE, TO THE NEED TO COMPETE FOR WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
YOU NEED TO BALANCE THE CAPACITY TO RETAIN, AND YOU NEED TO BALANCE THE CAPACITY TO REINVEST.
YOU OBVIOUSLY NEED TO CREATE A NET POSITIVE ECONOMIC AND FISCAL, UH, TRANSACTION FOR THE CITY.
ONE OF THE TIME THINGS THAT I RECOMMEND TO COMMUNITIES ALL THE TIME IS DO A PRETTY PRETTY CLEAR COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS ON WHAT A DIFF A COMPANY MIGHT BRING TO YOUR EQUATION.
IN OTHER WORDS, IF THEY'RE GONNA BRING X AND THEY'RE GONNA COST
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Y, SUBTRACT Y FROM THE X, AND THEN EVALUATE HOW MUCH OF THE DELTA IN BETWEEN YOU WANT TO CONSIDER OFFERING THEM SO THAT YOU'RE NOT UPSIDE DOWN, SO THAT YOU'RE NOT IN THE PROCESS OF GIVING AWAY MORE THAN YOU'RE GETTING BACK.AND IN THE PROCESS INADVERTENTLY CREATING A NEGATIVE RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
AND THEN THE, THE LAST FACTOR, I THINK IT ALL NEEDS TO BALANCE IN THE EQUATION.
AND THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT'S HAPPENING MORE AND MORE AND MORE AS WE'VE GOTTA THINK ABOUT THE BROADER COMMUNITY CONTEXT THAT ISN'T JUST ABOUT RECRUITING THE BALL-BEARING FACTORY.
IT'S ABOUT CREATING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN A BROADER COMMUNITY SENSE.
THE TERM THAT PEOPLE OFTEN USE IS A MORE EQUITABLE SENSE AND ALSO SOMETHING THAT'S MORE SUSTAINABLE.
IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT WE DON'T WANT IS WE DON'T WANT TO OFFER SOMEBODY A GIANT INCENTIVE, HAVE 'EM COME TO TOWN THE MINUTE THE INCENTIVE RUNS OUT, THEY TAKE OFF.
FILM INDUSTRY IN NORTH CAROLINA SUFFERED FROM THAT BIG TIME.
THEY OVER INCENTIVIZED PEOPLE.
THEY CAME AND TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE INCENTIVES.
WHEN THE INCENTIVES RAN OUT, THEY LEFT TOWN.
SO THE IDEA IS TO STIMULATE PEOPLE TO LOCATE IN SAN ANTONIO, EXPAND IN SAN ANTONIO, STAY IN SAN ANTONIO, AND DO THAT ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO MOVE THEM ALONG AS OPPOSED TO, WE'RE BRIBING YOU TO COME AND WE HOPE YOU WILL.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE WISH YOU WOULD STAY.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY STAY ALONG THE WAY.
HOW DOES THAT ALL COME TOGETHER? IT SAYS WE, IT COMES TOGETHER IN DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK.
AND I, I WILL TALK ABOUT FRAMEWORKS A LOT AND WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE DETAILS OF THAT WHEN JUSTINA GETS UP HERE.
WE HAVE CREATED A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING COMPANIES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT HAVE A LIST OF CRITERIA IN THEM ON WHICH YOU CAN APPLY POINTS TO PEOPLE AND SCORE THINGS.
THE IMPORTANT PART I WOULD SAY TO YOU IS NOT THE DETAILS, ALTHOUGH THE DETAILS ARE IMPORTANT, IT'S THE FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATION.
'CAUSE GUESS WHAT? THINGS CHANGE OVER TIME AND YOU SHOULD CHANGE TO SOME DEGREE THE THINGS THAT YOU EVALUATE OR SHOULD MAYBE SHOULD CHANGE.
THE RELATIVE WEIGHTS YOU PUT ON THINGS IN BOTH RESPONSE TO COMMUNITY STRENGTHS, COMMUNITY WEAKNESSES, COMMUNITY PRIORITIES, AND EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT.
BUT THIS FRAMEWORK IS DESIGNED TO HOPEFULLY BE SUSTAINABLE FOR YOU AS A MECHANISM GOING FORWARD.
YOU MAKE ADJUSTMENTS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK, BUT THE FRAMEWORK ITSELF CAN HOPEFULLY STAY IN PLACE.
THIS IS SOME DEGREE OR REITERATION OF SOME OF WHAT I'VE SAID.
IT'S A GLOBAL COMPETITION THESE DAYS.
YES, SOMETIMES YOU'RE COMPETING WITH OTHER DOMESTIC SITES.
SOMETIMES YOU'RE COMPETING ON A GLOBAL BASIS.
GUESS WHAT? KOREA WILL ALWAYS OUT INCENTIVIZE US, ALWAYS.
UH, AND SO IF THAT'S THE CASE, WELL MAYBE THAT'S THE END OF THE DAY, BUT YOU GOTTA BE COMPETITIVE.
I SAY IT AGAIN, PLACE AND EQUITY ARE IMPORTANT.
THE OTHER THING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH THIS FRAMEWORK IS CLARITY.
CLARITY TO THE POTENTIAL APPLICANT.
HOW ARE WE GONNA GRADE YOUR PAPER? HOW ARE WE GONNA EVALUATE YOU? CLARITY TO YOU AS THE DECISION MAKERS? LET ME MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE RECOMMENDING WHAT YOU'RE RECOMMENDING.
SHOW ME THE, THE BACKUP EVIDENCE THAT SUGGESTS THAT AND CLARITY TO THE COMMUNITY SO THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN UNDERSTAND WE ARE OFFERING THIS COMPANY THIS INCENTIVE, AND HERE'S WHY.
HERE ARE THE THINGS THEY'RE BRINGING TO THE TABLE.
AND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT HOW MANY JOBS THEY BRING, IT'S ABOUT A WIDE RANGE OF FACTORS.
WE CAN MAKE THAT CLEAR TO PEOPLE.
THIS IS WHY WE FEEL LIKE IT FITS WITH OUR PRIORITIES.
AS A CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE STARTED TO TALK ABOUT IS THAT I AM TO SOME DEGREE MORE INTERESTED IN THE QUALITY OF A COMPANY THAN I AM IN THE INDUSTRY THEY ARE IN, PER SE.
YES, OF COURSE, WE ARE ALL LOOKING AT MODERN ECONOMY INDUSTRIES.
WE ARE ALL PAYING ATTENTION TO THINGS LIKE BIOSCIENCES AND THAT'S CLEARLY A STRENGTH.
BUT OFTENTIMES I WOULD RATHER HAVE THE BEST COMPANY IN AN INDUSTRY THAT'S FACING SOME CHALLENGES THAN THE WORST COMPANY IN A GROWING INDUSTRY.
AND SO WE HAVE ADJUSTED SOME OF THE MECHANISMS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK TO BETTER REFLECT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A GREAT COMPANY TO BE WORTHY OF AN INCENTIVE, EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT IN ONE OF THE PRIORITIZED INDUSTRIES.
AND THEN AGAIN, I'M GONNA REITERATE THIS, BUT IT REALLY IS IMPORTANT.
INCENTIVES ARE JUST A PIECE OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PUZZLE.
EVERY SINGLE THING YOU DO AS A COUNCIL AFFECTS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND I URGE YOU, AS YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY, AS YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT PARKS AND RECREATION, AS YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE, AS YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT HOW TO SPEND THE MONEY THAT'S COMING UNDER THE A R R A ACT, THINK ABOUT THAT AT LEAST IN PART WITH YOUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HAT ON, AS WELL AS THE OTHER MANY HATS THAT YOU ALL WEAR.
SO AGAIN, HOW DOES IT ALL COME TOGETHER? IT'S THIS MORE FLEXIBLE APPROACH.
UH, AND AGAIN, REALLY AND TRULY, THERE ARE SORT OF DIFFERENT THINGS WE ARE DOING HERE.
ONE SPECIFIC THING IS MODIFYING THE CITY'S WAGE REQUIREMENT, AND JUSTINA WILL TALK ABOUT THAT.
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THE BASIC PROCESS IS FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY BRING TO THE TABLE, FIGURE OUT WHAT IT'S GONNA POTENTIALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GONNA COST THE CITY TO SERVICE THAT WORK WITH THE DELTA, AND THEN DEVELOP AN EVALUATION PROCESS TO DECIDE IF AND IF SO, HOW MUCH OF THAT DELTA OVER TIME YOU'RE WILLING TO GIVE BACK TO THEM.LEMME SAY ONE MORE THING ABOUT THAT BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO JUSTINA.
THERE ARE OFTENTIMES CRITICISM OF INCENTIVES.
PEOPLE SAY ASK JUST CORPORATE WELFARE.
AND TO SOME DEGREE THAT'S RIGHT.
AND I'LL TELL YOU WHEN IT'S RIGHT.
IF I KNOW FOR A FACT SOMEBODY IS COMING TO TOWN, WHY DO I NEED TO GIVE 'EM AN INCENTIVE? IF YOU KNOW FOR A FACT I'M COMING IN THE DOOR AND I'M JUST DYING TO BUY THAT CAR, WHY ARE YOU GONNA CUT THE PRICE? IT'S CRAZY.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT ISN'T OFTEN THE CASE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S INCUMBENT UPON US AS PEOPLE WORKING FOR A COMMUNITY IS TO REALLY ASCERTAIN HOW COMPETITIVE A SITUATION IS.
THIS, WE'VE GOTTA DO SOME HOMEWORK, WE'VE GOTTA DO SOME INVESTIGATION.
WE'VE GOTTA UNDERSTAND DO THEY HAVE CREDIBLE COMPETING OFFERS OUT THERE, AND IS THERE A REAL CHANCE IF WE DON'T PUT A COMPETITIVE OFFER ON THE TABLE, THEY WON'T COME.
BECAUSE IF THEY'RE COMING ANYWAY, YOU SHOULD GET A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE BENEFIT IF YOU'VE DONE THE PROCESS RIGHT? IF THEY DON'T COME, YOU GET NOTHING.
IF YOU'VE DONE THAT PROCESS TO EVALUATE THAT DELTA SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING, ASSUMING YOU HAVEN'T MADE A MISTAKE AND INADVERTENTLY INCURRED TOO MANY COSTS, WHICH I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SORT OF WORK AROUND.
SO WITH THAT, HAVING SAID ALL THAT, THAT DIATRIBE, I WILL STOP TALKING AND LET JUSTINA WALK YOU THROUGH THE DETAILS AND THEN OBVIOUSLY WE'LL BOTH BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL MAY HAVE.
I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, AND THIS PART OF THE PRESENTATION IS GONNA FOCUS ON THE DETAILS OF WHAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING.
SO THIS IS BEING GUIDED BY THE WORK THAT JOHN HAS DONE, AS WELL AS PRACTITIONER FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE RECEIVED AND AS WELL AS STAKEHOLDER INPUT OVER THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS.
SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS A OVERVIEW OF AN ECONOMIC INCENTIVE GUIDELINE.
SO THESE WOULD, THIS WOULD INCLUDE THREE CATEGORIES, OUR THREE 12 TAX ABATEMENTS, OUR THREE 80, UH, OUR CHAPTER THREE 80 AGREEMENTS AND SMALL BUSINESSES.
THAT WOULD BE UNDER THE CHAPTER THREE 80 AGREEMENTS.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, IT PROVIDES A COMPARISON OF OUR CURRENT REQUIREMENTS AS WELL AS THOSE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE WOULD BE RECOMMENDING FOR A THREE 12 TAX ABATEMENT OR A CHAPTER THREE 80.
SO THE SECOND COLUMN, UH, INCLUDES THE REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY, UH, THAT ARE CURRENTLY REQUIRED OF COMPANIES INTERESTED IN AN, IN AN INCENTIVE.
SO THAT INCLUDES THE NUMBER OF JOBS, CAPITAL INVESTMENT WAGES, UH, HEALTHCARE BENEFITS, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND OTHER WITH THIS REVISION, UH, WE ARE RECOMMENDING DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS FOR A, A CHAPTER THREE 12 AND A CHAPTER THREE 80.
SO IN ORDER TO RECEIVE A CHAPTER THREE 12 TAX ABATEMENT, A COMPANY WOULD NEED TO INVEST $200 MILLION AND CREATE 50 JOBS.
THIS REQUIREMENT WILL MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT TO BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR THREE 12.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, IN, IN OUR THREE 12 TAX ABATEMENTS, WE ABATE, WE CAN ABATE UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR PROPERTY TAXES, SO BOTH THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE SIDE, AS WELL AS THE DEBT.
SO THIS REQUIREMENT WILL MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A TAX ABATEMENT.
WE WOULD RECOMMEND, THOUGH THAT UNDER, UNDER OUR CHAPTER THREE EIGHTIES, WE WOULD KEEP THE REQUIREMENTS THE SAME AT 50 JOBS OR $10 MILLION INVESTMENT ON OUR NEXT, UH, CATEGORY OF WAGES.
WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THE WAGE FLOOR INCREASE FROM OUR ALL, ALL LIVING WAGE OF 1274 TO $15 PER HOUR.
SO ALL EMPLOYEES WOULD NEED TO MAKE $15 AN HOUR TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN INCENTIVE.
ADDITIONALLY, WE WOULD RECOMMEND KEEPING THE ALL INDUSTRY WAGE, HOWEVER, WE WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THE PERCENT INCREASE TO 75%.
SO ALL POSITIONS, OR 70 PER 75% OF THOSE POSITIONS THAT ARE BEING CREATED BY THE COMPANY WOULD NEED TO MEET THIS ALL INDUSTRY WAGE.
OUR HEALTHCARE BENEFITS, WE RECOMMEND THEY STAY THE SAME.
BUT REGARDING WORKFORCE, IN ORDER TO RECEIVE A THREE 12 OR A THREE 80 AGREEMENT, WE WOULD RECOMMEND THAT A COMPANY MUST BE REQUIRED TO HIRE 15% OF THEIR EMPLOYEES FROM OUR READY TO WORK PROGRAM.
NOW, IN SOME CASES, READY TO WORK MAY NOT MEET THE NEEDS OF A COMPANY BECAUSE THEY'RE LOOKING FROM, UM, PEOPLE WITH MORE ADVANCED DEGREES.
SO IN THIS CASE, THEY WOULD NEED TO DEVELOP INTERNSHIPS, INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE READY TO WORK PARTICIPANTS TO PROVIDE EXPERIENCE NEEDED FOR FUTURE JOBS UNDER EQUAL PAY.
WE WOULD RE, RE OR WE WOULD RECOMMEND REQUIRING THAT COMPANIES MUST HAVE IN PLACE GENDER PAY
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PARITY PRACTICES IN THEIR WORKPLACE.AND FINALLY, IT'S RECOMMENDED THAT THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT ARE HIRED FROM SAN ANTONIO BE INCLUDED IN THE VALUATION CRITERIA, WHICH I'LL DISCUSS IN LATER SLIDES.
SO AS PART OF THESE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AND WHAT JOHN ALLUDED TO IS WE'RE LOOKING AT CREATING AN EVALUATION CRITERIA.
SO RATHER THAN MEETING CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR TERMS AND PERCENT, THE COMPANY WOULD BE EVALUATED BASED UPON OUTLINE CRITERIA, AND THEY WOULD RECEIVE A SCORE.
SO THESE CATEGORIES WOULD INCLUDE TARGETED AREAS, ECONOMIC BENEFIT, CHARACTER OF JOBS, AND LABOR FORCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE IMPACT.
SO LET ME START WITH THE LENGTH OF THE AGREEMENT FOR BOTH OF OUR CH CHAPTER THREE 12 AND THREE EIGHTIES.
SO CURRENTLY OUR GUIDELINES ARE FOCUSED ON AN INCLUSIVE GROWTH AREA.
SO WITH THIS RECOMMENDATION, WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO, UH, MOVE TO A FOCUS ON THE EQUITY MATRIX AS WELL AS THE REGIONAL CENTER.
SO AS NOTED ON THE TABLE ON THE SLIDE, THE LENGTH OF THE AGREEMENTS FOR BOTH THESE, FOR BOTH THREE 12 AND THREE EIGHTIES WOULD BE DETERMINED BY THE EQUITY MATRIX SCORE OF A PARTICULAR CENSUS TRACK.
AND IF THEY'RE LOCATED IN A REGIONAL CENTER.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF A COMPANY WAS LOCATING IN A CENSUS TRACK THAT HAD AN EQUITY MATRIX SCORE OF FOUR, THEY COULD GET A TERM OF UP TO FIVE YEARS.
IF THEY'RE LOCATED IN AN AREA WITH AN EQUITY MATRIX SCORE OF SEVEN, THEY COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR UP TO 10 YEARS UNDER A CHAPTER THREE 12 OR UP TO 15 YEARS UNDER A, UH, A THREE 80 AGREEMENT.
ADDITIONALLY, IF THEY'RE LOCATED IN A REGIONAL CENTER, THEY COULD GET AN ADDITIONAL TWO YEARS.
HOWEVER, I DO WANT TO NOTE, UM, BASED ON STATE STATUTE, A TAX ABATEMENT, UH, THREE 12 TAX ABATEMENT CAN ONLY BE 10 YEARS OR UP TO 10 YEARS.
SO LOOKING AT DETERMINING THE PERCENT OF ABATEMENT OR REBATE A COMPANY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR, WE WOULD RECOMMEND SHIFTING OUR FOCUS FROM QUALIFYING PRIORITIES TO THIS EVALUATION CRITERIA.
IT'S RECOMMENDED THAT THE EVALUATION CRITERIA ARE DEVELOPED FOR EACH OF THE THREE CATEGORIES, AND EACH COMPANY WOULD BE EVALUATED BASED UPON THEIR RESPONSES TO THIS LIST OF EVALUATION, UH, CRITERIA THAT WILL BE DISCUSSING IN THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES.
SO BASED ON THEIR RESPONSE, A COMPANY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE, THEY WOULD RECEIVE A, UM, A CERTAIN NUMBER OF POINTS, AND BASED UPON THOSE POINTS, THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF A TAX ABATEMENT OR A TAX REBATE.
SO THE HIGHER THE SCORE, THE HIGHER THE PERCENT THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR.
SO LET ME BEGIN WITH OUR FIRST CATEGORY OF ECONOMIC BENEFIT.
SO THE COMPANY WOULD BE EVALUATED BASED UPON THEIR RESPONSE TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS, IF THE COMPANY IS IN A TARGETED INDUSTRY FOR SAN ANTONIO, IF THEY'RE RELOCATING OR LOCATING THEIR HEADQUARTERS IN SAN ANTONIO.
ADDITIONALLY, DOES THE COMPANY HAVE, UH, THE POTENTIAL TO SEE NEW CLUSTERS OR BRING MORE FIRMS TO SAN ANTONIO? AND DO THEY CREATE SIGNIFICANT CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR LOCAL FIRMS, INCLUDING SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES? AND FINALLY, DOES THE NEW COMPANY AND THE NEW PROJECT INVOLVE NEW PRODUCTION LINES OR SERVICES? AND IN OUR SECOND CATEGORY, CHARACTER OF JOBS AND LABOR FORCE, WE WOULD BE EVALUATING THE COMPANY BASED UPON WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE HIRING 50% OF THEIR NEW HIRES FROM WITHIN SAN ANTONIO.
ADDITIONALLY, WE'D BE LOOKING AT WAGES, AND WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT IF THEY ARE PAYING 50% OF THEIR FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, IF THEY EARN AT LEAST $56,000, WHICH IS ABOUT THE BEXAR COUNTY AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE.
CURRENTLY, WE WOULD ALSO BE LOOKING AT IF THEY'RE PROVIDING TRAINING AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT, AS WELL AS ACTIVELY PROMOTING DIVERSITY IN HIRING AND PROMOTIONS.
WE WOULD ALSO LOOK AT IF THE COMPANY, UH, TARGETS AND HIRES FROM POPULATIONS WITH EMPLOYMENT BARRIERS, AND ALSO IF THEY OFFER BENEFITS TO INCLUDE PAID LEAVE HEALTH AND WELLNESS BENEFITS.
AND OUR FINAL CATEGORY, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE CRITERIA, IT'S RECOMMENDED THAT WE ATTEMPT TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF A COMPANY ON OUR CURRENT AND OUR EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
ALSO, WE WOULD LOOK TO IDENTIFY IF ANY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS THAT OUR PROPOSED WOULD BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY.
SO BASED UPON THE COMPANY'S INVESTMENT LEVEL AND THE JOB CREATION, A COMPANY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A PERCENT ABATEMENT EITHER THROUGH A, A TAX ABATEMENT OR A TAX REBATE.
AND BASED UPON THE NUMBER OF POINTS THEY RECEIVE, THEY COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN UP TO AMOUNT.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF A COMPANY WAS ELIGIBLE FOR A TAX ABATEMENT, IF THEY RECEIVED A SCORE OF 60 PER OF 60 POINTS, THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR UP TO A TAX ABATEMENT OF 60% TAX.
ABATEMENTS CAN GO ALL THE WAY UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT BECAUSE AS, AS YOU RECALL, UH, WE, WE ABATE
[00:25:01]
BOTH SIDES.SO BOTH OUR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE AS WELL AS OUR DEBT.
HOWEVER, WITH OUR REBATE, WE ONLY REBATE THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE SIDE OF THE PROPERTY TAX.
SO A COMPANY RECEIVING 60 POINTS COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR UP TO A 60, UH, PERCENT REBATE.
FINALLY, AN ADDITIONAL, UH, COMPONENT WOULD BE A PER JOB GRANT THAT A COMPANY COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR.
