Florida Enterprise zones
under the gun
Gov't report says - fix them or scrap them
Tallahassee, FL (Posted Jan 23, 2010 12:55 pm)
While Columbia County's economic wizards were looking to the recent inclusion of an Enterprise Zone in Columbia County's, located in the middle of nowhere, Catalyst site to be the