SO IN LOOKING AT THIS, IF A COMPANY, UH, RECEIVED 60 TO 79 POINTS, THEY COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO 3% OF THE ANNUAL WAGES.
IF THEY RECEIVED 80 OR MORE POINTS, THEY COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT UP TO 5% OF ANNUAL WAGES.
HOWEVER, WE WOULD CAP THIS AT $1,500 PER JOB.
SO QUICKLY, I'LL RUN THROUGH A COUPLE OF OF EXAMPLES OF HOW THIS MAY WORK.
SO THIS FIRST COMPANY IS COMPANY ALPHA.
THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE, UH, FOR A 15 YEAR REBATE BASED UPON THEIR LOCATION.
HOWEVER, BASED UPON THEIR RESPONSES, THEY WOULD NOT, UH, SCORE HIGHLY ENOUGH TO RECOMMEND AN INCENTIVE.
THEY'RE NOT A TARGETED INDUSTRY OR A HEADQUARTER.
THEY DON'T HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BRING ADDITIONAL BUSINESSES TO SAN ANTONIO, AND THEY'RE NOT WILLING TO COMMIT TO CONTRACTING WITH LOCAL COMPANIES.
THEY, THE, THE COMPANY, UH, DOES TARGET HARD TO HIRE POPULATIONS, AND THEY DO INCLUDE A BENEFIT PACKAGE, UH, THAT HAS, THAT HAS PAID LEAVE.
HOWEVER, IT DOESN'T INCLUDE ANY OTHER BENEFITS, SUCH AS WELLNESS BENEFITS.
ONLY 15% OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES WOULD MAKE OVER 56,000, AND ABOUT 40% OF NEW HIRES ARE ANTICIPATED TO BE LOCAL.
SO ON OUR NEXT ACCOMP ON OUR NEXT COMPANY AS A DRUG MANUFACTURER, UM, THIS COMPANY WOULD ALSO BE ELIGIBLE FOR UP TO A 15 YEAR TERM, UH, BASED UPON THEIR LOCATION, A, A REBATE, UH, BASED UPON THEIR JOBS AND THEIR INVESTMENT.
HOWEVER, WITH THEIR EVALUATION CRITERIA, UH, THEY WOULD SCORE ABOUT ABOUT A 60, SO THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A 60% TAX REBATE.
THIS IS BASED ON THEIR RESPONSES TO ECONOMIC BENEFIT, AS THEY ARE A TARGETED INDUSTRY, AS WELL AS THE PROJECT DOES HAVE POTENTIAL TO SEED ADDITIONAL BUSINESSES.
HOWEVER, THEY'RE NOT A HEADQUARTER AND THE COMP, THE LOCAL, THE COMPANY DOES NOT ANTICIPATE THAT LOCAL FIRMS WILL MEET THEIR NEEDS IN TERMS OF CONTRACTING.
ADDITIONALLY, 85% OF NEW HIRES ARE ANTICIPATED TO BE LOCAL, AND 65% OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES WOULD MAKE OVER $56,000.
SO BASED ON THESE, UH, VALUATION CRITERIA, THEY COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT 60% TAX REBATE.
OUR FINAL EXAMPLE IS A IT HEADQUARTER.
SO BASED ON THEIR JOBS, WHICH IS 400 AND THEIR INVESTMENT OF 300, THIS COMPANY COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A TAX ABATEMENT.
AND THEN BASED UPON THEIR RESPONSES TO OUR EVALUATION CRITERIA, THEY ARE ARE A TARGETED INDUSTRY.
THEY ARE A HEADQUARTER, AND THEY ARE COMMITTED TO CONTRACTING WITH LOCAL UH, FIRMS. ADDITIONALLY, 85% OF NEW HIRES WOULD BE LOCAL, AND 95% OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES WOULD MAKE OVER 57 50 $6,000.
ALSO, THIS COMPANY DOES PROVIDE TUITION REIMBURSEMENTS, AND THEY DO HAVE AN INTERNAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
AND IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE, THE COMPANY WILL INVEST IN ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP AT THE SITE, AND THE CAMPUS IS PLANNED TO INCLUDE, UH, OPEN SPACE AND PARKS THAT WOULD BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY.
SO BASED UPON THE RESPONSES, THEIR INVESTMENT LEVEL AS WELL AS THEIR LOCATION, THIS PROJECT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A SIX YEAR 90% TAX ABATEMENT.
SO MOVING ON TO OUR THIRD CATEGORY, UH, WHICH WOULD BE THE SMALL BUSINESS CHAPTER THREE 80 GRANT.
WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING IS THAT FOR A SMALL BUSINESS, UH, TO BE ELIGIBLE, THEY WOULD NEED TO CREATE FIVE JOBS, UM, IN TERMS OF WAGES AND HEALTHCARE BENEFIT PACKAGES, AS WELL AS EQUAL PAY.
THESE WOULD BE THE SAME REQUIREMENTS THAT A CHAPTER THREE 12 OR THREE 80 MUST MEET AS WELL.
HOWEVER, WE WOULD NOT REQUIRE SMALL BUSINESS MEET THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENT OF A THREE 12 OR THREE 80.
FINALLY, A COMPANY, IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE, THE COMPANY WOULD NEED TO MEET SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, A STANDARD FOR INDUSTRY FOR BOTH THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AS WELL AS GROSS REVENUE.
SO MOVING ON TO THE, UH, LENGTH OF THE AGREEMENT AS WELL AS THE CRITERIA, THIS IS SET UP SIMILAR TO OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THREE 12 AND THREE 80 AGREEMENTS.
SO WE WOULD LOOK AT THE LOCATION OF THE COMPANY AND BASED UPON THE EQUITY MATRIX AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE IN A REGIONAL CENTER, THAT WOULD HELP TO DETERMINE THE LENGTH OF THE TERM.
LOOKING AT THE EVALUATION CRITERIA, WE WOULD LOOK TO TO SEE IF THE COMPANY IS IN A TARGETED INDUSTRY, IF THEY'RE OWNED BY PEOPLE OF, OF COLOR OR WOMEN.
[00:30:01]
PERCENT OF THE WAGES THAT THEY'RE PAYING ARE HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE WAGE OF THAT CENSUS TRACT.SO BASED UPON THEIR RESPONSES, THEY WOULD, UM, RECEIVE A SCORE.
SO BASED ON THAT SCORE, IF THEY WOULD RECEIVE BETWEEN 40 AND 79 POINTS, THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT OF 3% OF ANNUAL WAGES.
IF THEY SCORE 80 POINTS OR MORE, THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT EQUIVALENT TO 5% OF ANNUAL WAGES.
AND AGAIN, THIS WOULD BE CAPPED AT $1,500 PER JOB ANNUALLY.
UM, IF, UH, WE HAVE ABOUT THREE EXAMPLES.
SO IF A COMPANY, UM, IS ADDING A NEW LOCATION ON THE NORTH SIDE, HOWEVER, THE COMPANY IS NOT IN A TARGETED INDUSTRY, IT'S NOT OWNED, UH, BY A PERSON OF COLOR OR WOMEN, AND THE WAGES DON'T EXCEED THE AVERAGE WAGE OF THE CENSUS TRACT, THIS COMPANY WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE.
OUR SECOND EXAMPLE IS A CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT COMPANY THAT'S EXPANDING STAFF ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
THIS COMPANY IS NOT IN A TARGETED INDUSTRY, HOWEVER IT IS WOMEN, WOMEN OWNED, AND THE WAGES EXCEED THE CENSUS TRACTED.
SO THIS, UH, COMPANY WOULD RECEIVE 70 POINTS AND BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT EQUIVALENT TO 3% OF THE ANNUAL WAGES.
AND FINALLY, OUR THIRD EXAMPLE IS A PRIMARY CARE, UH, PHYSICIAN THAT WOULD BE EXPANDING PRACTICE TO THE EAST SIDE.
SO THIS WOULD BE A TARGETED INDUSTRY.
IT WOULD, IT IS OWNED BY A PERSON OF COLOR, AND THE WAGES DO EXCEED THE AVERAGE WAGE OF THE CENSUS TRACTED.
SO THIS COMPANY WOULD BE, UH, WOULD RECEIVE A HUNDRED POINTS AND BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT OF UP TO 5% OF ANNUAL WAGES.
NOW, AS ERIC MENTIONED, UH, WE DID PRESENT THIS TO THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UH, COMMITTEE LAST WEEK AND WANTED TO PROVIDE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE DISCUSSION AND THE COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVED.
SO DURING THE, DURING THE, UM, DURING THE DISCUSSION, THERE WAS SUPPORT EXPRESS FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM, UH, FOR THE CHANGE IN THE WAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INCLUSION OF PAY PARITY FOR THE CHANGE IN THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AS WELL AS TRANSITIONING FROM THE, UM, QUALIFYING PRIORITIES TO THE EVALUATION CRITERIA.
HOWEVER, THERE WERE SOME RECOMMENDED CHANGES THAT WERE DISCUSSED.
THESE INCLUDE, UM, REMOVING THE TARGETED INDUSTRY OUT OF THE CRITERIA, EXPANDING LOCATIONS BEYOND REGIONAL CENTERS TO INCLUDE OTHER GEOGRAPH GEOGRAPHIC AREAS WITHIN THE CITY, POTENTIALLY INCLUDING NONPROFITS.
AND FINALLY, REMOVING THE EXCLUSION OF SOME SERVICES, UH, TO INCLUDE MEDICAL SERVICES.
SO WHAT ARE OUR NEXT STEPS? TODAY WE'RE LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND BASED UPON THE FEEDBACK, WE WOULD WORK TO REVISE THOSE, REVISE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, AND REVISE THE ECONOMIC INCENTIVE GUIDELINES.
THOSE ECONOMIC INCENTIVE GUIDELINES WOULD BE PRESENTED TO THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMISSION IN AUGUST AND FINALLY PRESENTED TO CITY COUNCIL AT AN A SESSION FOR CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF THE ECONOMIC INCENTIVE GUIDELINES.
SO THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
WE'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, JUSTINA AND JOHN, UH, VERY GOOD TO SEE YOU.
I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE YOU WITH A BEARD THIS TIME.
UM, UH, THIS HAS BEEN, UM, A PROCESS WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO FOR QUITE A LONG TIME, UM, AS WE'VE SORT OF PICKED AT OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICIES OVER THE YEARS.
AND I HAVE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT, UM, THEIR, UM, CONCERN OR, OR CRITICISMS OF THE CURRENT WAY WE HAVE GONE ABOUT IT AND WE'VE MADE CHANGES ON THE FLY.
BUT THIS IS THE COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW AND AND DISCUSSION THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR FOR A LONG TIME.
AND I HAVE TO COMMEND YOU ALL, UH, FOR DOING SOME VERY GOOD WORK HERE, PRIMARILY AS IT RELATES TO, UH, STAYING COMPETITIVE, BUT ALSO NOT, UM, UH, GIVING AWAY THE FARM, SO TO SPEAK.
UH, THERE ARE CITIES, UM, IN OUR, UM, I GUESS THAT WE COMPETE WITH THAT I THINK FOR, UH, A FEW YEARS NOW HAVE BEEN WEANING OFF SOME OF THE TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES.
UH, AND THE ONE THAT ALWAYS COMES TO MIND ARE THE TAX ABATEMENTS THAT WE HAVE ACTUALLY ROLLED BACK QUITE A BIT COMPARED TO HOW WE WERE DOING THINGS ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO.
UH, BUT I DO, UH, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE, UH, THE STANDARD, THE, THE MUCH HIGHER STANDARD, UH, IN PARTICULAR FOR THE THREE 12 AGREEMENTS.
I THINK THAT SENDS A SIGNAL THAT WE ARE NO LONGER GOING TO BE RELYING, UH, ON TAX ABATEMENTS, UH, TO BRING IN BUSINESSES HERE, THAT THE FUNDAMENTALS THAT WE'VE BEEN INVESTING IN FROM WORKFORCE TO INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, TO, UM,
[00:35:01]
STRONG RELIABLE UTILITIES TO THE FACT THAT WE'RE A GROWING CITY AND A CLIMATOLOGICALLY ADVANTAGED AREA SHOULD BE ATTRACTIVE TO BUSINESS INVESTMENT.AND I, AND I, I LIKE THE FACT THAT WE ARE LEANING MORE ON THOSE QUALITIES RATHER THAN JUST THE, THE GROWTH INCENTIVES.
UM, I DO WANT US TO, AND I'M VERY ANXIOUS TO HEAR THE DISCUSSION TODAY, I DO WANT US TO LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES, UH, WHERE WE CAN FIND INTERSECTIONS WITH OUR CURRENT PLANS.
UH, YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA HEAR ABOUT OUR, UH, SUSTAINABILITY PLANS, THE ESSAY TOMORROW EFFORTS ARE ALREADY BAKED IN HERE WITH REGARD TO THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTERS.
UH, LOOKING FOR OTHER AREAS, UH, THAT THERE ARE INTERSECTIONS, I THINK WOULD BE TO OUR ADVANTAGE TO, TO DO THAT NOW SINCE WE HAVE A FEW WEEKS LEFT OR A FEW MONTHS LEFT OF, OF, OF INPUT BEFORE WE NAIL THESE DOWN.
UM, AND, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY JUSTINA, THAT THIS, UM, THAT WE WOULD BE REVIEWING THE POLICY ANNUALLY TO MAKE TWEAKS, UH, TO WHAT WE ADOPT IN AUGUST, IS THAT RIGHT? NO, WE WOULD BE PRESENTING THE FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS CITY COUNCIL IN AUGUST, AND THEN BY STATE STATUTE WE HAVE TO, UM, UPDATE OUR TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES EVERY TWO YEARS.
SO EVERY TWO YEARS WE'D, WE'D BE LOOKING AT IT.
UM, ALRIGHT, WELL I, I APPRECIATE THE, THE OVERVIEW OF THE STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK.
UH, MY FIRST QUESTION, COULD YOU TELL US, AND MAY, MAYBE THIS MIGHT BE A QUESTION FOR JOHN, WHERE DOES THIS PUT US? IF WE WERE TO SAY THIS IS HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD, WHERE WOULD THIS PUT US IN COMPARISON TO OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS, UM, AND MAYBE EVEN OTHERS OUTSIDE OF A REGION THAT WE COMPETE WITH? I THINK IT, I THINK IT POSITIONS YOU TO BE A LITTLE MORE NUANCED AND MODERN AND MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
I THINK MAYOR, YOU SORT OF HIT ON IT, WHICH IS THAT MANY CITIES HAVE DISCOVERED TO THEIR PERIL THAT OVERRELIANCE ON SIMPLISTIC THREE 12 AGREEMENTS OFTENTIMES COMES BACK TO BITE THEM.
AND SO AUSTIN SHIFTED TO A VERSION OF THIS 20 YEARS AGO.
UM, ACTUALLY IN AUSTIN, YOU DON'T DO ANY THREE 12 AGREEMENTS AT ALL.
THEY'RE ONE, 100% RUN THROUGH THE THREE 80 PROGRAM.
SAME THING IS TRUE FOR TRAVIS COUNTY.
TRAVIS COUNTY DOES 100% THROUGH THE 3 81 PROGRAM, WHICH IS ANALOGOUS TO THE THREE 80.
SO I THINK IT ACTUALLY ENHANCES THE COMPETITIVE POSITION.
CERTAINLY IT PUTS US, I THINK, IN NO WORSE SHAPE BECAUSE MOST OF THE COMPANIES YOU WANT TO RECRUIT UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY CAN THEY WALK OUT THE DOOR.
IT'S HOW CAN THEY FORM A PARTNERSHIP AND A RELATIONSHIP WITH A COMMUNITY WHERE THEY'RE GONNA BE A GOOD CORPORATE CITIZEN AND A GOOD PARTNER FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.
IF THEY DON'T HAVE THAT POINT OF VIEW, I DON'T THINK YOU'LL WANT 'EM.
I ALSO, AND THEN I'LL SHUT UP 'CAUSE I KNOW TIME IS LIMITED.
I ALSO THINK THIS FRAMEWORK IS ALIGNS BETTER WITH YOUR OVERALL COMMUNITY PRIORITIES, ALIGNS BETTER WITH YOUR LONG-TERM VISION FOR SAN ANTONIO.
AND I THINK FRANKLY, FITS BETTER WITH WHAT YOU WANT TO COMMUNICATE TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS ABOUT THE DIRECTION.
IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE BIG COMPANIES.
YOU ADD FIVE NEW JOBS, YOU CAN COME TO THE CITY AND TALK ABOUT GETTING A LITTLE HELP.
AND THAT'S WORTH DOING, I THINK.
WELL, I THOUGHT IT WAS A POSITIVE EVOLUTION THAT WE DID START LOOKING AT TARGETED INDUSTRIES AS OPPOSED TO JUST, YOU KNOW, SHOOTING ANYTHING THAT FLIES YES.
UM, SO I'M, I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED THAT WE WOULD GET AWAY FROM THAT.
LET ME, CAN I REFINE THAT A LITTLE BIT? SURE.
IT'S NOT THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE INDUSTRY THAT A COMPANY'S IN.
YOU CAN HAVE A TERRIBLE COMPANY IN A GREAT INDUSTRY.
AND SO WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO IS NOT SO MUCH THEY'RE A TERRIBLE COMPANY, THEY WON'T QUALIFY ANYWAY.
BUT CONVERSELY, YOU COULD HAVE A TERRIFIC COMPANY IN WHAT IS TRADITIONALLY THOUGHT OF AS NOT A TARGET, BUT YOU COULD HAVE A COMPANY, I'M GONNA MAKE THIS UP, THAT'S A KILLER COMPANY IN TERMS OF STEEL MAKING THAT HAS A NEW PROCESS, A NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS WOULD BE HIGHLY DESIRABLE HERE, BUT IT'S NOT IN A TARGET INDUSTRY.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH WHEN SOMEBODY INVENTS A BETTER MOUSETRAP OR JUST DOES A BETTER JOB IN A TRADITIONAL INDUSTRY, WE CAN BRING 'EM IN AS OPPOSED TO SAYING, SORRY, YOU'RE JUST NOT IN THE RIGHT N A I C S CODE.
AND I THINK SOME OF THAT WILL EVOLVE AS WE LOOK AT OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS.
UM, I REMEMBER DISTINCTLY, UH, WITHIN A TWO WEEK PERIOD, WE HAD, UH, A COUPLE OF MAJOR DEALS ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO WITH ERNST YOUNG EXPANSION.
I THINK ACCENTURE WAS THE OTHER ONE WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CEOS BOTH TOLD ME THAT IT WASN'T THE INCENTIVE PACKAGE, IT WAS THE, IT WAS THE GROWTH AND WORKFORCE, IT WAS THE EDUCATION LEVEL OF THE, AND THE TALENT OF, OF THE COMMUNITY THAT, THAT MADE THEM MAKE THAT DECISION.
UH, HOW MANY THREE 12 AGREEMENTS DO WE HAVE ACTIVE RIGHT NOW?
[00:40:01]
WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 70 ACTIVE AGREEMENTS, BUT THAT WOULD INCLUDE THREE TWELVES, UH, THREE EIGHTY'S AND, AND THREE 80 GRANTS.WE DON'T, UH, SO I CAN, WE DON'T DISTINGUISH.
CAN I, I HAVE THAT, UM, CAN I JUST PULL IT REAL QUICK? YEAH, THAT'S FINE.
YEAH, YOU CAN, YOU CAN GET THAT LATER.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS THE LAST QUESTION I HAVE, AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUES, UM, IS YOU HAD A LIST OF, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT SLIDE IT WAS.
UM, IT WAS MAYBE IN THE LAST THIRD.
IT WAS A LIST OF QUALIFYING CRITERIA THAT WOULD BE EVALUATED.
THINGS LIKE, IS IT A HEADQUARTERS OR IS IT A NEW PRODUCTION LINE? UM, HOW ARE THOSE GONNA BE WEIGHTED OR IS THAT JUST GONNA BE THE FLEXIBILITY THAT WE HAVE? IT WOULD BE THE FLEXIBILITY.
SO OVERALL WE WOULD LOOK AT THE RESPONSE THAT THE COMPANY GIVES TO THAT LIST OF, OF QUESTIONS, AND THEN OVERALL THEY COULD, THEY WOULD EITHER GET A, DOES NOT MEET ACCEPTABLE OR EXCELLENT.
SO IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S THE ENTIRE RESPONSE TO THAT CATEGORY.
WELL I THINK THIS IS A, A, A, A GREAT START.
UM, VERY EXCITED TO SEE THIS AND, AND LOOK FORWARD TO IT'S ADOPTION IN AUGUST.
UM, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION, LEMME START WITH OUR E W D C CHAIR WHO STEWARDED THIS POLICY.
THANK YOU JUSTINA FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND I, I APPRECIATE, UM, YOU ALL BRINGING THIS TO E W D C, UH, LAST WEEK.
AND YES, THANK YOU MAYOR FOR CONTINUING TO PUSH THAT.
WE HAVE, UH, WE CONTINUE TO MOVE THIS FORWARD.
UM, I HAVE, I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS STILL AND, AND THANK YOU FOR ADDRESSING THOSE QUESTIONS LAST WEEK.
UM, BUT I BELIEVE FIRST AND FOREMOST TO ALEX AND JUSTINA, I THINK YOU HEARD US, UH, US THE COUNCIL AND INCORPORATED MANY OF OUR CONCERNS AND CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAD THROUGH I THINK THIS YEAR AND A HALF OR TWO YEARS OF, OF THE, THE, UM, THE ONE POLICY THAT WE JUST KIND OF HAD IN THE INTERIM.
SO YOU HEARD US AND YOU'VE INCORPORATED THAT IN HERE RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, YOU ALSO REACHED OUT TO OUR PARTNERS AND YOU HAVE BEEN COLLABORATIVE AND I THANK YOU FOR THAT AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO AS WELL, HEARING FROM MY COLLEAGUES AND GIVING AND GETTING THEIR FEEDBACK TO SEE HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO ENHANCE THIS AND MOVE IT FORWARD.
UM, AND I THINK WHAT IS ALSO IMPORTANT IS THE ASPECT THAT YOU SPOKE OF ABOUT THIS FLEXIBILITY, BECAUSE EVEN IN ANY OF THESE INCENTIVES, IF YOU ARE NOT A TARGETED INDUSTRY, THAT DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY KNOCK YOU OUT OF EITHER OF THESE, OF THE THREE 12, THE THREE 80, OR EVEN THE SMALL BUSINESS.
THERE IS STILL THAT FLEXIBILITY THAT WE WILL HAVE HERE.
AND ADDITIONALLY THAT EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT IN A REGIONAL CENTER, THAT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY KNOCK YOU OUT OF NOT QUOTE UNQUOTE QUALIFYING THIS BECAUSE IT'S NOW ABOUT EVALUATION, NOT ABOUT QUALIFY, QUALIFYING FOR THAT.
AND I THINK THAT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT BECAUSE TO THE, TO THE MAYOR'S POINT AND WHAT WE HAD A DISCUSSION EVEN THIS MORNING, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AT YOUR COMMITTEE, UM, DISCUSSING ESSAY TOMORROW, OUR REGIONAL CENTER PLANS, OUR SUB COMMITTEE, OUR SUB UH, PLANS, SUB AREA PLANS, UM, ESSAY TOMORROW IS, IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE KNOW, AND WE'VE BEEN PLANNING AND ANTICIPATING THE GROWTH OF THESE AREAS AND TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THIS IS IN THE AREA AND IT IS TWO YEARS POTENTIALLY, UM, THIS IS ANOTHER EVALUATION THAT CAN BE A GO OR NO GO, BUT IT DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY, UM, KNOCK YOU OUT OF THE RUNNING OR AT LEAST GETTING SOME POINT.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
AND OH, BY THE WAY, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBER ROGER GARCIA, UM, TODAY I ALSO MENTIONED THE KEEPER OF ALL OF OUR PLANS THAT YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE MONTH, UH, MAYBE A MONTH AGO.
I THINK THAT SHOULD BE THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CHECKING ALL OF OUR, OUR PLANS THAT WE NEED TO BE HITTING THEM.
SO I THINK THIS WOULD BE ONE OF 'EM AS WELL.
UM, MOVING ON, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
UH, I, I'M SORRY, SLIDE NUMBER SEVEN.
YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, EQUAL PAY, GENDER PAY PARITY PRACTICES IN THE WORKPLACE.
HOW ARE WE DEFINING PRACTICES IN THE WORKPLACE? SO PAY, PAY PARITY ITSELF IS LOOKING AT EQUAL PAY FOR REGARDLESS OF
[00:45:01]
GENDER.SO WE WOULD LOOK FOR SOME TYPE OF PRACTICE THAT THEY HAVE ESTABLISHED, UM, THAT THEY COULD PROVE THAT THEY HAVE THOSE PRACTICES IN THE WORKPLACE IF IT'S A POLICY THAT THEY HAVE WITHIN THEIR HR CORRECT.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD HAVE THEM, WE WOULD LOOK MM-HMM.
AND THEN ON SLIDE NUMBER EIGHT, THE EVALUATION CRITERIA.
UM, THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE IMPACT, I, I KIND OF HAD IT IN THE REVERSE THE LAST TIME, BUT Y'ALL CLARIFIED IT AND SO I WANTED TO CLARIFY IT THIS TIME AROUND IS IT'S BURDEN, THE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPACT, MEANING THOSE PROJECTS THAT MAY ADD MORE BURDEN TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE VERSUS THOSE WITH A LITTLE BURDEN TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND THEN THAT MEANS WE'LL ALSO LOOK AT THE CRITERIA OF IF THEY HAVE A GREAT PROGRAM THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT WITH MAYBE USING A VAN POOL OR WITH VIA A SPECIAL ROUTE, ET CETERA.
THANK YOU, UH, FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
AND THEN ON SLIDE NUMBER NINE, UM, WHEN, WHEN IT COMES TO THE INCLUSIVE GROWTH STRATEGY, WHEN, UM, AND THANK YOU MAYOR, BECAUSE IT WAS, WHEN I BECAME CHAIR OF E W G C, WE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE, AND RENEE WAS HERE AT THE TIME, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE PITCHED SAN ANTONIO, THAT IT WASN'T JUST TO ONE PART OF TOWN, THAT IT LOOKED AT ALL ASPECTS OF THE CITY.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE WERE KI WE WERE TRYING TO GET TO WITH OUR GROWTH, INCLUSIVE GROWTH STRATEGY.
BUT WHAT I LIKE ABOUT, NOT THE QUALIFIERS, BUT THE EVALUATION, IT HELPS THAT WE'RE CLOSING THOSE LOOPHOLES THAT MAYBE HAVE BEEN THERE IN THE PAST WITH THE QUALIFYING.
IF YOU CHECKED OFF ALL THE LIST, THEN YOU COULD, YOU'RE LIKE, HEY, I DEMAND ALL OF THESE THINGS, BUT HERE IS MORE OF THE EVALUATION CRITERIA THAT HELPS CLOSE THOSE LOOPHOLES.
AND I'M GLAD THAT WE STARTED THIS CONVERSATION AND THAT WE ARE HERE, UM, AT THIS POINT IN, IN A MUCH MORE ROBUST, UM, AREA AND, AND MAKES A LOT OF SENSE WITH OUR, OUR QUALIFYING WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE EVALUATION CRITERIA.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I MENTIONED AND THAT I'D LIKE TO MENTION HERE, IS WITH THE SHIFTING FOCUS FROM QUALIFYING PRIORITIES TO EVALUATION CRITERIA, THE WHO THE EVALUATORS WILL BE, OF ALL OF THESE POTENTIAL, UM, THREE TWELVES, THREE EIGHTIES AND SMALL BUSINESS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVAL OUR EVALUATORS ARE NOT THE SAME ONES OVER AND OVER BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THAT COULD CREATE SOME SORT OF UNCONSCIOUS BIAS OR, UM, SOME SORT OF JUST GOING THROUGH THE, THE MOTIONS AS WELL.
SO THAT'S WHY I WANNA, IF WHEN WE'RE PUTTING THIS TOGETHER, PLEASE LOOK AT MAYBE A, A LARGE POOL OF, UM, STAFF WHO, OR, UH, YOU KNOW, CONSULTANTS WHO COULD GET IN WITH US AND BRING THEM DOWN.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND OUTSIDE ENTITIES, MAYOR, BECAUSE THEN THAT COULD COME, UH, AND BRING MEANING LOCAL OUTSIDE ENTITIES.
'CAUSE THEN THERE COULD BE A POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN THE FUTURE.
BUT THAT'S WHAT I WOULD, IF YOU CAN, YOU WANNA SHARE SOMETHING WITH THAT? OH, I JUST, I WAS JUST GONNA DIRECTLY RESPOND TO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING.
UHHUH,
WE DON'T WANNA, WE DON'T WANNA MAKE STAFF BE DETECTIVES
WE WANT STAFF TO BE IN A POSITION TO SAY TO THE COMPANY, MAKE YOUR CASE TO US BASED ON THESE EVALUATION CRITERIA SO THAT IT REDUCES THE ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN.
AND I THINK YOU MAKE A GREAT POINT.
YOU WANT A DIVERSITY OF STAFF LOOKING AT THIS.
I MEAN, IF YOU HAVE FIVE A YEAR, IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL.
IF YOU HAVE 50 A YEAR, IT IS A BIG DEAL, RIGHT? WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT POINT CAME OUT THAT WE EXPECT TO ASK ANY APPLICANT TO COME AND MAKE THEIR CASE AS OPPOSED TO REQUIRING STAFF TO GO SOLICIT INFORMATION.
AND QUITE FRANKLY, IF YOU'RE UNRESPONSIVE IN MAKING YOUR CASE, MAYBE YOU DON'T GET AN INCENTIVE THAT THAT'S TELLING TOO.
AND THEN ON SLIDE NUMBER 17, UM, AS THE EXAMPLE THAT YOU PUT, FOR EXAMPLE, PROJECT IT HEADQUARTER, UM, I, I WANT, IT'S A LITTLE BIT GOES BACK TO OUR FOLLOW UP OF CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD LAST WEEK OR THE WEEK BEFORE.
UM, HOW DO WE, SO IT SAYS CHARACTER OF LABOR FORCE 35 POINTS, 85% OF NEW HIRES ANTICIPATED TO BE LOCAL.
IF THEY DO NOT HIT THAT 85%, IF THEY ONLY DO A 35%, HOW DO WE EITHER RECAPTURE CLAW BACK EXECUTION OF OF THAT? SO
[00:50:01]
IF WE INCORPORATE THAT INTO THE ACTUAL CONTRACT AND THE AGREEMENT, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT IS INCLUDED IN THERE, THAT COULD, IS THAT COULD TRIGGER A CLAW BACK OR RE OR A REDUCTION IN THE, IN THE ABATEMENT OR REBATE.THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
AND UM, THEN FINALLY ON SLIDE 22 WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE CHANGES DISCUSSED, UM, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND REMOVING THE TARGETED INDUSTRIES SIMPLY BECAUSE WE HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY IN HERE THROUGH THE EVALUATION CRITERIA.
AND IF THERE ARE, UM, BAD COMPANIES THAT ARE IN THE TARGETED INDUSTRY, WE STILL HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY AS EVALUATION CRITERIA BECAUSE I DON'T WANT US TO OFF, UM, GO OFF OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR THESE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, NEXT, EXPANDING THE LOCATION BEYOND THE REGIONAL CENTERS, I THINK THAT IS CAPTURED BECAUSE OF THE EQUITY MATRIX AND IT STILL, UM, HAS THE INCLUSIVE, IT STILL SPEAKS TO OUR LARGER AREA AND NOT JUST REGIONAL CENTERS, BUT IT ALSO THOSE AREAS LIKE THE, UM, WEST SIDE SUB AREA, UH, COMPONENT, MAYBE NOT JUST THE LARGE REGIONAL CENTERS, BUT OTHER AREAS.
AND THEN, UM, FINALLY, UM, WITH THE NONPROFITS TO INCLUDE THE NONPROFITS IN THOSE CHANGES DISCUSSED.
ONE OF THE THINGS I MENTIONED LAST WEEK THAT I WANNA MENTION HERE IS IF WE WERE TO INCLUDE A NONPROFITS IN THAT EVALUATION, I WOULD ALSO RECOMMEND THAT WE SEE IF A SMALL BUSINESS DOES COME FOR THAT GRANT AND IT'S A NONPROFIT, ARE THEY ALREADY GETTING INCENTIVES SOMEHOW FROM THE CITY THROUGH A DELEGATE AGENCY GRANT OR SOMETHING AND SEE HOW THAT IS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
AND THEN OVERALL HOW MUCH MONEY THEY'RE GETTING FROM THE CITY.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREWS SULLIVAN.
I JUST WANNA CLARIFY VERY QUICKLY ON THE GENDER PAY PARITY PRACTICES.
THIS ACTUALLY GOES BACK TO THE GENDER PAY PARITY RESOLUTION THAT COUNCIL PASSED BACK IN MARCH ONE.
THIS WAS SPECIFICALLY ONE OF THE ITEMS INCLUDED IN IT.
SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING FOR IS WHETHER COMPANIES HAVE THESE TYPES OF PRACTICES IN PLACE.
UM, ARE THEY PROMOTING WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP? ARE THEY DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS? UM, ARE THEY, DO THEY HAVE, UM, BENEFITS PACKAGES THAT MAKE IT CONDUCIVE FOR WORKING MOTHERS TO STAY IN THE WORKPLACE? UM, THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF PRACTICES THAT WE WANNA SEE, COMPANIES THAT ARE, THAT ARE REQUESTING INCENTIVES TO HAVE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
AND, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH JUSTINA AND JOHN, AND THANK YOU, UM, ALEX FOR BRINGING THAT UP BECAUSE THAT WAS GONNA BE ONE OF MY QUESTIONS WAS UNDER, UH, THAT PAY PARITY OF CHILDCARE RESOURCES WAS GOING TO BE AN ASPECT.
UM, UNDER THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITHIN OUR MATRIX AND DATA POINTS, NOT ONLY IS IT THE QUESTION OF THE 50% OF HIRING FROM THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT SPECIFIC HIRING FROM A DISTRICT.
UM, AND THE REASON WHY I SAY THAT IS BECAUSE ESPECIALLY HERE IN DISTRICT TWO, WE HAVE A LOT OF BUSINESSES THAT COME IN, BUT THEY DON'T HIRE FROM WITHIN THE DISTRICT.
SO WE'RE STILL SEEING THAT ECONOMIC SEGREGATION PIECE WITHIN, UM, THAT DISTRICT SPECIFICALLY.
AND SO I WANTED TO FIND OUT HOW WILL WE BE ABLE TO GAUGE THAT WITHIN, UM, THE CONTRACT AGREEMENTS.
THERE'S ACTUALLY A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN DO IT.
ONE IS YOU CAN JUST PUT IN, YOU CAN PUT IN AS PART OF THE EVALUATION CRITERIA.
THE MORE YOU HIRE LOCALLY HIGH, YOU KNOW, MICRO, LOCALLY, THE MORE POINTS YOU GET.
THE OTHER OPTION YOU CAN DO, AND THESE, THESE ARE BOTH VIABLE OPTIONS IS BONUS POINTS, WHICH IS, OKAY, LOOK, IT MAY NOT BE VIABLE FOR YOU TO MEET AN OBJECTIVE STANDARD WITHIN A GIVEN DISTRICT, BUT WE'LL GIVE YOU AN INCENTIVE, A BONUS INCENTIVE IF YOU WILL, TO TRY HARDER.
YOU CAN DO EITHER ONE OF THOSE.
I'D LIKE TO SEE HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT A PART OF THE PROCESS AS WE'RE GOING FORWARD.
AND THEN UNDER THE EVALUATION CRITERIA, LOOKING AT DISPLACEMENT AND TAX APPRAISAL, INCREASED STUDIES, UM, I THINK WILL HELP US WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT BUSINESSES ARE COMING INTO OUR, OUR REGIONAL AREAS AND SPECIFICALLY THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN UNDER A, A GENTRIFICATION AND HAVE THIS FEAR OF SEEING DEVELOPMENT HAPPEN.
IF WE HAVE THOSE STUDIES IN PLACE THAT CAN KIND OF SPEAK TO WHERE ARE WE GOING, HOW IS IT GONNA BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THAT CRITERIA.
IF A COMPANY IS WILLING TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ABLE TO DO A DISPLACEMENT STUDY, I THINK THAT THAT WILL SPEAK TO HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ESPECIALLY WITHIN COMMUNITIES THAT ARE SEEING THOSE HIGH PROPERTY TAXES.
UM, AND NOT JUST WORK WITHIN THE CENSUS TRACK, BUT WORK WITHIN OUR POVERTY, OUR POVERTY REPORT GUIDELINES AS WELL.
UM, SO I THINK I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT IN THE EVALUATION CRITERIA.
[00:55:01]
UM, ALSO WITHIN THE EVALUATION CRITERIA, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP STRUCTURES, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR YOUTH AND THOSE SENIORS WHO ARE NOT EMPLOYABLE.UM, IF THERE'S A STRUCTURE TO HAVE THEM IN A VOLUNTEERS STATUS, UM, AND TO BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS TO HELP OUR YOUTH TO BRIDGE INTO A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ASPECT OF IT AS THEY'RE GOING FORWARD.
AND THEN THE LAST THING THAT I HAVE IS ON THE, UH, CHARACTER OF JOB AND LABOR FORCE, UM, IS WHERE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW WE CAN INCLUDE YOUTH, SUMMER BASED, UH, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AND THEN THOSE ALSO, UH, SENIOR BASED OPPORTUNITIES.
SO I THINK THOSE ARE ALL OF MY RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AND IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY FEEDBACK ON WHERE WE CAN FALL WITHIN THOSE GUIDELINES, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IT.
I, I DO HAVE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK WHAT YOU, I THINK YOU ARE SORT OF WRIT LARGE DISCUSSING WHAT KIND OF A WHAT KIND OF A GOOD CITIZEN ARE YOU, WHAT KIND OF A COMMUNITY PARTNER ARE YOU, HOW ARE YOU GONNA DO MORE THAN JUST EMPLOY SOME PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO? HOW ARE YOU GONNA PROACTIVELY REACH OUT? AND I THINK THAT'S A VALUABLE THING TO TEASE OUT AS YOU WERE EVALUATING A COMPANY BECAUSE IT SPEAKS TO THIS LONGER IDEA OF SUSTAINABILITY.
MOST PEOPLE WHO DECIDE TO BE GOOD NEIGHBORS AND GOOD CORPORATE CITIZENS TEND TO STICK AROUND, SO IT'S KIND OF A WIN-WIN IF YOU CAN TEASE THAT OUT.
AND I THINK WE COULD EASILY FIND A WAY TO, TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THAT INTO THE OVERALL EVALUATION PROCESS.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN, COUNCIL MEMBER KEO.
I'D LIKE TO ZONE IN ON THE INCENTIVES, PARTLY BASED ON EQUITY SCORING.
I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY THIS SLIDE, RIGHT? UM, CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE EQUITY MATRIX SCORE AND THEN THE RELATIONSHIP TO REGIONAL CENTERS? SO THE EQUITY MATRIX SCORE LOOKS AT EACH CENSUS TRACT AND BASED UPON THE RACE AND INCOME OF THAT CENSUS TRACT, UH, IT, THE, UH, SCORE IS PROVIDED.
SO THE LOWER THE SCORE, UM, THE MORE, THE HIGHER THE INCOME, THE HIGHER THE SCORE, THE I'M I'M THE LOWER THE SCORE, THE HIGHER THE INCOME, THE HIGHER THE SCORE, THE LOWER THE INCOME.
BUT THEY LOOK AT BOTH RACE AS WELL AS INCOME.
AND IT'S A COMBINED SCORE, UM, FOR THE EQUITY MATRIX.
SO ON THE EXAMPLES, I THINK IT WAS SLIDE 15 AND 16, UM, DO YOU MIND GOING TO THOSE? YES.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE LEFT HERE, YOU SAY UP TO LOCATED IN A TRACK WITH AN EQUITY SCORE OF EIGHT.
SO THAT'S A HIGH SCORE, MEANING, UH, THERE'S MORE INCENTIVE.
AM I RIGHT? IT COULD BE THAT THE, THE TERM OF THE AGREEMENT COULD BE LONGER, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS ALL DEPENDENT UPON, IT'S AN UP TO AMOUNT.
SO AS, AS WE'RE EVALUATING AND, AND LOOKING AT THE COMPANY, WE MAY RECOMMEND A LOWER, A SHORTER TERM, BUT THAT EQUITY MATRIX SCORE IN THE REGIONAL CENTER JUST IDENTIFIES AN UP TO AMOUNT FOR THE TERM OF THE AGREEMENT.
SO WHAT, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE, HOW MUCH DOES THE EQUITY SCORE IMPACT AN AN EVENTUAL INCENTIVE? IT, IT ACTUALLY HAS A PRETTY BIG IMPACT.
THE IDEA IS, IS THAT IF YOU'RE WILLING TO LOCATE IN AN AREA THAT'S BEEN HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED, YOU CAN POTENTIALLY GET A MUCH LONGER TERM AGREEMENT.
AND SO IT HA IT COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE A VERY STRONG IMPACT.
IF YOU LOCATE IN A PARTICULARLY AFFLUENT AREA OF SAN ANTONIO, YOU'RE GONNA GET POTENTIALLY A FAIRLY SHORT-TERM AGREEMENT.
YOU COULD POTENTIALLY UNDER A CHAPTER, UH, THREE 80, GET AS LONG AS A 15 YEAR AGREEMENT, WHICH OBVIOUSLY MEANS A MUCH BIGGER INCENTIVE IF YOU ARE WILLING TO LOCATE AN AREA THAT'S BEEN HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED AS MEASURED BY THE EQUITY SCORE.
I UNDERSTAND, I HEAR YOU SAYING THAT IT COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE A BIG IMPACT, BUT WHAT PERCENTAGE WOULD YOU SAY THE EQUITY SCORE LENDS TO THE EVENTUAL INCENTIVE, UM, PACKAGE? JUST SLIDE, UH, SLIDE NINE.
SO REALLY WHAT WE'RE, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE EQUITY MATRIX, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS THE LENGTH OF THE AGREEMENT SO THAT THAT DETERMINES, UM, IT, IT'S NOT THE PERCENT, THE PERCENT OF THE AGREEMENT OR THE PERCENT ABATEMENT OR REBATE IS BASED UPON THOSE EVALUATION CRITERIA.
SO WHAT THIS, THE EQUITY MATRIX WE'RE REALLY USING THAT FOR IS TO DETERMINE HOW LONG COULD THEY, HOW LONG COULD THEY BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN AGREEMENT AND UP TO EITHER FIVE, 10, OR 15 YEAR AGREEMENT, DEPENDING UPON THEIR INVESTMENT, CAPITAL INVESTMENT AS WELL AS JOBS.
SO, IF I'M HEARING YOU CORRECTLY, THE EQUITY MATRIX SCORE DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THEM GETTING AN INCENTIVE PACKAGE.
IT'S JUST HOW LONG THEY'RE GONNA GET IT.
THE, THE, IT, IT HELPS DETERMINE THE LENGTH OF THE AGREEMENT.
[01:00:01]
OKAY.SO WHAT I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS AN, AN, UM, WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE IS A, A, A BUSINESS GETTING AN INCENTIVE TO MOVE INTO A HIGH EQUITY AREA.
SO, I MEAN, I SEE YOU NODDING, SO I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A CHANCE.
SO WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THE IDEA IS SAY, OKAY, FINE, IF YOU DON'T MOVE INTO A HIGH EQUITY AREA, YOU MAYBE GET A FIVE YEAR INCENTIVE AND MAYBE HAD, THAT HAS A VALUE OF A HUNDRED DOLLARS JUST TO PICK A ROUND NUMBER.
IF YOU'LL MOVE INTO A DISADVANTAGED AREA, YOU GET A 15 YEAR DEAL, THAT'S A VALUE OF $300.
SO, I MEAN, AGAIN, I'M DOING SIMPLE MATH, RIGHT? YEAH, YEAH.
BUT THE IDEA IS THAT THAT IS A HUGE INCENTIVE TO MOVE TO AN AREA THAT'S HAD CHALLENGES, BECAUSE YOUR TERM OF AGREEMENT CAN GO SO MUCH LONGER.
I, AND I, I, I AGREE WITH IT, BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS YOU HAVE TO ALREADY HAVE A DEAL IN ORDER FOR EQUITY TO MATTER WHAT I, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY, AND IN YOUR EQUITY MATTERS, UH, THE LENGTH, THE TERM, HOW LONG.
BUT, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE GONNA GET A DEAL.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IF YOU, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MY UNDERSTANDING IS IF YOU, YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE NOT ATTRACTED TO AN AREA BECAUSE YOU COULD POTENTIALLY GET AN INCENTIVE PACKAGE.
IT'S ONCE YOU'RE ALREADY IN AN INCENTIVE PACKAGE THAT YOU COULD EXTEND IT BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA GO TO A HIGH EQUITY AREA.
NO, I, I THINK IT'S, I THINK IT'S PART OF THE PACKAGE.
SO WHILE THEY'RE, YOU STILL GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE EVALUATION OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT PERCENTAGES USING, LIKE THE EXAMPLES THAT JUSTINA SHOWED.
BUT, BUT THIS IS AN, THIS SLIDE IS AN ELEMENT OF, OF JUST LENGTH OF TIME MM-HMM.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT COUNCILMAN BROWN WAS TALKING ABOUT AS, I MEAN, THIS GOES BACK TO THE LAST, THE LAST TWO YEARS OF
UM, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, THERE'S BEEN MORE A FOCUS ON THE, ON THE INVESTMENT WE'VE MADE IN THE 13 REGIONAL AREAS AND THE SUB AREAS.
WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THE STAFF IS PROPOSING IS TO MAKE THAT A, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT, BUT NOT THE DRIVER FROM AN INCENTIVE PACKAGE STANDPOINT.
AND, YOU KNOW, I, I'M, I'M, UH, UM, THIS PUTS A HIGHER, UM, I'M GONNA SAY WORTH ON THE VALUE DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU'RE AT IN THE COMMUNITY.
BUT, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT, I MEAN, JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE IN AN, YOU'RE HAPPY TO BE IN AN AREA THAT MAY HAVE A HIGH EQUITY MATRIX SCORE, UM, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY GONNA DRIVE IT REALLY, IT'S REALLY GONNA DEPEND ON THE COMPANY AND THEIR, AND THEIR PLAN FOR THE REST OF THE REST OF THE DEAL.
WELL, I, I MEAN, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT BECOME A DRIVER.
I WOULD, I MEAN, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT THE, NO, GO AHEAD, ERIC, TO SEE IT.
I MEAN, SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE A QUALIFIER? YEAH.
I MEAN, I WANNA, SO, OKAY, SO I'D LIKE, I JUST WANNA NOTE, I'D LIKE TO SEE REGIONAL CHANGE IN REGIONAL CENTERS TO INCLUDE NOT JUST THE AREAS OF ALREADY THERE'S ALREADY GROWTH AND WE SEE GROWTH, AND LET'S TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY AND JUMP ON IT.
I WANT TO SEE, UM, REGIONAL CENTERS AND LOCATIONS WITH AN OPPRESSIVE LACK OF GROWTH, RIGHT.
HISTORICALLY DON'T HAVE, UH, THEIR LANDLOCKED, THEY, THEY JUST, YOU KNOW, UM, ARE TYPICALLY INNER CITY.
I DON'T THINK ADDING POINTS TO THE EQUITY SCORE IS ENOUGH TO INCENTIVIZE GROWTH IN SOME AREAS OF OUR CITY AND EXTENDING THEIR TERM, UM, IN DISTRICT SIX.
I'M TALKING ABOUT EDGEWOOD, I'M TALKING ABOUT PIN ROAD, I'M TALKING ABOUT MARBACH.
UH, BUT THOSE ARE EXAMPLES OF LOCATION THROUGHOUT OUR CITY THAT HAVE BEEN, I, I, I THINK LEFT OUT OF THE PROCESS.
SO, UM, I, I, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS I APPRECIATE THAT THERE IS AN EQUITY METRIC SCORE.
I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADJUSTMENT.
AND, AND THAT'S WHAT I'M, THAT'S, I WOULD LIKE TO DRIVE BUSINESS TO HIGH EQUITY AREAS.
UH, IT'S, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO ATTRACT.
UM, Y'ALL KNOW THAT THAT AREA WHERE IN DISTRICT SIX, THERE WAS AN AREA WE COULDN'T GIVE LAND AWAY.
RIGHT? AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL AREA AND IT'S, THERE'S NO REASON WHY WE CAN'T ATTRACT IN, UM, BUSINESSES THERE.
BUT I'D LIKE TO SEE, UH, NOT JUST, OKAY, WE, WE HAVE A DEAL, HEY, AND IF WE MOVE THREE BLOCKS THIS WAY TO A MORE HIGH EQUITY SCORE, WE'LL GET MORE A, A A LONGER DEAL.
I WANNA SEE, I WANNA MOVE HERE BECAUSE I'M GONNA GET A GREAT DEAL.
I, UM, I THINK WHAT THE, THE WAY IT TYPICALLY ACTUALLY WORKS IS A COMMUNITY, A COMPANY SAYS, I'M THINKING ABOUT SAN ANTONIO, AND THEY TALK TO SOME BROKERS, AND THE BROKERS IDENTIFY VIABLE SITES, AND THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE MORE THAN ONE IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE PART OF THE MESSAGE.
IF THIS SITE IS IN DISTRICT SIX, IT'S GONNA GET A HIGH EQUITY SCORE.
IT GETS A HIGH EQUITY SCORE, YOU'RE GONNA GET MORE OF AN INCENTIVE.
SO IT'S ALL GONNA BE PART AND PARCEL OF THE PROCESS AS A COMMU COMPANY IS LOOKING AT THE COMMUNITY OVERALL.
HAVING SAID THAT, THERE'S NO REASON WHY WE COULDN'T ALSO CONSIDER IT AS PART OF THE EVALUATION PROCESS.
[01:05:01]
OKAY.I KNOW YOU'RE JUST USING IT AS AN EXAMPLE, BUT I DON'T MEAN JUST, UH, ONE DISTRICT, IT'S 'CAUSE THERE'S, THERE'S JUST AREAS OF TOWN, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, UM, UH, BECAUSE IT'S NOT THE MAJORITY OF MY DISTRICT, BUT, UH, THERE ARE PARTS OF IT THAT ARE, IT'S, IT'S A LOT, LOT OF DIFFICULTY ATTRACTING BUSINESS.
SO, UM, I JUST WANNA ASK ONE MORE THING.
SO JUSTINA SAID THE LENGTH OF THE TERM AND THE GEOGRAPHIC INCENTIVE WERE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
IS THAT CORRECT? THE LENGTH OF THE, UM, THE, THE, THE DEAL.
SO WE WOULD LOOK AT WHERE THEY'RE LOCATING AND, AND THAT WOULD DETERMINE, UH, UH, THE LENGTH OF THE TERM UP TO AND A, UH, A YEAR.
THE EQUITY MATRIX AND WE WOULD LOOK AT WHERE THEY'RE LOCATING AND BASED UPON THE EQUITY SCORE, THEY WOULD, UM, THAT WOULD DETERMINE AN UP TO, FOR THE LENGTH OF THE AGREEMENT.
'CAUSE I AM KNOWN FOR NOT TAKING UP ALL MY TIME AND I'M NOT GONNA DO THAT TODAY.
SO, UM,
HDA, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
UM, JUSTINA AND, AND, UM, EVERYBODY WHO WORKED ON THIS REALLY HARD, I HAVE JUST A FEW QUESTIONS.
FIRST, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NONPROFITS, WE HAD DISCUSSED THAT AT E W D C.
SO IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION TO ADD NONPROFITS TO THIS? IS THIS STILL A DISCUSSION ABOUT IT? AND IF SO, HOW DO PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS WORK? SO THIS IS STILL A DISCUSSION.
SO WE WANTED TO LET, UM, CITY COUNCIL KNOW WHAT WAS DISCUSSED AT THE, UM, ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.
SO YOU ALL HAD NOT ORIGINALLY PROPOSED IT.
ONE OF OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS BROUGHT IT UP.
CAN YOU HELP MY COLLEAGUES UNDERSTAND OR JUST KIND OF RECAP OF THE DISCUSSION THERE? GO AHEAD.
SO ONE OF, ONE OF THE POINTS MADE WAS THAT, PARTICULARLY IN SAN ANTONIO, THERE ARE LOTS OF MAJOR EMPLOYERS WHO ARE NOT-FOR-PROFITS.
AND AN ORGANIZATION THAT PROVIDES WAGES AND INCOME IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT PROVIDES WAGES AND INCOME.
AND IF THEY'RE GROWING, WE MIGHT WANT TO INCENTIVIZE THEM TO DO THAT.
NOW, IF YOU'RE GONNA DO THAT, YOU GOTTA THINK ABOUT HOW ARE WE ADDING TO THE TAX BASE AND THE PROCESS, OR ARE WE JUST LOOKING AT JOB GRANTS? AND THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
BUT FROM AN ECONOMIST STANDPOINT, IN SOME WAYS, IF ONE OF THE GOALS IS JOBS AND INCOME AND EXPANSION, THEN WE OUGHT TO BE SOMEWHAT NEUTRAL ON FORM OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE.
AND THE REASON THAT I WAS ASKING FOR THAT CLARIFICATION IS BECAUSE ONE OF THE, UM, PROPOSALS IS FOR $56,000, UM, AS A SALARY BASE, AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD THAT.
SO WOULD YOU ALL AT THAT POINT, IF WE DO INCLUDE NONPROFITS, COME BACK WITH A DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATION FOR NONPROFIT SALARY LEVELS? ONE THING I DO WANT TO CLARIFY ON NONPROFITS IS THAT MOST OF THEM ARE TAX EXEMPT.
SO THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT INCREMENTAL TAX BASE THAT WE COULD DO A REBATE OR A TAX ABATEMENT.
SO THEY WOULD, IF WE WOULD INCLUDE NONPROFITS, IT WOULD BE ON A, ON A PER JOB, UH, GRANT BASIS, SIMILAR TO THE SMALL BUSINESS ONE.
SIMILAR TO THE SMALL BUSINESS, UP TO $1,500 WOULD PROBABLY BE THE RECOMMENDATION.
UM, AND THEN ON THE READY TO WORK, UM, AND I, I SAID THAT I APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE I, I, I THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S A WAY TO ENGAGE, BUT THE 15% REQUIREMENT, UM, THAT WE HAVE, UH, WHAT IF THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM, UH, OR WHAT IF THE GRADUATES AREN'T IN THE SAME INDUSTRY THAT, UM, THAT THE COMPANY APPLYING FOR? SO WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS THEN? SO WE WOULD REQUIRE THAT THE COMPANY PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF AN INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY THROUGH POTENTIALLY THEIR HR GROUP OR IT, OR, UM, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER COMPONENT OF THEIR COMPANY THAT THEY WOULD, UH, PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY THAT A READY TO WORK PARTICIPANT COULD BE, COULD, UM, BE INCLUDED IN SO THEY, THEY COULD GET THAT JOB EXPERIENCE.
AND THEN HOW DO WE PROVE THAT THERE IS, OR HOW DO COMPANIES PROVE THAT THEY HAVE GENDER PAY PARITY AT THEIR COMPANIES? LIKE, WHO, WHO HAS ACCESS TO THAT? DO WE, BECAUSE THEY'RE PRIVATE COMPANIES, SO I WOULDN'T ANTICIPATE THAT THEY'RE JUST OFFERING THAT UP.
YEAH, AND WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD A LOT OF, WE'VE PUT A LOT OF THOUGHT INTO THAT.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY GONNA BE ASKING FOR ALL OF THE WAGES ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICULAR GENDER EMPLOYEES.
WE, WE GET A LOT OF THEIR WAGE INFORMATION BECAUSE WE MONITOR ALL OF THESE AGREEMENTS.
WE DON'T NECESSARILY TIE IT TO A PARTICULAR PERSON THOUGH, BUT WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING FOR THOSE PRACTICES.
DO THEY PROMOTE WOMEN INTO LEADERSHIP? DO THEY HAVE THOSE, UM, PROGRAMS IN PLACE? UM, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING FOR.
AND THEN, UM, I DO WANNA SAY, UH, COUNCILMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN.
I THINK YOU HAVE GREAT IDEAS, UM, WITH THE, THE RECOMMENDATION AND, UM, WITH MAYBE BONUS INCENTIVES THAT, THAT YOU ALL MENTIONED PER
[01:10:01]
COUNCIL DISTRICT.AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU'RE HERE AND THAT YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT TO US.
UM, YOU KNOW, E EVEN THROUGH NEXT WEEK.
THAT MEANS A LOT TO ME THAT YOU'RE STILL SO FULLY ENGAGED BECAUSE WE NEED THAT.
UM, WE, UH, HER RECOMMENDATION FOR SUMMER AND YOUTH INTERNSHIPS, I THOUGHT WAS IDEAL.
SO THAT IS, UH, I, I'M, I'M ALL ABOUT INTERNSHIPS AND SO THESE SUMMER INTERNSHIPS, SO WHATEVER WE HAVE TO DO TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION BEFORE SHE LEAVES, UH, I'D LOVE TO MAYBE MEET WITH YOU, COUNCILMAN TO FURTHER EXPLORE THAT.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO, UH, I, I THINK THAT COUNCILWOMAN VIA GRANT OR CHAIR, UH, SHE'S OUR, OUR E W D C CHAIR.
AND I THINK THAT WE HAD BROUGHT THIS UP AT E W D C ABOUT EVALUATORS AND WHO'S DOING THE EVALUATION.
I HAD MENTIONED, IS THERE A RUBRIC? IS IT KIND OF DEPENDING ON WHO THE EVALUATOR IS, ET CETERA.
AND SO I THINK TO HER POINT THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME DIVERSITY IN GROUPS THAT ARE EVALUATING IS, IS CRITICAL.
AND AGAIN, UH, BEFORE SHE LEAVES ALSO, SO LET'S MAKE SURE WE GET ON THE CALENDAR WITH HER.
I'M JUST KIND OF LIKE, BUT BY THE WAY, I'M SO, I'M SO BUMMED BECAUSE WE ARE NO LONGER GONNA BE THE MAJORITY FEMALE.
SO I, I, I GOTTA MEET WITH THEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, BUT, UH, ANYTHING THAT I CAN DO TO HELP WITH THAT.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, I APPRECIATE THE SMALL BUSINESS.
I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE CRITICISMS OF THE CHAPTER THREE 13 WAS THAT THERE'S NO SMALL BUSINESS, RIGHT? HELP.
SO THE THREE 12, SO THAT WE'RE PROPOSING THIS IN OURS, I THINK IS, IS IMPORTANT.
AND THEN, UM, COUNCILMAN PEL SENT ME AN ARTICLE, UM, AND I'M GOOD WITH HIM 'CAUSE HE, I STILL HAVE TWO MORE YEARS AT LEAST WITH HIM.
BUT, UM, HOW TO
'CAUSE WHEN YOU SAID BONUS, I WAS LIKE, I LOVE THIS IDEA, RIGHT? BONUS POINTS, UH, FOR PEOPLE MAYBE WHO INVEST IN OUR, IN OUR BIKES AND, UH, TRAILWAYS, RIGHT? AND SO, UH, COUNCILMAN PELA SENT ME THIS REALLY GOOD ARTICLE EARLIER TODAY, AND I ALREADY MARKED IT UP AND SENT HIM BACK TO HIM WITH LOTS OF IDEAS, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, AND I HIGHLIGHTED IT FOR HIM JUST IN CASE.
AND SO I WANTED TO SEE HOW WE COULD INCORPORATE THAT.
CAN YOU MENTION THAT WHAT YOU MENTIONED AT THE E W D C MEETING ABOUT SPECIFICALLY QUALITY OF LIFE.
I KNOW THAT THE HOMEOWNERS, UM, UH, THERE, THERE'S A NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS OR NOT, I, I, I'M BUTCHERING THE NAME, I'M SORRY.
UM, BUT THEY SAID THAT IN 2004, THAT WAS ONE OF THE PRIORITIES FOR PEOPLE.
AND SO ONE OF THE DOC IN THE DOCUMENT THAT I MARKED UP FOR COUNCILMAN PAL, I SAID, I BET YOU THIS, WELL, THIS DATE IS OLD, SO I BET YOU COVID HAS INCREASED THIS.
SO CAN YOU, FOR THE BENEFIT OF MY COLLEAGUES, EXPLAIN WHAT YOU MENTIONED? YEAH, AGAIN, AGAIN, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, IT FITS INTO THE, THE OVERALL CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW DOES THIS, THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT E EFFORT, WHETHER IT'S A NEW COMPANY COMING IN, AN EXPANSION OF EXISTING BUSINESS, HOW DOES IT FIT INTO THE OVERALL COMMUNITY? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REALLY, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND SO PART OF WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO PUT IN PLACE ARE EVALUATION QUESTIONS THAT DRILL INTO THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT IN THE SERVICE OF FINDING THE TRUTH OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, AND REWARDING COMPANIES WHO NOT ONLY CREATE JOBS, NOT ONLY CREATE INCOME, DO ALL THE THINGS THAT WE WOULD EXPECT OF THEM, BUT ALSO LINK TO THE COMMUNITY IN WAYS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH OTHER COMMUNITY PRIORITIES.
AND SO, WHAT YOU ALL ARE DOING IS TODAY IS EXACTLY THE DYNAMIC PROCESS THAT IS ENVISIONED EVERY COUPLE YEARS, WHICH IS, HAVE WE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS? CAN WE EXPAND THAT? THAT'S THE IDEA, IS TO CREATE THIS FRAMEWORK WHERE WE CAN JUST DO THESE, EXACTLY WHAT YOU ALL ARE DOING IS REFINING HOW WE EVALUATE PEOPLE TO BETTER ALIGN THIS STUFF.
I'M, I'M, I'M REALLY HOPEFUL FOR THAT.
UM, AND AGAIN, THOSE WHATEVER YOU CAN DO TO ADD BONUS POINTS FOR, FOR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, I THINK IS IMPORTANT.
AND THEN FINALLY, I WANNA MENTION THAT, UM, MY STAFF AND I HAD A MEETING WITH, UM, A LOCAL DEVELOPER WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS.
AND SO, UM, WE WERE WORKING WITH, UM, SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO DEVELOP SOMETHING ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
AND, UM, THEY SAID, WELL, WHEN INVESTORS, THIS DEVELOPER SAID, WHEN INVESTORS HEAR THE SOUTH SIDE, THEY SHUT, SHUT DOWN.
SO, SO HELP ME BACKTRACK THAT OR HELP ME WITH, UM, UH, A COUNTER ARGUMENT FOR THAT, BECAUSE I WAS NOT IN THAT MEETING, BUT IT WAS REPORTED OUT TO ME, ME.
SO HELP ME WITH THAT STATEMENT.
SO THE COUNTER ARGUMENT IS, YOU KNOW, AND I'M GONNA BE SO BOLD AS TO SAY, GET YOUR HEAD OUTTA YOUR BUTT, NUMBER ONE.
AND NUMBER TWO, TAKE A LOOK AT THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION ON THE GROUND.
AND NUMBER THREE, WE UNDERSTAND THERE HAVE BEEN HISTORIC CHALLENGES.
SO IF YOU ARE WILLING TO BE, IF NOT A PIONEER AND EARLY ADOPTER, WE WILL WORK WITH YOU IN A MORE AGGRESSIVE FASHION.
AND WE ARE, BY THE WAY, COMMITTED AS A COUNCIL TO DO THE THINGS NECESSARY TO DEVELOP THE SOUTH SIDE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT INFRASTRUCTURE, WE'RE LOOKING AT RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THESE THINGS.
AND, YOU KNOW, DO YOU WANNA BE PART OF THE PROCESS OR DO YOU NOT? IF YOU DON'T WANT TO, THAT'S FINE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
BUT IF YOU'LL WORK WITH US, WE'LL WORK WITH YOU.
AND THAT CONCEPT OF THE EARLY ADOPTER IS CRITICAL, AND I THINK THAT, THAT WE MISSED THE BOAT THERE.
THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS, MAYOR.
YEAH, THOSE ARE LATE BIRDS THAT DON'T GET THE
[01:15:01]
WORM, YOU KNOW? RIGHT.THAT LEAVES R O I ON THE TABLE FOR EVERYBODY ELSE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER S THANK YOU.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST ALEX, I I I JUST WANNA MAKE A RECOMMENDATION FOR ALL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, MEETINGS GOING FORWARD.
UM, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO LIKE, TALK ABOUT THE CONCRETE REAL STORIES ABOUT HOW THIS MATTERS, RIGHT? BECAUSE TOO OFTEN WE GET INTO THESE ABSTRACT CONVERSATIONS AND LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE FOLKS WHO ARE WATCHING AT HOME MAY BE WONDERING, LIKE, WHAT DO I CARE? I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS IS GONNA IMPACT ME, RIGHT? AND SO I WAS TALKING TO THE MAYOR THE OTHER DAY, YOU KNOW, AND EVERY ONE OF THESE MEETINGS NEEDS TO START WITH A TELLING OF A STORY OF HOW SOMEBODY BENEFITED FROM OUR WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS, RIGHT? OR TELLING A STORY ABOUT HOW A SMALL BUSINESS OR EVEN A LARGE BUSINESS, RIGHT, IS MAKING A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BECAUSE OF THESE THINGS.
ERIC, AT THE END OF YOUR MANAGER'S REPORTS, YOU'VE ALWAYS HIGHLIGHTED, YOU KNOW, THE FOLKS IN THE ORGANIZATION WHO ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE REMINDING US WHY WE DO THIS AND WHO WE'RE HELPING.
I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT THING.
UM, AND SO THE OTHER THING TOO IS IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WORKERS, ONE OF THE BASE REQUIREMENTS FOR A PLACE THAT OFFERS DIGNITY, UM, AND RESPECT TO HIS WORKERS, I THINK IS WORKERS' COMP.
UM, AND SO WHILE I CERTAINLY THINK THAT PARITY, UH, EQUAL PAY PARITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, I HAVE A DAUGHTER.
I HAVE A WIFE, I THINK THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, BUT I ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHEN MY DAUGHTER AND MY WIFE SLIP AND FALL AT WORK, OR THEY GET, YOU KNOW, HURT THAT THERE'S SOMEBODY THERE BACKING THEM UP AND TAKING CARE OF THEIR INJURIES.
ALMOST EVERY LARGE EMPLOYER IN TEXAS HAS WORKERS' COMP EXCEPT FOR A SELECT FEW.
UM, AND SOME OF THOSE SELECT FEW PARTICIPATE IN, UH, A NON-SUBSCRIBER PROGRAM, WHICH PROVIDES THE EQUIVALENT OF WORKERS' COMP COVERAGE.
BUT THEN THERE'S THOSE THAT JUST SAY, SCREW IT, YOU KNOW, UH, WORKER BEWARE.
AND, UH, COME AT ME IF YOU GET HURT ON MY PLACE.
AND ANDY, UH, YOU KNOW, LAWYERS IN YOUR SHOP, IN MY SHOP, UH, WE WORK ON THIS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
AND, UH, IF YOU'RE THE, IF YOU'RE THE LATTER KIND OF EMPLOYER, THEN I REALLY DON'T WANT YOU GETTING A SINGLE PENNY OF CITY MONEY.
UM, AND SO, UM, AND I HOPE THAT THIS COUNCIL WILL TAKE UP THAT CONVERSATION EITHER TODAY OR, YOU KNOW, AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.
THE OTHER THING TOO IS, UM, YOU KNOW, ERIC, WHO BUILT THIS BUILDING OR WHO DID THE REMODEL IN THIS BUILDING, G***O, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
IF G***O COMES AND SHOWS UP AND SAYS, HEY, I WANNA, YOU KNOW, GET SOME OF THESE INCENTIVES AND SUBMITS THEIR APPLICATION, AND THEY CHECK OFF ALL THE BOXES, WILL WE DISCOUNT THE AMOUNT THAT THEY WOULD GET BASED ON THE AMOUNT THAT WE PAID THEM FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DID HERE? I THINK NOT.
RIGHT? SO WHY WOULD WE DO THAT TO A NONPROFIT WHO GETS DELEGATE AGENCY MONEY? I THINK THAT'S, I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT'S INSULTING TO ANY NONPROFIT OUT THERE, WHICH IS, HEY, IF YOU DO REALLY GOOD WORK AND WE'RE CONTRACTING YOU TO DO IT RIGHT, YOU'RE GONNA GET LESS THAN SOMEBODY ELSE WHO HAS GOT A I R S DESIGNATION DIFFERENT THAN YOU, UM, AND YOUR WORKERS ARE WORTH LESS THAN OUR WORKERS.
SO, UM, THE, UM, SO THESE, THESE ABSTRACT CONVERSATIONS, RIGHT? AND, AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED WAS SORT OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS.
UM, AND THERE'S A LOT OF DATA, AND THAT DATA GETS REALLY NOISY.
UM, AND YOU HAVE TO SORT OF FIGURE OUT A WAY TO TAKE THOSE COMPLEXITIES AND WHITTLE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF TELESCOPE THEM DOWN INTO SOME BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS, RIGHT? AND THEN DISTILL THOSE BUILDING BLOCKS AND WHITTLE THEM DOWN INTO SOME SORT OF COLOR BY NUMBERS MANUAL, RIGHT? AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE, AND THAT'S GREAT.
UM, AND SO I, I, I THINK THE, THE STRUGGLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AS, AT LEAST IN MY LAYMAN'S UNDERSTANDING, IS THAT WE CAN, UM, WHITTLE THIS DOWN AS FAR AS POSSIBLE, BUT THE BALANCING TEST WILL ALWAYS BE MANAGING THOSE COMPLEXITIES, RIGHT? AND EVEN THE UNFORESEEN OR, OR UNDESIRABLE CONSEQUENCES.
I SENT YOU AN ARTICLE TODAY ABOUT HOW INVESTMENT IN GREEN SPACES AND TRAILS AND ALL THAT IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, POSITIVE, RIGHT? EVERYBODY KNOWS, RIGHT? LOOK AT CENTRAL PARK, FOR EXAMPLE.
EVERY, YOU KNOW, THE CITY MAKES A TON OF MONEY BECAUSE CENTRAL PARKS IS DOING GREAT.
LOOK AT HEMISPHERE, RIGHT? WE KNOW WHY WE'RE INVESTING IN HEMISPHERE IN THE GREEN SPACES THERE.
UM, BUT THEN THERE'S THOSE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, RIGHT? UM, YOU BUILD OUT BEAUTIFUL TRAILS, YOU BUILD OUT BEAUTIFUL PARKS.
LOOK AT THE MINNEAPOLIS MIDTOWN GREENWAY.
UM, AND WHAT HAPPENS IS GENTRIFICATION, RIGHT? THE HOMES, UH, YOU KNOW, ABUTTING, THESE PARKS BECOME MORE EXPENSIVE, AND IT'S HAPPENING TODAY.
JUST LOOK AT HOWARD PEAK, GREENWAY REALTORS ARE SCRAMBLING AND FALLING ALL OVER THEMSELVES TRYING TO, UH, YOU KNOW, LIST HOMES ALONG THE TRAILWAYS.
UM, AND WHAT, WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING THEN IS, YOU KNOW, THE FOLKS IN THOSE AREAS EXPERIENCE THAT GENTRIFICATION, AND THEN THAT GENTRIFICATION ENDS UP PUSHING PEOPLE OUT OF THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS, RIGHT? AND THEN WE'RE LIKE, OH, NO, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WE HATE GENTRIFICATION.
HOW DID WE DO THIS? AND WE DID IT, RIGHT? AND SO THESE HAVE THESE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, AND I GET IT.
WE HAVE TO MANAGE FOR THIS, RIGHT? AND THEY'RE TERRIBLE.
AND SO IF YOU EXTRAPOLATE THEN THAT, THAT TO, YOU KNOW, SAYING, HEY, WE WANT THESE TARGETED INDUSTRIES.
WE WANT A BIG INFLUX OF TECH JOBS IN SAN ANTONIO, YOU'RE GONNA END UP HAVING, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TECH PEOPLE, WHICH IS GREAT.
THEY'RE GONNA ALL BUY ESPRESSOS AND CAPPUCCINOS AND, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU
[01:20:01]
KNOW, AND MICROBREW AND ALL THAT, BUT THEY'RE GONNA END UP GENTRIFYING NEIGHBORHOODS, RIGHT? UH, AS WE'RE SEEING IT HAPPEN TODAY.UM, AND WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE IS POOR PEOPLE IN BLUE COLLAR JOBS GETTING PUSHED OUT OF THIS ECONOMY.
UM, AND WE HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH FOLKS THAT THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF THIS CONVERSATION, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE CAN ALL SAY, HEY, LOOK AT THIS SHINY NEW THING THAT WE'RE DELIVERING FOR SAN ANTONIO, BUT WE HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S RESIDENTS, OUR BOSSES, THAT WE ARE ALSO MAKING AN INVESTMENT THAT MAY END UP GENTRIFYING THINGS, RIGHT? AND SO THIS CONVERSATION HAS TO BE, YOU KNOW, HAD, UM, AND SO I, I THINK I'M, I'M NOT, JOHN, YOU AND I HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR MANY YEARS, AND YOU KNOW, I MADE FUN OF YOU EARLIER.
HE HAD A, HE HAD A BLACK BEARD BEFORE.
BUT YOU HAVE A, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, I, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE A PHD, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT TO SOLVE FOR ALL THIS NOISE AND ALL THIS COMPLEXITY, WHAT YOU GOTTA DO IS JUST MATCH AVAILABILITY OF LABOR TO AVAILABILITY OF CAPITAL, PERIOD.
THAT'S LIKE THE EASIEST WAY TO DO THIS, RIGHT? SO, ALEX, THIS BRINGS ME ALL FULL CIRCLE TO WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I NOT INCENTIVIZE AN IMAGING CENTER IN DISTRICT FIVE IF THEY BROUGHT THE RIGHT NUMBER OF JOBS, IF THEY INVESTED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN M R I AND PET, PET SCANS AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE MACHINES.
AND THEY SAID, LOOK, WE'RE GONNA HIRE LOCAL DOCTORS, LOCAL NURSES, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE TECHNOLOGISTS TO RUN THESE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MACHINES.
AND BY THE WAY, THOSE ARE THE TECHNOLOGISTS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO TRAIN UP THROUGH OUR READY TO WORK PROGRAM.
AND HERE WE'RE SAYING, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT? IF YOU PROVIDE MEDICAL RETAILER SERVICES, WE JUST DON'T WANNA TOUCH IT.
WHY IS THAT THE CASE? AND I, I REMEMBER YOU TELLING US, BECAUSE IT'S A POLICY ADOPTED BY COUNCIL, I'M IN HERE FOUR YEARS, I NEVER ADOPTED THAT POLICY.
THAT'S JUST BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S A RESIDUAL, UM, ITEM THAT STAYED IN OUR, IN OUR ABATEMENT GUIDELINES, UM, PERTAINING TO RETAIL.
UM, BECAUSE OUR, OUR AGREEMENT SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED ANY KIND OF RETAIL OPERATIONS AND DIRECT MEDICAL SERVICE DELIVERY WAS STILL CLASSIFIED UNDER THAT CATEGORY.
BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE USED THIS AS AN EXAMPLE, AND WE WANTED TO BRING IT UP FOR CONVERSATION.
SO, I MEAN, IF IT'S A RESIDUAL POLICY FROM COUNCIL'S, YOU KNOW, UH, PAST, I, YOU KNOW, THEY, I'M SURE THEY WERE WISE, AND IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME.
BUT I THINK THAT IF ON THE ONE HAND WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE JOBS WITH MEDICAL TECHNOLOGISTS, CERTIFICATES, AND PHLEBOTOMISTS, AND WHATEVER IT IS, THESE CERTIFICATES ARE, WE OUGHT TO BE INCENTIVIZING THESE BUSINESSES TO CATCH WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE TRAINING, RIGHT? I MEAN, OTHERWISE, OTHERWISE, IT'S BSS THAT WE'RE, I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, UM, FLAILING OUR ARMS OUT HERE, RIGHT? SO I, I'D LIKE FOR THIS COUNCIL TO CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, DROPPING THAT RESIDUAL POLICY, RIGHT? AND MAYBE EVEN MAKE IT A WRITTEN POLICY THAT WE DON'T DISCRIMINATE AGAINST BUSINESSES WHO ARE PROVIDING THE HIGH PAYING JOBS.
AND, YOU KNOW, UH, CHECKING OFF THE BOXES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TODAY, JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE FLAVOR OF THEIR BUSINESS.
THIS IS, IF, IF I MAY, I MEAN, THIS IS, THIS IS SORT OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TARGETED INDUSTRIES, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO YOU, YOU BRING UP A VALID POINT, OBVIOUSLY, ECONOMIC SUCCESS OFTEN CREATES GENTRIFICATION, CREATES PROBLEMS. WELL, PART OF THE ARGUMENT IS, ONE, THERE'LL BE SPINOFFS OF THE ECONOMIC SUCCESS, RIGHT? THAT'S GOOD.
BUT TWO, THAT'S PART OF THE POINT.
YOU KIND OF GOTTA MEET YOUR CAPACITY, GOTTA HAVE THE, SORT OF FIND THE POINT WHERE THE MARKET MEETS YOUR CAPACITY.
RIGHT? NOW, SAN ANTONIO IS NOT HIGHLY COMPETITIVE IN TERMS OF AN EXTREMELY SKILLED WORKFORCE.
I'M NOT TELLING YOU ANYTHING YOU DON'T KNOW.
SO AS WE THINK ABOUT THIS, AS WE MOVE TOWARD THAT, AS WE WANT TO DO MORE AND MORE WITH HIGH SKILLED JOBS, WE MAY ALSO WANT TO CONSIDER JOBS THAT ARE NOT IN SOME OF THESE TARGETED INDUSTRIES WITH COMPANIES THAT ARE NOT IN SOME OF THESE TARGETED INDUSTRIES, BECAUSE THEY MEET SOME OF OUR LABOR FORCE WHERE IT IS TODAY.
NOT TO SAY THAT THAT'S WHERE YOU STOP AND YOU'RE DONE, SAYS, THIS IS THE REALITY ON THE GROUND.
AND HEY, 25 BUCKS AN HOUR, MAYBE DOING WHATEVER MIGHT ACTUALLY BE A GREAT JOB IN SAN ANTONIO FOR PARTS OF OUR LABOR FORCE TODAY.
SO ALONG THOSE LINES, THEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'VE GOT, I THINK YOU ALSO AGREE THAT WE'VE GOTTA MEET THESE POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS WHERE THEY ARE NOT WHERE WE WANT THEM TO BE, ARE.
AND WHERE THEY ARE TODAY IS ALMOST EVERY SHOP THAT I CAN THINK OF IN TOWN, REGARDLESS OF INDUSTRY, IS ADOPTING AI AND MACHINE LEARNING, RIGHT? TO OPERATE, WHICH REQUIRES FEWER HUMANS.
AND THEN NUMBER TWO, EVERY EMPLOYER I'VE TALKED TO HAS SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE DISCOVERED THAT ZOOM, WE ARE JUST AS PROFITABLE NOT HAVING THESE FOLKS IN THE OFFICE.
I'D RATHER INVEST IN TECHNOLOGY THAN IN MORE CUBICLES, SOLVE FOR THAT
I MEAN, I'VE GOT A MINUTE, I'VE GOT 30 SECONDS.
I SEED MY 30 SECONDS TO JOHN
AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S THE REALITY, AND THIS IS PART OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING, RIGHT? IS THAT THERE COULD BE A SITUATION WHERE A COMPANY, AND AGAIN, WE'VE TRIED TO BE FLEXIBLE WITH THIS, MIGHT HAVE A HUGE WORKFORCE HEADQUARTERED HERE.
[01:25:01]
BASE, YOU GET SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF THAT.YOU MAY GET SOME OF THE, THE ANCILLARY RELATIONSHIPS, BUT THEY'RE RELYING IN PART ON REMOTE WORK.
WELL, IF YOU GO THROUGH THIS EVALUATION PROCESS AND YOU FORCE PEOPLE TO TELL YOU WHO THEY ARE, AND YOU ASK US AS THE STAFF EVALUATORS AND EVERYBODY ELSE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THEM, THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE A DESIRABLE FIT.
AND THAT'S PART OF THE IDEA BEHIND THIS, IS TO, TO CREATE A STRUCTURE WHERE THIS COMPLEXITY CAN AT LEAST BE ACCOMMODATED AS YOU EVALUATE PEOPLE, BECAUSE SIMPLICITY IS DESIRABLE, BUT SIMPLICITY CREATES CHECKLISTS AND CHECKLISTS OFTENTIMES MISSED OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, AND I, AND I GET YOUR POINT.
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S ABOUT SKATING TO WHERE THE PUCK IS GOING TO BE AS OPPOSED TO WHERE IT IS RIGHT NOW.
UM, WHICH I TOTALLY AGREE WITH.
I, I ALSO HEAR COUNCIL MEMBER VIA GRAND'S POINT ABOUT THE FLEXIBILITY.
WE ARE, WE ARE ABLE TO DO BOTH.
I GUESS WHERE I END UP IS HOW WE DE HOW WE DEFINE WHAT A TARGET INDUSTRY IS.
I MEAN, SHOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT MARKET NEXUS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO REACH.
YES, DYNAMICALLY, NOT SNAPSHOT WHERE WE ARE TODAY, BUT LOOKING AT WHERE THE WORKFORCE IS GROWING, WHERE THE LABOR DEMANDS ARE, ET CETERA.
SO ANYWAY, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, THANK YOU, MAYOR.
THANK YOU ALL FOR WORKING ON THIS SO, SO THOUGHTFULLY AND FOR THE GUIDANCE FROM YOUR COMMITTEE, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, I, I HAVE TO ADMIT, WHENEVER I, I HEAR CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ECONOMIC INCENTIVES, I, I HAVE LOTS OF INNER TURMOIL.
UM, AND YOU CAN IMAGINE WHY, RIGHT? UH, OF ALL THE SCRUTINY WE GET AS, AS PUBLIC OFFICIALS, UH, ESPECIALLY IN A PLACE THAT DOES HAVE VERY HIGH PROPERTY TAXES.
THIS, THIS IS SOMETHING, UH, THAT'S VERY CONTROVERSIAL WHEN WE GO OUT TO, TO COMMUNITY.
UH, MEANING CERTAINLY PEOPLE WANT OUR CITY TO THRIVE AND HAVE GREAT JOBS, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY WHEN, UH, WHEN THE ASSESSOR SENDS OUT THAT BILL, UH, IN THE EARLY PART OF THE YEAR, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT RANKLES SOME, SOME PEOPLE.
UM, SO OBVIOUSLY WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE GET THE, THE BEST BENEFIT, RIGHT? FOR, FOR ANY OF THESE INVESTMENTS THAT, THAT WE MAKE.
AND, UH, BEYOND THAT, I, I, I THINK COUNCILMAN IZE AND COUNCILMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN, UH, BRING UP ALSO A GREAT POINT IS ONCE YOU, UH, ONCE YOU START PLACING, UM, A GREAT PLACE, UH, A GREAT COMPANY WHERE THINGS WEREN'T SO GREAT BEFORE, WELL, THAT'S GOOD.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE? UM, YOU KNOW, UH, A WHILE BACK, WE GOT SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, THIS IS REALLY FOR MY COLLEAGUE, SORRY, I FEEL LIKE YOU'RE WAITING FOR ME TO ASK YOU A QUESTION.
WE GOT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM, UH, THE MAYOR'S HOUSING POLICY TASK FORCE, THAT WHEN WE DO HAVE PUBLIC INVESTMENTS, WE, UH, WE SET SOME FUNDING ASIDE FOR THE POSSIBLE DISPLACEMENT, RIGHT? TO, TO PREVENT THAT DISPLACEMENT, DO SOME KIND OF ASSESSMENT ON THAT.
WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT COME TO FRUITION WITH SOME PROJECTS.
I, I, I JUST WONDER, I WOULD, I WOULD PUT THIS OUT THERE FOR US TO THINK ABOUT IS IF PROJECTS DO COME TO AREAS THAT ARE UNDERDEVELOPED NOW, AND THEY ONLY COME, BUT FOR THESE INCENTIVES THAT WE GIVE THEM, DOES THAT INVESTMENT QUALIFY AS A PUBLIC INVESTMENT? AND SHOULD WE, SHOULD WE MAKE ACCOMMODATIONS AND CONSIDER WHAT ARE THESE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES GOING TO BE? AND HOW CAN WE PREPARE FOR THEM? AND I'VE SUDDENLY TURNED YOUR JOB INTO, I'VE EXPLODED IT INTO EVERYTHING THAT, THAT MIGHT COME DOWN THE LINE, BUT IT'S, UM, I JUST, I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT THOUGHT OUT THERE FOR, FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, IS AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS, UM, THE, UH, NONETHELESS, WHAT YOU'VE BROUGHT US IS ALMOST A SEA CHANGE COMPARED TO, TO WHAT WE'VE HAD BEFORE.
SO I, I AM GLAD TO SEE IT MOVING IN THIS DIRECTION.
I THINK YOU'VE DONE A VERY CAREFUL LAYERING OF WHAT THE POLICIES AND THE PROGRAMS AND THE VALUES OF THIS COUNCIL HAVE BEEN, UH, SINCE THE, THE MAYOR'S TENURE, UH, IN TERMS OF EQUITY, IN TERMS OF PAY PARITY, THAT, THAT, UM, OUR OUTGOING COUNCIL WOMEN HAVE, HAVE CHAMPIONS.
I'M VERY GLAD, UH, TO SEE THAT THERE.
UH, BUT I WOULD ALSO AGREE WITH, UH, COUNCILMAN BELI THAT I DO THINK WE CAN GO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER WHEN IT COMES TO, TO LABOR AND THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE EMPLOYEES.
GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU, IT SUPPORTS WORKING FAMILIES.
UM, BUT, UH, I WOULD SUPPORT SOMETHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH, UM, WITH WORKERS' COMP.
UM, HAVING HAD TWO PARENTS INJURED, UH, ON THEIR, ON THEIR JOBS, UH, THAT, AND THAT WAS LIFE CHANGING FOR OUR FAMILY.
UH, SO I, I THINK, UM, EVERYONE DESERVES TO, EVERY WORKER DESERVES TO HAVE THAT.
UM, LASTLY, I WOULD SAY THAT THERE IS, UH, ANOTHER SET OF POLICIES AND PLANS, AND, AND THE MAYOR ALLUDED TO THESE THAT HAVE BEEN ADOPTED BY THIS
[01:30:01]
COUNCIL AND PUT FORWARD BY THE STAFF.UM, AND THOSE INCLUDE THE REWORKS PROGRAM, UH, OUT OF SOLID WASTE.
IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF IT, IT'S A GREAT THING, UH, AS WELL AS OUR, OUR PROPERTY ASSESS CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAM FOR REHABS, AND OF COURSE, OUR SUSTAINABILITY AND OUR CLIMATE PLANS.
AND THOSE ARE, UM, ADOPTED IDEAS BY THIS COUNCIL.
AND I'D JUST LIKE TO EXPLORE, UH, HOW WE CAN ALSO, UH, INTEGRATE THOSE BENEFITS, UH, INTO, INTO THESE GUIDELINES AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
I THINK WE'VE HAD A, A REALLY INTERESTING DISCUSSION.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT JUST POPPED IN TO IT WAS, UH, I THINK THE LONG TERM REPERCUSSIONS IN THE SHORT TERM REPERCUSSIONS.
YOU KNOW, WE GIVE INCENTIVES TODAY, OR, YOU KNOW, IN A MONTH OR SIX MONTHS TO PROJECTS, UH, AND THEY GET THE PRETTY IMMEDIATE IMPACT TO THAT INCENTIVE, BUT THE CITY DOESN'T GET THE, UH, RETURN ON THAT INVESTMENT SOMETIMES FOR 10 OR 15 YEARS, YET THE PROPERTY OWNERS AROUND THAT AREA START FEELING THE IMPACT THE NEXT TIME THEIR PROPERTIES GET APPRAISED OR WITHIN A YEAR OR TWO.
SO I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, WHAT IS THE, UH, THE VALUE TO THE CITY, WHAT'S THE VALUE TO THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY? AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE MAIN MECHANISM WE HAVE TO COMPENSATE FOR THAT IS TO REDUCE OUR TAXES, YOU KNOW, BUT THEN WE'RE NOT GONNA GET THE BENEFIT WE NEED, UH, FOR 15 YEARS.
SO HOW CAN WE REDUCE OUR TAXES NEXT YEAR TO COMPENSATE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO PAY MORE? SO IT'S A REAL DILEMMA, I THINK, AS WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE INCENTIVES THAT WE OFFER AND SOME OF THE GROWTH THAT WE HOPE FOR.
BUT, UH, AT THE SAME TIME, PEOPLE EXPECT THE CITY TO CREATE JOBS.
I MEAN, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I'M SURE THE MAYOR'S TALKED ABOUT IT.
WE'VE ALL, YOU KNOW, BEEN ASKED, YOU KNOW, THE, THEY EXPECT THE CITY TO CREATE JOBS, BUT IT'S NOT THE CITY THAT CREATES THE JOBS.
WHAT WE DO IS WE CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRIVATE INDUSTRY OR MAYBE NONPROFITS TO COME IN AND CREATE THOSE JOBS.
EVERYBODY WANTS JOB CREATION, BUT I THINK ALL OF US NEVER THINK ABOUT THE LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM CONSEQUENCES, UH, FOR THAT KIND OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AND HOW IT AFFECTS PEOPLE IN, IN THEIR CITIES.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I, I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT IS OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, OUR READY TO WORK PLAN.
YOU, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT SAN ANTONIO IS NOT KNOWN TO BE, UH, THE KIND OF CITY THAT HAS A VERY WELL EDUCATED, SKILLED, TRAINED WORKFORCE.
AND THAT, FOR MANY YEARS HAS PROBABLY KEPT MANY COMPANIES FROM COMING HERE AND MAYBE GOING 75 MILES UP THE ROAD.
UH, BUT I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO WITH OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS TO PROMOTE VERY STRONGLY THIS ASPECT OF WHAT WE'VE UNDERTAKEN WITH THIS READY TO WORK PROGRAM, AND WE NEED TO MAKE IT SUCCESSFUL.
I'VE BEEN A LITTLE WORRIED THAT MAYBE WE'RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH PEOPLE GETTING INVOLVED AND, AND GETTING MORE IMMEDIATE, UH, RESULTS.
AND I HOPE THAT THAT PROGRAM IS GOING TO PICK UP THE SHORT TERM ONE WE STARTED DIRECTLY BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, BUT EVEN THE LONGER TERM FOUR, FIVE YEAR PROGRAM, WE HOPE, UH, AND, AND, BUT WE NEED TO PROMOTE THIS AND LET PEOPLE KNOW WE ARE NOT A LOW-SKILLED, LOW WAGE COMMUNITY.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE RELATIVELY SPEAKING A LOW VALUE HOME COMMUNITY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO SELL THOSE GOOD THINGS ALSO, UH, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE ABOUT COMING HERE AND ENJOYING THE QUALITY OF LIFE THAT WE HAVE.
SO WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, SOME REAL BUILT IN CONFLICTS AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH ALL OF THIS.
ONE OF 'EM WAS ON SLIDE SEVEN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, THE INCENTIVE FOR PAY.
AND I THINK WE SAID ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS IS GOING TO BE FOR $15 AN HOUR SALARY.
I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT IN THERE.
UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I SAW ON SLIDE 20 WE TALKED ABOUT WAGE CREDITS, UH, AND, UH, I SAW IT WAS A $1,500 WAGE CREDIT, UH, MAXIMUM FOR A JOB, AND I WAS DOING A LITTLE CALCULATION.
AND IF YOU HAVE WAGES THAT ARE AT LEAST $30,000 A YEAR, THEN YOU KNOW, IF 5% OF THAT IS, YOU KNOW, $1,500.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT SAY ALMOST ALL THE JOBS WILL BE GETTING A $1,500 CREDIT, UH, THAT THEY CREATE.
[01:35:01]
IS THAT FOR JUST THE FIRST YEAR THAT JOB IS CREATED, OR IS THAT FOR EVERY YEAR THAT JOB CONTINUES? UH, YOU KNOW, I, I WASN'T QUITE SURE ABOUT THAT.SO THAT PER JOB CREDIT THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, AND IT'S, IT'S A GRANT THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO A 3% OF THE ANNUAL WAGES.
SO FOR A SMALL BUSINESS, DEPENDING ON THE SCORE, THEY WOULD BE EITHER ELIGIBLE FOR A 3% OR 5%, AND THEY COULD GET THAT FOR, IF THEY CREATE FIVE JOBS, DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED, THEY, THEY COULD GET THAT GRANT FOR UP TO FIVE OR 10 YEARS FOR THOSE FI FOR THE NUMBER OF JOBS THAT THEY CREATE.
SO IF SOMEBODY CREATED A HUNDRED JOBS OR 200, THESE ARE ONLY FOR SMALL BUSINESS.
SO THAT'S ONLY FOR SMALL BUSINESS THEN, RIGHT.
AND THAT WOULD BE UNDER A HUNDRED, BUT BASED ON THE S B A DEFINITIONS, RIGHT? YEAH, IT'S UNDER A HUNDRED, ISN'T IT? IT IT VARIES INDUSTRY BY INDUSTRY.
BUT QUITE A FEW OF 'EM ARE UP TO A HUNDRED.
SO, SO PART COUNCILMAN, PART OF THE REASON FOR DOING THIS IS THAT ONE OF THE CRITICISMS, WHICH I THINK IS VALID OF A LOT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAMS IS YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING FOR THE SMALL BUSINESSES.
YOU DON'T REACH TO THE GUY WHO'S, MAN, YOU KNOW, MY SMALL COMPANY'S DOING GREAT, I'M GONNA GO FROM 10 GUYS TO 20 GUYS.
AND THIS IS A WAY SPECIFICALLY TO DO THAT.
WE CAPPED THE INCENTIVE AT $1,500 PER JOB.
IN THEORY, IF YOU WERE PAYING, LET'S SAY YOU WERE A SMALL SOFTWARE COMPANY, YOU WERE PAYING PEOPLE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR, WELL, 3% OF THAT'D BE $3,000 A JOB, CAPPED IT AT 1500 BECAUSE OUR CALCULATIONS INDICATE THAT BETWEEN PROPERTY TAXES FUND TRANSFER TO FROM, UH, C P SS SALES TAXES, THAT'S ABOUT THE AVERAGE AMOUNT THAT A JOB IN SAN ANTONIO IS WORTH TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO THROUGH ITS VARIOUS REVENUE STREAMS. SO WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS WE'RE ESSENTIALLY, IT'S, AND THAT'S AN ACCOUNTING QUESTION, RIGHT? IT DOESN'T WORK FROM, IT DOESN'T WORK FROM AN ACCOUNTING POINT OF VIEW.
WHEN ERIC IS DOING HIS BUDGET, HE DOESN'T HAVE THAT MONEY IN HAND.
BUT WE'RE SAYING THERE'S A VALUE TO THE CITY OF CREATING THE JOB.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GONNA CAP IT.
BUT I, I JUST DIDN'T REALIZE IT COULD GO ON FOR 10 YEARS, YOU KNOW, AND THAT COULD BE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR FOR, YOU KNOW, 10 YEARS COULD BE A MILLION DOLLARS OR MORE FOR SOME OF THESE BUSINESSES.
SO I THINK, I KNOW IT'S, IT'S, I'M EXTRAPOLATING, BUT I THINK IT, IT'S ALSO A REALITY THAT IT COMPARES.
I I THINK THERE'S A PRAGMATIC REALITY, WHICH WE ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT, WHICH IS AT SOME POINT, YOU'RE GONNA DO SOME BUDGETING ON THIS, AND YOU'RE GONNA HAVE X AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THIS FUND, AND WHEN IT'S GONE, IT'S GONE.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THE CAPACITY THE COUNCIL HAS TO PUT AN ADDITIONAL CONSTRAINT ON THIS.
THE GOAL IS TO ALLOW SMALL BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE IN A MEANINGFUL WAY IN CREATING NEW JOBS AS PART OF THIS POLICY.
UM, I, I THINK THAT'S PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING I WANTED TO BRING UP.
OH, I, OH, NO, THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE.
I REMEMBER, UM, WHEN WE WERE HEARING, UH, PRESENTATIONS ABOUT SOME ECONOMIC PROJECTS THAT WERE BEING BROUGHT FORWARD BEFORE WE ALWAYS LOOKED AT, UH, OR PART OF THE CONSIDERATION IS WHAT IS THE VALUE TO THE CITY? AND I DIDN'T SEE ANYWHERE IN HERE WHERE YOU WERE INDICATING THAT WE'RE GONNA PRESENT WHAT THE DOLLAR VALUE IS TO THE CITY OVER TIME.
UH, AND I THINK TO MOST OF US, THAT HAS A RELEVANCE AS WE DISCUSS THIS.
SO IS THAT GOING TO BE A PRESENTATION WE'RE GONNA LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHENEVER ONE OF THESE PROJECTS COMES FORWARD? GO AHEAD.
SO WE WOULD CONTINUE DOING THAT COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS THAT SHOWS THE COUNCIL, AND THAT WOULD BE PART OF OUR EVALUATION, IS AS WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE ABATEMENT OR REBATE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THE COMPANY, WE WOULD LOOK AT HOW MUCH IS THE CITY GONNA GET IN BENEFITS? HOW MUCH IS IT GONNA COST THAT, THAT ESTIMATE IN CITY SERVICES? SO WHAT'S THE NET BENEFIT AFTER WE TAKE OUT THE COST AND THE INCENTIVE? WHAT'S THAT NET BENEFIT TO THE CITY? SO THAT WOULD BE INCLUDED IN, IN ALL OF THESE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE EVALUATING AND PRESENT IT TO COUNCIL AS WE'RE BRIEFING YOU ON ANY PROJECT.
YEAH, I RECALL, UH, ONE THING WE DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT WAS WHEN, UH, H E B DID AN EXPANSION AND ALL OF A SUDDEN WE FOUND OUT A FEW WEEKS LATER, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO EXPAND THE STREET.
AND SO WE HAD TO SPEND ADDITIONAL HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OR A MILLION DOLLARS.
SO, UH, I KNOW INFRASTRUCTURE WAS ONE OF THE THINGS YOU STIPULATED IN HERE.
SO I HOPE THAT WE REALLY LOOK AT THE LONG TERM, NOT THE IMMEDIATE SHORT TERM TO UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING.
SHE FELL ASLEEP AND KNOCKED THE COMPUTER UP.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY.
[01:40:01]
THANK YOU, SIR.A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION HERE.
JUST, JUST LOOKING AT THIS SLIDE THOUGH, UM, AND SIR, YOU, YOU KIND OF DANCED AROUND IT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW COMPETITIVE WE WOULD BE AGAINST OTHER TEXAS CITIES, BUT DID WE ACTUALLY REACH OUT AND GET CRITERIA FROM OTHER CITIES TO, I WANT TO, WHAT'S THE SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON? IS THIS MORE RESTRICTIVE, LESS RESTRICTIVE? WHERE'S IT GONNA PUT US? YOU SAY THAT YES, YOU THINK IT'LL MAKE US COMPETITIVE, BUT ARE WE GONNA BE COMPETITIVE? WELL, WE ACTUALLY, WE HAVE THAT, AND THAT'S IN THE REPORT THAT WILL BE FORTHCOMING IN GENERAL.
IT WILL MAKE YOU, IT WILL MAKE YOU MORE COMPARABLE TO HOW AUSTIN DOES EVALUATION.
ALTHOUGH QUITE FRANKLY, THE EVALUATION CRITERIA HERE ARE A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBLE.
THE EVALUATION CRITERIA IN DALLAS, HOUSTON AND FORT WORTH ARE MORE MECHANICAL, MORE COMPARABLE TO THE WAY SAN ANTONIO USED TO DO IT.
AND I, MY OPINION, AND IT'S OF COURSE, MY OPINION, 'CAUSE I DID, WE DID THE WORK, THIS ACTUALLY PO POSITIONS YOU BETTER AND MAKES YOU MORE COMPETITIVE BECAUSE YOU GET A MORE NUANCED, TAILORED ANSWER THAN WHAT'S BEEN DONE IN THE PAST.
I G I GUESS BE PROOF IN THE PUDDING ON WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
I MEAN, WHERE, WHERE ARE WE WITH WHAT OUR PAST CRITERIA WAS? HOW COMPETITIVE HAVE WE BEEN WITH OTHER CITIES WITH OUR PAST CRITERIA AND WHERE IS THIS GONNA TAKE US? AND SO THE, THE FEEDBACK FROM THE PRACTITIONERS, AND I WILL NOT SPECIFY ANY INDIVIDUAL PRACTITIONER, BUT THE FEEDBACK FROM OUR INTERVIEWS, LET'S CALL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY, PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY ENGAGED IN THIS, IS THAT THE CITY'S INCENTIVE POLICY ISN'T REALLY A MAJOR CONSIDERATION FOR WHAT THEY'RE DOING AS CURRENTLY CONSTRUCTED.
AND SO THEY WERE PRETTY, PRETTY RESPONSIVE AND PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THE IDEA OF MOVING IT IN THIS GENERAL DIRECTION.
UM, BUT HOW SUCCESSFUL WERE WE UNDER THE OLD SYSTEM VERSUS WHAT THE, WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS NEW, NEW CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES? HOW I, I'M JUST ASKING THE QUESTION, HAVE WE BEEN SUCCESSFUL UNDER THE OLD CRITERIA IN BRINGING BUSINESSES HERE TO SAN ANTONIO? I MEAN, HOW MANY, HOW MANY PACKAGES HAVE WE PUT OUT VERSUS HOW MANY HAVE WE BEEN SUCCESSFUL WITH? WHAT'S, WHAT, HOW DO WE GRADE OURSELVES? WHAT'S THE CRITERIA THAT WE LOOK AT OURSELVES TO SEE HOW SUCCESSFUL WE'VE BEEN? GO AHEAD.
I WAS GONNA, I WAS GONNA REFERENCE BACK TO THE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS THAT ARE SET FOR OUR DEPARTMENT EVERY YEAR.
WE REPORT THEM TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, THE AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT THAT WE BRING INTO THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND THE JOBS THAT WE CREATE.
SO ULTIMATELY, WE'RE LOOKING TO DRIVE THOSE TWO NUMBERS THROUGH THE DIFFERENT INCENTIVE PACKAGES AND, AND, UM, ANY TYPE OF PROJECT OR PROSPECT THAT WE WORK WITH.
SO THAT'S HOW WE BASE OUR, OUR PERFORMANCE.
UM, THAT STILL DOESN'T REALLY ANSWER MY QUESTION.
UH, SO COUNCILMAN, I THINK, UM, AND I'LL GO BACK TO SOMETHING THAT COUNCILMAN LYAS, UH, TALKED ABOUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T THINK, I THINK WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF DEMONSTRATING AND REPORTING WHAT HAVE BEEN THE SUCCESSES.
I MEAN, YOU EVERYBODY CAN SIT IN HERE AND THINK THROUGH THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE ISSUES THAT THE COUNCIL'S DEALT WITH.
BUT FROM A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE, HOW HAVE THEY CHANGED MAYBE THE, THE, THE, THE COURSE THAT THE CITY'S BEEN ON, DEPENDING ON WHERE, UM, I, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT LOOKING BACK, WE HAVE THE CITY, UM, HAS NOT BEEN, UM, NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION MANY OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE DO, LIKE CAP LIKE THE REGIONAL PLANS, UH, LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE AND BOND PROGRAMS. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF, OF, OF INTERSECTING THOSE THINGS.
AND I THINK THE MAYOR, A COUPLE OF THE CUSTOMERS MADE THAT POINT.
WE, YOU KNOW, EVERY SINGLE ITEM THAT WE BRING TO YOU, WHETHER IT'S THE BOND PROGRAM OR THE ANNUAL BUDGET OR, OR THIS POLICY, UM, ARE NOT ISLANDS OF, OF THEMSELVES.
THEY SHOULD BE, THEY SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON DELIVERING, UM, SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND BETTER.
AND, AND, AND I DON'T THINK WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB OF THAT IN THE PAST.
I THINK WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF THAT GOING FORWARD.
UM, AND I THINK THAT, THAT, AS THE COUNCIL TALKS ABOUT THE BOND PROGRAM AND REGIONAL PLANS, BECAUSE HOPEFULLY WE GET BACK ON TRACK TO FINISH THOSE PLANS, UM, AS WE TALK ABOUT HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES, AS WE TALK ABOUT FUTURE DEVELOPMENT, AS WE TALK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION PROGRAMS, UM, ALL THOSE THINGS SHOULD BE INTERSECTING.
AND, AND I DON'T THINK THEY'VE, I DON'T THINK AS A CITY WE'VE DONE AS GOOD A JOB AS WE, UH,
[01:45:01]
SHOULD BE DOING.MAKING SURE THOSE THINGS, THOSE THINGS INTERSECT.
YEAH, I, I, I, I'M JUST SAYING, LOOKING AT THIS, TO ME, UM, AS A BUSINESS OWNER, I LOOK AT THIS AND, YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO IS GETTING STRICTER WITH THEIR REQUIREMENTS IN COMING TO SAN ANTONIO.
I MEAN, WE'RE GOING UP WITH THE WAGES WE'RE GOING UP, UH, WE'RE SAYING WE GOT TO, I THINK IT WAS 50% OF THE WORKFORCE COME FROM SAN ANTONIO, UH, 15% FROM THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM, GENDER PAY, EVERYTHING IS TIGHTENING DOWN.
AND I'M JUST, ARE WE TIGHTENING TOO MUCH? IS WHAT I'M GETTING AT.
I MEAN, AND I EVEN LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, HAVING A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE BEING HIRED FROM SAN ANTONIO.
I LOOK AT THAT, OKAY, THAT'S GREAT, BUT ARE WE TAKING THAT LEVERAGE AWAY FROM A, AN EMPLOYER THAT WANTS TO BRING IN EMPLOYEES THAT'S GONNA INCREASE OUR TAX BASE, THEY'RE GONNA BUY HOMES, THEY'RE GONNA RAISE THE FAMILIES, WHICH ADDS TO OUR TAX BASE.
WHEREAS IF WE'RE FORCING THEM, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T GET THAT THROUGH THIS PROGRAM.
UM, WE'RE, I THINK WE'RE SHORTING OURSELVES BY TAKING THAT FLEXIBILITY AWAY FROM COMPANIES OR THEY JUST DON'T SCORE AS HIGH IN THIS EVALUATION PROCESS AND THEY MIGHT NOT GET THE PERCENTAGE THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO, UH, RELOCATE OR START A BUSINESS OR WHATEVER HERE.
SO I THINK IT'S A BALANCE, BECAUSE I GO BACK TO WHAT JOHN SAID AT THE VERY BEGINNING.
SOMETIMES COMPANIES ARE GONNA COME TO SAN ANTONIO REGARDLESS OF WHAT'S IN THIS RIGHT, ON THESE SLIDES, RIGHT? EITHER PREVIOUS POLICIES OR FUTURE POLICIES.
UM, THIS, THIS, THIS EFFORT, UM, IS TRYING TO LAND THAT HELICOPTER RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE, RIGHT, TO INCENTIVIZE THOSE THAT REFLECT THE POLICIES OF THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE, THAT REFLECT, UM, THE INITIATIVES AND THE, THE LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE THAT THE COUNCIL HAS PLACED ON CERTAIN ATTRIBUTES.
BUT, UM, I, I THINK, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE KIND OF HAD THOSE SAME INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, IS THIS TOO, IS THIS SWINGING TOO FAR ONE WAY OR THE OTHER? BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF, IF SOMEONE'S GONNA MOVE TO SAN ANTONIO BECAUSE OF ALL THE GREAT THINGS AND THE UP AND THE, UH, POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY, THIS ISN'T GONNA MAKE OR BREAK 'EM.
NOW, AS I, AS I SAY, AND IT, AND I THINK IT'S, THIS IS A REALLY HEALTHY CONVERSATION TO HAVE FOR SURE.
'CAUSE IT IS ALL ABOUT STRIKING THE BALANCE.
THERE WILL INEVITABLY BE THINGS IN THIS THAT YOU'LL COME BACK IN TWO YEARS AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE MISSED THE MARK ON THAT.
IT WAS EITHER IT WAS TOO LOW OR IT WAS TOO HIGH.
THE POINT IS, TO SOME DEGREE, YOU START THE PROCESS, YOU TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT.
NOW, I WOULD TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, 15 BUCKS AN HOUR IN SAN ANTONIO IS WHERE YOU GOTTA BE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN DECENT EMPLOYEES JUST BECAUSE OF THE CHALLENGES OF FINDING FOLKS TO WORK THESE DAYS.
BUT I MIGHT BE WRONG, MAYBE IT WAS A LITTLE BIT TOO HIGH.
YOU, AGAIN, YOU ADJUST AS YOU GO FORWARD, AND THEN YOU ADJUST AS YOU GO FORWARD, AND THEN YOU ADJUST AS YOU GO FORWARD FROM THERE.
AND I THINK ALSO, I THINK ERIC MAKES A REALLY IMPORTANT POINT, WHICH IS THIS IS AN EFFORT TO MAKE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE POLICY, BALANCE THE MARKET REALITY OF BEING COMPETITIVE WITH COUNCIL PRIORITIES MORE BROADLY FOR THE COMMUNITY.
IT WON'T BE PERFECT EVERY TIME.
AND IN FACT, WHAT WE HOPE IS, IS THAT TWO YEARS FROM NOW, YOU COME BACK AND YOU MAKE IT BETTER AND YOU DO IT BETTER FROM THERE.
JUST SOME OF MY CONCERNS ABOUT THIS, UM, ON SLIDE 19, UH, I, AND I UNDERSTAND WHAT THE, WHAT WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GO WITH THIS, BUT, UH, ON THE BOTTOM PART THERE, OWNED BY PEOPLE OF COLOR OR WOMEN, UM, SO A SMALL BUSINESS THAT'S OWNED BY A WHITE MAN ISN'T, HE DOESN'T GET ANY POINTS AT ALL FOR, I MEAN, UP TO 40 POINTS.
I, I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT LINE.
SO IF, IF THE COMPANY IN PARTICULAR, IF THEY HAVE, IF THEY'RE INSIDE OF A TARGET INDUSTRY, THEY COULD GET UP TO, THEY COULD GET UP TO 30 POINTS.
IF THEY PAY A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE AVERAGE WAGE, MORE THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE AVERAGE WAGE FOR A CENSUS TRACT, THEY COULD GET 30 POINTS.
UM, IF THEY'RE OWNED BY A PERSON OF COLOR OR WOMAN, THEY COULD GET UP TO 40 POINTS.
SO EVEN IF THEY DON'T MEET ONE OF THE CRITERIA, THEY COULD STILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE GRANT.
BUT WHAT, WHAT WOULD I SEE MEETS CRITERIA 30, 40, 30, THAT ADDS UP TO A HUNDRED.
SO IF IT'S NOT, IF IT'S A, A WHITE GUY THAT OWNS A COMPANY, HE, HE'S OUT OF THAT 40.
SO IT, THE MAX HE COULD GET WOULD BE
[01:50:01]
60 AS IT'S SET UP.SO THEY COULD GET 60, AND SO THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A, A GRANT THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO 3% OF THE, UH, ANNUAL WAGES.
I I, AND IN FACT, COUNCILMAN, IF I READ IT CORRECTLY, THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN QUALIFY BY MEETING ONLY TWO OUT OF THE THREE IS IF YOU DON'T QUALIFY FOR THAT MIDDLE ONE.
OKAY, THAT REALLY CONFUSED ME.
LOOK, RIGHT, IT'S UP TO 60 IS WHAT YOU NEED TO QUALIFY, CORRECT? NO, 40 TO 79, YOU CAN QUALIFY FOR A, A GRANT THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO 40 MM-HMM.
SO 40 POINTS IS THE MINIMUM TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT.
IT JUST, THE MORE POINTS FROM THAT YOU GET, YOU COULD GET UP TO A 5% A GRANT THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO 5% OF THE ANNUAL WAGES.
SO IF I WANT, IF I WAS APPLYING FOR THIS, I WOULD NEVER GET THE 5% SHOT.
WE'D MAKE SURE YOU GOT BONUS POINTS, COUNSEL,
THE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT THE RIGHT WAY.
IF, IF, UM, UM, IF I APPLIED NOW, IF YOU APPLIED, I'LL JUST YOU THAT EXAMPLE THEN, UH, THE 40 POINTS YOU WOULD NOT MEET.
WE ARE, WE ARE PRIORITIZING PEOPLE OF COLOR AND WOMEN IN THIS CATEGORY.
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE RECOMMENDING AND WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK FROM THE COUNSELOR.
WELL, I, I, I'D LIKE FOR THAT TO BE RE-LOOKED A LITTLE BETTER, SOME SLIDING SCALE OR SOMETHING.
UH, I DON'T THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE COLOR OF THE SKIN SHOULD PRECLUDE YOU FROM GETTING UP TO A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE, UH, FOR OPERATING A BUSINESS OR TRYING TO START A BUSINESS OR GROW A BUSINESS.
UM, AND I KNOW WHAT THE INTENT IS AND I THINK THAT'S GREAT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, AS A BLANKET POLICY FOR THAT, I, I, I'D REALLY LIKE FOR Y'ALL TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THAT.
SO LET, LET ME JUST ASK, UH, A COUPLE OF, UH, QUESTIONS IN, IN YOUR OPENING STATEMENT OR IN THE BEGINNING OF YOUR REMARKS, JOHN, YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, UM, THIS MATRIX BEING ONLY ONE FACTOR THAT BRINGS PEOPLE.
AND SO COULD YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT OTHER FACTORS MAY BE? 'CAUSE I THINK ONCE WE LOST, LIKE TO OMAHA OR SOMETHING LIKE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE LIKE SOME OTHER TALLAHASSEE OR SOMETHING, AND I, I REMEMBER BEING A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED IN THAT, AND I, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THOSE CITIES, BUT LIKE, HOW DO WE LOSE IN THAT SENSE? I AM, AND I AGREE, I LIKE SAN ANTONIO A LOT BETTER THAN BOTH OF THOSE PLACES, BUT, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS THAT GO INTO A DECISION ABOUT WHERE A COMPANY LOCATES AGAIN, TO, TO GO BACK TO THE CONVERSATION WHERE I I REFERENCED THE EXAMPLE OF THE BATTERY COMPANY THAT I'M WORKING WITH.
ONE OF THE THINGS THEY LIKE ABOUT THE SITE THEY PICKED IN TEXAS WAS ACCESS TO THE PORT, ACCESS TO THE DEEP WATER PORT IN HOUSTON.
SO THAT OVERCAME, THAT POTENTIALLY OVERCOMES SOMETHING ABOUT A MORE ATTRACTIVE LABOR FORCE, SAY SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SO MOST OF THE TIME WHAT MATTERS ARE THE FUNDAMENTALS THAT GO INTO THE COMPANY'S BUSINESS.
WORKFORCE IS USUALLY A BIG PIECE OF THAT.
SOMETIMES IT IS ACCESS TO THINGS LIKE PARTICULAR KINDS OF TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY PEOPLE WANNA LOCATE NEXT TO ALLIANCE AIRPORT, SAY UP IN FORT WORTH OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
BUT MOST OF THE TIME YOU END UP WITH, AGAIN, THIS COMPANY THAT I TALKED ABOUT, THEY LOOKED AT 51 SITES IN TEXAS.
UH, I DON'T ACTUALLY THINK THEY LOOKED AT ANYTHING IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND THEY SETTLED ON TWO FINALISTS, ONE IN FREEPORT AND ONE IN THE HOUSTON AREA.
AND THEN THEY CHOSE THE HOUSTON AREA AS ONE OF THEIR THREE FINALISTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO IT'S THE FUNDAMENTALS FOR A COMPANY THAT TYPICALLY DETERMINES WHERE SOMEBODY'S GONNA LOCATE.
AND THEN YOU GET INTO THE CONVERSATION ABOUT INCENTIVES.
UH, WELL, I, I THINK, I THINK OBVIOUSLY THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UM, I MEAN, Y'ALL HAVE HEARD ME TALK OVER THE YEARS.
I'VE NEVER REALLY LIKED A LOT ABOUT THE PROGRAMS. I DIDN'T LIKE THE TARGETED INDUSTRIES, JUST LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER BELI TALKED ABOUT.
I ALWAYS FELT LIKE WE SHOULD BE WORKING WITH SOME OF THE NON, UH, WELL, THE DELEGATE AGENCIES OR SOME OF OUR NONPROFIT AGENCIES OR, I MEAN, I ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT, UM, WE COULD RELY HEAVILY ON OUR ARTS COMMUNITY AND CULTURE AND THOSE SORT OF THINGS, AND THOSE NEVER GOT FUNDED.
UH, AND SO I, I'VE NEVER REALLY LIKED IT FOR THOSE REASONS.
I'VE ALSO NEVER LIKED IT BECAUSE MY COMMUNITY DOESN'T BENEFIT, UH, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE DON'T HAVE ANY LARGE EMPLOYERS.
WE DON'T HAVE CLASS A OFFICE SPACE.
THERE IS NOT A SINGLE OFFICE IN ALL OF DISTRICT FIVE.
[01:55:01]
THE ONLY ONE IS A WEST SIDE PROFESSIONAL BUILDING.IT'S CHANGED HANDS FOUR TIMES SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL, AND IT'S 50% VACANT.
SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE LIKE, AGAIN, LIKE WE HAVE A LOT TO OVERCOME.
AND SO I, THAT'S WHY I LIKE THE SMALL BUSINESS POLICIES.
UH, I THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE CAN BENEFIT FROM.
BUT AGAIN, LIKE WE'RE STILL GONNA HAVE LIMITATIONS OF NOT HAVING CLASS A OFFICE SPACE AND NOT HAVING, UM, AGAIN, LIKE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF JOB WAGE WAGES HIGHER THAN CENSUS TRACKS.
UM, THAT'S A PRETTY LOW STANDARD.
UM, SO I MEAN, IF, IF YOU TALK ABOUT SOME, THE CENSUS TRACKS IN MY DISTRICT COULD BE AS LOW AS 14,000.
SO THEY'RE GONNA END UP GETTING AN INCENTIVE 14,000 A YEAR ANNUAL IF THEY PAY $16,000 A YEAR, BUCKS AN HOUR AT LEAST.
WELL AT LEAST THANK YOU FOR THAT, FOR THAT, BECAUSE I, I, I WAS, I UNDERST AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND THE INTENT, BUT YOU KNOW, LIKE, UM, THAT'S JUST PROBABLY, I SUSPECT THAT'S NOT GONNA CUT IT, UM, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, SO AT LEAST $15 AN HOUR.
UM, AND THEN, UM, I, I, I, REGARDING, UM, WELL, I, I THINK THOSE WERE PRIMARILY MY CONCERNS.
I THINK WE ADDRESSED A LOT OF THIS IN THE LAST MEETING.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE, I THINK IT'S A GOOD, YOU KNOW, I MEAN I I, IT'S OBVIOUSLY IT'S WAY BETTER THAN IT WAS.
UM, BUT I HAVE NEVER LIKED, UH, FEELING LIKE OTHERS TELL US WHAT WE NEED TO ATTRACT BUSINESSES.
AND FOREVER WE HEARD IT'S BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE A INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OR YOU DON'T HAVE A REGIONAL AIRPORT, YOU DON'T HAVE AIR SERVICE.
AND THEN THEY SAID IT WAS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE WATER, WHICH I NEVER REALLY KNEW WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT.
UH, AND THEN THEY SAY IT'S BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE, UH, AN EDUCATED WORKFORCE.
AND I FEEL LIKE THOSE WERE ALL LIES TO JUST TAKE AWAY THE FACT THAT COMPANIES DON'T WANNA INVEST IN SAN ANTONIO BECAUSE THEY JUST THOUGHT WE WERE TOO POOR AND, AND NOT INTERESTED IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
UM, AND SO I THINK WE'RE OVERCOMING THAT WE HAVE THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM, BUT I ALWAYS FELT LIKE WE COULD INVEST IN OUR STRENGTHS.
UH, AND THOSE STRENGTHS ARE OUR ARTS, OUR CULTURE, OUR HISTORY, UM, OUR, I MEAN OUR FRIENDLY COMMUNITY.
FOR A LONG, LONG TIME WE HAD LOW PROPERTY, LOW HOUSING COSTS.
I THINK MAYBE THAT'S CHANGING, BUT I THINK, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S STILL LOWER THAN OTHER PLACES, UH, OR IF WE'RE CATCHING UP OR WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF THAT, BUT WE HAD FOR A LONG TIME A LOW COST OF LIVING.
I DUNNO IF THAT'S CHANGING, BUT, UM, BUT WHEN I'VE TALKED TO, TO RECENT TRANSPLANTS, UM, AND INDIVIDUALS, NOT COMPANIES, UH, BUT THEY ALL CAME TO SAN ANTONIO BECAUSE THEY JUST LOVED IT.
UH, AND THEN THEY WORKED FOR WORRIED ABOUT HOW TO GET A JOB WHEN THEY GOT HERE.
UH, AND, AND SOME PEOPLE CAME FOR A JOB, BUT OTHERS DIDN'T.
THEY JUST LIKED IT HERE AND THEY FIGURED, WELL, I'LL FIGURE IT OUT BECAUSE YOU CAN WORK FROM ANYWHERE AND IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER.
I JUST HOPE THAT WE DON'T FOCUS ON THEM TOO MUCH AND CONTINUE TO TRY TO ATTRACT BUSINESSES THAT ARE JUST, DON'T REALLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE, LIFE FOR OUR CITIZENS.
UH, AND SO, UH, BUT I I THINK IT'S GOOD WORK.
I, I JUST REAL QUICKLY WILL SAY THAT, THAT I, I AGREE WITH ALL OF THAT ACTUALLY.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE TALK ABOUT SEEING EVERYTHING YOU DO THROUGH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LENS, WHICH IS YOUR ARTS AND CULTURE MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
SAN ANTONIO IS NOT EVERYWHERE.
U S A, I MEAN, I, I CAN GET DROPPED DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUNCH OF CITIES AND I CAN'T TELL WHETHER I'M IN DES MOINES, DUBUQUE OR DETROIT SOMETIMES.
I KNOW WHEN I'M IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND I THINK THAT'S A REAL VALUE.
AND I THINK WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO WITH THIS POLICY IS JUST A PIECE OF THE BIGGER CONVERSATION, WHICH IS, I CONSIDER SAN ANTONIO A VERY HIGH VALUE PROPOSITION.
THERE'S A LOT OF INTERESTING THINGS GOING ON, AND RELATIVE TO A LOT OF YOUR PEERS, IT'S RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE.
EVERYBODY ELSE IS COMING BACK IN, SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY GOT A CHANCE TO GO AROUND.
LEMME START, UH, SECOND ROUND WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
SO QUICK QUESTION THAT I HAVE ON THE SMALL BI BUSINESS EVALUATION CRITERIA, I WANTED TO FIND OUT HOW IS THE SMALL BUSINESS DISPARITY STUDY
[02:00:01]
GONNA PLAY INTO THIS CRITERIA? SO COUNCIL MEMBER, THE DISPARITY STUDY IS STRICTLY FOCUSED ON THE CITY'S CONTRACTING EFFORTS.AND, UM, WHILE THERE IS AN AN ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT, IT WILL GIVE US SOME INDICATION OF THE CHALLENGES THAT BUSINESSES OWNED BY WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR EXPERIENCE ACCESSING CAPITAL.
UM, BUT, BUT MOSTLY IT FOCUSES ON OUR CONTRACTING PRACTICES.
SO I THINK THAT THIS IS A GREAT AREA THAT WE CAN EXPAND WHAT THAT PROBLEM IS, BECAUSE I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THAT IS A CONTINUOUS CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH THE NAACP.
UM, NOT ONLY AS IT RELATES TO OUR BUSINESS PRACTICES, HOW WE'RE DOING BUSINESS IN THE CITY, BUT ALSO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE FACT THAT EVEN WITHIN OUR OWN CITY STRUCTURE, WE'RE STILL NOT THERE WITH THE AREA OF, OF DEMOGRAPHICS AS IT RELATES TO OUR CITY'S DEMOGRAPHICS.
SO I REALLY THINK THAT THIS IS AN AREA THAT WE CAN EXPAND ON MAKING SURE THAT IF WE'RE GONNA DO THIS, WE DO IT PROPERLY AND WE DO IT ACROSS THE BOARD, NOT JUST WITH CONTRACTS, BUT EXACTLY HOW ARE WE GONNA ATTRACT THOSE BUSINESSES BECAUSE SMALL BUSINESS MAKES THE DIFFERENCE IN A COMMUNITY.
AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF WE'RE TACKLING THIS ISSUE, LET'S TACKLE IT AS A WHOLE.
THAT WOULD JUST BE MY ONLY ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATION.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN, COUNCIL MEMBER ELAS.
AND, UH, JUST IF, IF WE'RE KEEPING COUNT, UH, YOU'VE HEARD TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS SO FAR CHIME IN ABOUT WORKERS' COMP.
AND SO, UH, WE
AND I, I DROVE, DROVE BACK ON, UH, AND I WAS, I STOPPED AT ALICE.
UH, AND IF Y'ALL HAVEN'T BEEN TO ALICE BEFORE, IT'S A VERY CHARMING TOWN AND IT'S THE KIND OF TOWN THAT, UH, ONLY HAS ONE DAIRY QUEEN AND ONE WHATABURGER IN IT.
UM, AND I, I HATE DAIRY QUEEN, BUT I LOVE WHATABURGER.
AND SO I PULLED IN AND, UH, AND I DUNNO IF YOU ALL HAVE HAD THE CHICKEN WRAP, IT'S THE MOST DELICIOUS THING YOU'VE EVER PUT IN YOUR FACE.
IT'S, IT'S REALLY THE BEST DAMN WRAP EVER.
AND, UH, I WAS THERE AND I WAITED FIVE MINUTES FOR MY WRAP, AND I HAD MY LAPTOP AND I WAS JUST CHECKING EMAILS.
AND THEN I WAITED 10 MINUTES FOR MY WRAP AND THEN 20 MINUTES FOR MY WRAP.
AND THEN I WAS LIKE, WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE? AND I WENT TO THE BACK AND I, TO THE, TO THE FRONT.
I WAS LIKE, WHERE THE HELL'S MY WRAP? RIGHT? AND, UH, THEY SAID, LISTEN, SORRY, WE'RE SO SHORT STAFFED.
EVERYBODY'S DRIVING BACK FROM CORPUS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA GET TO YOU WHEN WE GET TO YOU.
UH, I FINALLY GOT MY CHICKEN WRAP AND, AND I, I PUT UP WITH IT BECAUSE IT WAS THE BEST DAMN CHICKEN WRAP ON THE PLANET, BUT ALSO BECAUSE I HAD NOWHERE ELSE TO GO, RIGHT? AND I WASN'T MAD BECAUSE I WAS CHECKING MY EMAILS NOW TO YOUR SHOP.
I THINK ALL THIS IS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE DOING THIS, BUT IT, IT ONLY WORKS IF THE CUSTOMER WHO COMES AND KNOCKS ON OUR DOOR WITH THEIR APPLICATION, BIG, BIG COMPANY AND LITTLE ONE GETS THEIR WRAP ON TIME AS OPPOSED TO WAITING, YOU KNOW, 30 DAYS, TWO MONTHS, SIX MONTHS AND ALL THAT.
SO HOW DO WE BAKE IN HERE, YOU KNOW, SOME SORT OF EXPECTATION THAT THAT CUSTOMER GETS COMPETITIVE TIMES AS COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES SO THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THEY COULD EASILY GO TO VICTORIA SHIRTS, AUSTIN, RIGHT? THEY COULD, BUT I THINK THE CONVERSATION WE JUST HAD EARLIER ABOUT THE PLACE COMPONENTS TO SAN ANTONIO ARE, ARE THE BIG DIFFERENTIATOR.
ASIDE FROM THAT, I THINK ONE OF THE POINTS THAT JOHN MADE EARLY ON ABOUT CLARITY AND COMMUNICATING THAT CLARITY TO THE BUSINESSES TO ANY PROSPECT, UM, WE WANNA, WE WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR AS TO HOW THEY'RE GONNA BE EVALUATED.
AND, AND LIKE YOU ALSO MENTIONED, HAVE THEM TELL US, IT, IT, THE LONGER IT TAKES US TO PULL INFORMATION FROM THEM, THE LONGER THIS PROCESS DRAWS OUT.
SO IF WE CAN BE VERY CLEAR FROM THEM UPFRONT TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
YOU NEED TO DEMONSTRATE TO US HOW YOU DO X, Y, AND Z SO WE CAN GET AN ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF HOW YOU ALIGN WITH THESE PRIORITIES, THE FASTER THAT PROCESS MOVES.
RIGHT? I MEAN THEY'RE, THEY'RE, IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO.
THEY'VE GOTTA GET YOU THE INFORMATION ON TIME.
UM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WHAT ARE WE DOING IN HOUSE TO MAKE US MORE AGILE? SO WELL LET THAT'S A, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT.
'CAUSE ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PROGRAM THAT HAS SMALL BUSINESS COMPONENTS.
SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR OWN PROCESS, IT ALMOST BECOMES LIKE A, LIKE, UH, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND WE HAVE TIMELINES AND WE'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO RESPOND.
ASSUMING, YOU KNOW, I'LL USE A DEVELOPMENT SERVICES EXAMPLE, ASSUMING THE PLANS GET SUBMITTED, THEN, THEN PART OF OUR OBLIGATION AS THE CITY IS TO PROVIDE THAT FEEDBACK SO THAT WE'RE NOT DELAYING IT.
AND WE DO NEED TO THINK THROUGH HOW THAT LOOKS DIFFERENTLY IF WE HAVE THIS SMALL BUSINESS COMPONENT.
'CAUSE THAT'S A DIFFERENT TYPE OF
[02:05:01]
WORKLOAD.UM, AND I THINK WHEN WE COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL WITH, WITH, UH, LATER ON IN THE SUMMER WITH A FINAL PLAN, WE'LL KIND OF WRAP AROUND WHAT IS THAT EXPECTATION THAT THE CUSTOMER SHOULD HAVE? BECAUSE WE ALSO WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE.
WE, WE DON'T WANT A WHATABURGER EXAMPLE NECESSARILY, RIGHT? RIGHT NOW.
UH, AND TWO THINGS, NOT SUGGESTING IT'S BEEN DONE WRONG OR TOO SLOW, I'M JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHEN THEY DO GO TO OTHER CITIES, THEY DON'T SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS EXPERIENCE THAT THE OTHER CITY WAS BETTER THAN THE ONE IN SAN ANTONIO.
RIGHT? I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMPETITIVE IN THAT REGARD TOO, IN THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ANGLE, RIGHT? UM, AND COUNCILMAN, UH,
SHE ALWAYS SAYS SMART THINGS ALL THE TIME, ALL ALL THE TIME.
BUT, UH, SHE SAID, YOU KNOW, THIS IN RELATION TO THE 360 DO MILLION DOLLARS OR THE $325 MILLION, WE WERE, WE WERE ALL DISCUSSING A FEW WEEKS AGO.
SHE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A NEW WAY OF DOING THINGS AT CITY HALL AND THE OLD WAYS AREN'T DONE.
AND I THINK THAT THIS IS A NEW WAY OF DOING THINGS AT CITY HALL, RIGHT? BUT I THINK THAT THE CONVERSATION ON THE BACK OFFICE OPERATIONS NEEDS TO BE, YOU KNOW, ALSO ADJUSTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN DO THIS RIGHT, TO DELIVER IT IN A WAY THAT EVERYBODY LOVES IT.
SO, UM, THE CLERK WILL REFLECT ON THE MINUTES THAT THE CHICKEN WRAP IS THE BEST SANDWICH IN THE WORLD.
AND IT WILL ALSO REFLECT, THOUGH, THAT'S NOT AN ENDORSEMENT.
THERE ARE OTHER SANDWICHES THAT ARE DELICIOUS.
AND SINCE ANDY JUST, UH, CLARIFIED THAT FOR THE RECORD, I, I, I WANNA CLARIFY FOR THE RECORD THAT ERIC, WE WILL NOT BE OFFERING COUNCILMAN PERRY EXTRA POINTS THAT WOULD NOT BE ETHICAL.
UM, BUT MY ONLY QUESTION IS DID WE RUN THIS PAST THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION? PEOPLE AND I, I NEVER ASKED THAT LAST TIME.
WELL, THE ANSWER IS, WE, WE TALKED TO THEM AT LENGTH AS PART OF THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING IT.
WE, NO, I MEAN, OUR OBLIGATION ONCE YOU GET TO THIS STAGE IS TO BRING IT TO YOU FIRST.
BUT YEAH, NO, THEY ABSOLUTELY WEIGHED IN.
THE OTHER THING I DID WANNA MENTION IS THAT WE WILL BE GOING BACK OUT TO MEET WITH, UM, SOME OF THE FOUNDATIONS OR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS TO, TO PRESENT THIS TO THEM AS WELL.
UM, DID WE REACH OUT AND GET, UM, INPUT FROM OUR INDUSTRIES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN SAN ANTONIO THAT HAVE COME TO SAN ANTONIO, THE CHAMBERS, UM, DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT BUSINESSES, DIFFERENT COALITIONS, ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY ABOUT THIS? SO JOHN, UM, UM, JOHN CONDUCTED IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH, UM, 11, 18 18, UM, UH, INDIVIDUALS.
ADDITIONALLY, WE DID STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, UM, THAT INCLUDED CHAMBERS, IT INCLUDED DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS, IT INCLUDED SMALL BUSINESS, IT INCLUDED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS.
SO WE, UM, WE ASKED THEM QUESTIONS REGARDING EQUITY, SMALL BUSINESS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AS WELL AS WAGES AND BENEFITS.
SO WE, WE'VE GATHERED THAT FEEDBACK AND, AND ALL THAT TOGETHER IS, IS, UM, SHOWN IN, IN OUR NEW, UH, AND OUR RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES.
AND, AND I HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, ERIC WOULD, I WAS TALKING ABOUT OUR SUCCESSES, OUR SUCCESS RATE ON THE PRIOR POLICY.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S, WE GOT WE DATA THAT CAN BE VALIDATED AND VERIFIED WHAT WE, WHAT WE WENT FOR AND WHAT WE WERE SUCCESSFUL WITH.
UM, I HOPE THAT WE CAN TAKE THIS POLICY IF IT GOES THROUGH WHATEVER SHAPE, FORM, OR FASHION, AND THEN OVERLAY THAT AS A COMPARISON TO WHAT WE DID BEFORE ON OUR PERFORMANCE BEFORE AND WHAT, WHAT THIS PO WAS THIS, IS THIS POLICY MORE OR LESS SUCCESSFUL THAN WHAT WE HAD BEFORE? AGAIN, I, AND, AND TO A COUPLE OF OTHER COMMENTS, I'M JUST CONCERNED THAT WE'RE TIGHTENING THESE SCREWS A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH AND TAKING SOME OF THAT, WHAT I THINK THE COMPANY'S FLEXIBILITIES ARE ON WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T DO.
AND I KNOW THAT WE CAN NEGOTIATE THAT KIND OF THING, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT PUTTING THIS OUT ON THE TABLE, YOU KNOW, IS THAT GOING TO HAVE SOME COMPANIES LOOK AT THAT AND SAY, NOPE, WE'RE NOT GONNA MESS WITH THEM.
I, EVERY TIME I DRIVE BY THAT ON 35 INTERSTATE 35 OR 1604, YOU CAN SEE IT RIGHT THERE AT THAT JUNCTION IS IKEA.
WHY DID IKEA GO TO LIVE OAK VERSUS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER? WOULD'VE BEEN A GREAT LOCATION FOR THEM IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND, AND DID WE EVER GO AND GET THAT DATA FROM IKEA? WHY DID THEY CHOOSE LIVE OAK VERSUS SAN ANTONIO RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET? UH, THAT BURNS ME,
I ALWAYS GIVE HER A HARD TIME ABOUT THAT,
[02:10:01]
BUT THEY OBVIOUSLY DID SOMETHING RIGHT.AND THAT'S A HUGE, HUGE, BIG ASSET THERE.
UM, AND THAT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT I THINK WE, WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THE LARGE, LARGE BUSINESSES ALONG WITH SMALL BUSINESSES, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, LET'S, LET'S TRY TO SEE HOW THIS WORKS OUT WITH THESE LARGE BUSINESSES TO HIT A FEW HOME RUNS ON, ON SOME OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND I HOPE THAT THIS INCLUDES CONTRACT LANGUAGE THAT TWO PEOPLE SIGN, YOU KNOW, THE CITY AND THE CUSTOMER, AND THAT THERE'S CLAWBACK PROVISIONS THAT WE STICK TO, UH, IN FUTURE BUSINESSES THAT DON'T HONOR THE CONTRACT.
SO IS THAT INCLUDED IN THIS AS WELL? YES.
THAT'LL BE PART OF THE POLICY.
I JUST DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING MENTIONED ABOUT THAT IN HERE, SO, OKAY.
THIS HAS BEEN A VERY, UH, GOOD DISCUSSION.
HEARING ALL THE DIS DIFFERENT, UM, THOUGHTS.
A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I WANTED JUST TO ADD, UH, LOOKING AT THIS, AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INCENTIVES OR REALLY JUST REBATES, NOT NECESSARILY CASH, UM, MAYBE THERE'S ALWAYS A FIXED AMOUNT.
AND TO MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE GOING TO BE HERE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THE DISCUSSION AT THE BUDGET WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT ECONOMIC INCENTIVES AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
SO AS WE LOOK AT THE SMALL BUSINESS CRITERIA AND GRANTS IN PARTICULAR, I MEAN, THAT'S A NEW OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAD NOT HAD BEFORE.
SO HOW ARE YOU ALL, WE ALL GOING TO, UH, QUANTIFY THAT IN, UM, THE BUDGET BECAUSE THAT'S COMING UP.
AND IF THERE WERE A WAY I COULD ADD MORE POINTS FOR OWNED BY PEOPLE OF COLOR AND WOMEN, I WOULD, BECAUSE THAT SPEAKS TO OUR RESOLUTIONS THAT WE HAVE AS A COUNCIL HAVE PASSED.
THAT ALSO SPEAKS TO OUR HISTORY OF REDLINING TO THIS COMMUNITY.
IT ALSO SPEAKS TO THE HISTORY OF THE BARRIERS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT UP BY PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THIS COMMUNITY AND WHO HAD BEEN SHUT OUT OF OPPORTUNITY IN THIS COMMUNITY FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND DECADES.
SO THAT'S WHAT I, IF Y'ALL WANNA CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION.
BUT THEN ONE THING I WANTED ALSO DISCUSS WHEN IT COMES TO THE RETAIL, UM, PORTION OF THE ECONOMIC INCENTIVES OR THE SMALL BUSINESS, UM, JUST WHEN WE LOOK AT IT AND TALK ABOUT THE FIXED AMOUNT, I'D ALSO WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ECONOMIC MOBILITY? I CAN'T, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT JUST RETAIL AND INCENTIVIZING RETAILS, YES, THEY CAN HAVE, UM, BRING JOBS AND BRING THOSE SKILLS THAT ARE, ARE NEEDED NOW AND CAN BE MET NOW.
BUT IF THERE IS ALSO ECONOMIC MOBILITY OPPORTUNITIES, WHERE CAN THAT BE INTEGRATED IF POSSIBLE, WITH THE, IF WE DO DECIDE TO INCORPORATE RETAIL? SO IF YOU, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU DECIDE TO INCORPORATE RETAIL, YOU MIGHT WANNA LOOK AT WHAT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, COLLEGE TUITION MATCHING PROGRAMS. DO THEY HAVE AS AN EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, OR WHAT KIND OF PROGRAMS DO THEY HAVE? IF IT'S, LET'S SAY IT'S H E B, I MEAN, WHAT KIND OF A PATH IS THERE TO BECOME A REGIONAL MANAGER OVER TIME? YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
TRADITIONALLY, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT IN, IN THE COMMITTEE MEETING.
RETAIL IS TYPICALLY NOT A TARGET FOR INCENTIVE, BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME IT SEEMED TO BE SERVING MONEY THAT'S ALREADY IN THE COMMUNITY.
BUT THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY EXCEPTIONS TO THAT.
I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER VALLIS WAS KIND OF TALKING ABOUT THAT.
WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A BIG REGIONAL IMAGING CENTER, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S GONNA BRING CUSTOMERS IN FROM ALL OVER MAYBE 6, 7, 8 COUNTIES.
WELL, THAT'S BRINGING MONEY INTO BAYER COUNTY, INTO SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO IN THAT SENSE, IT IS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UH, IT, IT MEETS THE TRADITIONAL CRITERIA OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS IMPORTING DOLLARS INTO THE COMMUNITY OR KEEPING DOLLARS FROM FLOWING OUT.
AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE EVALUATION CRITERIA, THAT'S WHAT, IF YOU HAVE ONE AND ANOTHER, A SMALL BUSINESS GRANT, HOWEVER FIXED MONEY WE HAVE OR THE OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE, UM, WE LOOK AT, YOU, LOOK AT IF IT'S A RETAIL OR IF IT'S A BRAND NEW COMPANY COMING INTO AN AREA JUST LIKE YOU'RE DOING WITH ALL THE CRITERIA, AND THEN WE MOVE FORWARD FROM THERE.
UM, BUT I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT ALL OF THIS CONVERSATION THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING AND, UM, I AM, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT THE NEXT STEPS YOU ALL ARE, ARE GOING TO TAKE.
COUNCIL MEMBER VERON, THIS HAS BEEN A, A REALLY GREAT DISCUSSION.
I HAVE A FEW CLOSING THOUGHTS, UM, AND A AND A COUPLE QUESTIONS MAYBE THAT MIGHT ARISE OUTTA THAT.
THE FIRST IS, UH, ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESS, UM, PROGRAM ITSELF.
I, I'LL BE VERY INTERESTED IN WATCHING THAT IN TERMS OF HOW IT'S UTILIZED AND WHAT IT WILL DO.
[02:15:01]
WE CERTAINLY WANT SMALL BUSINESSES TO GROW.UH, WE WANT TO, UH, ENCOURAGE THAT THE ONES THAT ARE ALREADY HERE TO DO THAT.
UH, AND, AND WHERE IT'S POSSIBLE.
WE DO WANT SMALL BUSINESSES TO PUT ROOTS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND, AND I'M WONDERING HOW THAT WILL PLAY OFF OF, UH, POSSIBLE INCENTIVE PACKAGE.
AND, AND THE REASON WHY I'M THINKING ABOUT THAT IS THAT ON, ON A SIDE CONVERSATION, I WOULD, I WOULD SAN ANTONIO HAVE STRENGTHS, UM, AND, AND WE CERTAINLY WANNA PLAY ON THOSE STRENGTHS.
AND ONE OF THEM IS THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF VETERAN OWNED BUSINESSES AND SHOULD WE POTENTIALLY, UH, PROVIDE POINTS FOR BUSINESSES WHO WANT TO OPEN, UH, AS A VETERAN OWNED BUSINESS IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE INCENT UM, WE LOOK AT, UH, THROUGH OUR S BETA PROTOCOL, THAT'S CONSISTENT WITH WHAT THE S B A HAS BEEN DOING ON THERE.
YOU MAY HAVE SEEN ON THEIR RECENT RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION FUND, THEY HAVE BEEN, IT IS SPECIFICALLY PRIORITY GIVEN TO BUSINESSES OWNED BY FOLKS OF COLOR, UH, WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES AND VETERAN OWNED BUSINESSES.
SOMETHING FOR TO MAYBE BRING TO, TO THE FURTHER DISCUSSION.
UM, ANOTHER, SO A LOT HAS BEEN COMING UP ABOUT INTERSECTION AND LOOKING AT OUR EXISTING PLANS.
I CERTAINLY AGREE WITH, UM, THE COMMENTS ABOUT THE CLIMATE PLAN AND SUSTAINABILITY.
UH, ALSO OUR, OUR MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN, UM, AND HOW WE CAN UTILIZE THOSE TO ADD POINTS OR TO INCENT OR, UM, PROVIDE WEIGHT TO CERTAIN PROPOSALS.
UM, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THAT, IT, IT, I GUESS I WOULD NEED TO SEE HOW THAT WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED.
I CERTAINLY WOULD WANT TO SEE IT.
UM, BUT IF WE CAN THINK ABOUT THE INTERSECTIONS, 'CAUSE THERE'S A TON OF 'EM AND THERE WILL BE MORE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, WE'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THE BOND PROGRAM OR, OR I'VE ENCOURAGED US TO THINK ABOUT THE BOND PROGRAM AND OUR CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS IN, IN TERMS OF PILLARS, MUCH LIKE WE DID WITH THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PROGRAM.
IF WE THINK OF OUR INTERSECTIONS THE SAME WAY, THE ONES THAT RISE TO THE TOP FOR ME ARE PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND THAT SPEAKS A LOT TO THE KINDS OF BENEFITS THAT ARE ATTACHED TO JOBS.
UH, THE SECOND IS SUSTAINABILITY, RESILIENCY.
SO WHERE AND WHAT PARTS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR CLIMATE PLAN CAN BE INCENTED THROUGH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS THAT WE DO.
THE THIRD ONE IS CONNECTIVITY.
I MEAN, I, I WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF US LEANING MORE TOWARDS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL THAT'S GONNA BE SITUATED NEXT TO A PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, UH, STATION.
LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THAT, UH, WHICH I THINK ARE IMPLIED WITH THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTER.
UM, BUT BEING MORE EXPLICIT ABOUT THAT WHEN WE TALK TO POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS.
MAYOR, IF I MIGHT, ONE OTHER THAT YOU MIGHT CONSIDER IN THAT IS, IS AGAIN, AS PART OF, AND YOU KNOW, GUYS KNOW THIS AS PART OF THE FUNDING COMING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AROUND THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND RESCUE ACT, BROADBAND IS SPECIFICALLY CALLED OUT AS AN AREA OF INVESTMENT THAT'S ALLOWED ALONG WITH WATER AND WASTEWATER, ALONG WITH AID TO INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE BEEN UNDULY AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC.
BROADBAND IS AN INTERESTING AREA TO CONSIDER AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT CONNECTIVITY, AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT CREATING THE BACKBONE AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AREAS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT TO RECEIVE INVESTMENT THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING FOR YOU ALL TO PUT ON THE TABLE WEARING YOUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HAT.
I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP BROADBAND BECAUSE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CONNECTIVITY, WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT MOVING PEOPLE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MOVING ELECTRONS AND, AND YEAH.
UM, THE LAST THING, AND THIS IS SOMETHING YOU PROBABLY DID NOT DISCUSS AND IS NOT PART OF THE POLICY MOVING FORWARD, BUT I, I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE, AND THAT IS CITIES, COUNTIES, PUBLIC ENTITIES HAVE BEEN KNOCKED A LOT OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS ABOUT DISCLOSURE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES.
UH, I WOULD LIKE FOR US AS WE ADOPT THIS POLICY TO ALSO ADOPT STANDARDS BY WHICH WE'RE GONNA DISCLOSE ALL OF OUR CURRENT, UM, CURRENT AND FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES AND ALSO HOW WE REPORT ON AN ONGOING MANNER THROUGH A WEBSITE OR WHATEVER OUR, THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR THE TAXPAYER COUNCIL.
UM, MAYOR, WE ACTUALLY POST ALL OF OUR INCENTIVES ON OUR WEBSITE.
WE HAVE ON OUR WEBSITE RIGHT NOW, ALL OF OUR ACTIVE AGREEMENTS ARE LISTED ON THERE.
IT SHOWS, UM, LINKS TO THE ACTUAL AGREEMENTS IF YOU WANNA SEE THEM.
AND WE ALSO DO A QUICK SUMMARY OF THE JOBS THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED TO DATE THE VALUE OF THAT THEY'VE RECEIVED.
WE, WE HAVE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION ON WEBSITE.
WHEN DID YOU START THAT? 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT'S BEEN AN ONGOING DISCUSSION AND YOU'VE MADE A TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
PROBABLY WITHOUT A LOT OF FANFARE.
UM, IT, IT WAS PROBABLY ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO THAT WE STARTED IT.
SO WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING NOW, LET'S, LET'S MEASURE THAT UP TO BEST PRACTICES.
AND LET'S BAKE THAT INTO THE POLICY THAT WE ADOPT.
UM, AND OTHER THAN THAT, GREAT JOB.
[02:20:01]
I JUST WANTED TO CIRCLE BACK ON YOUR FIRST QUESTION.WE HAVE 43, UH, TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS.
I HOPE YOU GOT, UH, ENOUGH TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
UM, WE DO HAVE A FEW CITIZENS SIGNED TO SPEAK FOR, UH, CITIZENS TO BE HEARD AT FIVE O'CLOCK, BUT THERE WILL BE NO EXECUTIVE SESSION TODAY.
EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEMS THAT WERE POSTED FOR TODAY WILL BE CARRIED OVER UNTIL THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TOMORROW, THURSDAY, JUNE 10TH, AND MAY BE CONSIDERED AT ANY TIME DURING TOMORROW'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
THE TIME IS NOW 4:27 PM AND TODAY'S MEETING IS NOW IN RECESS.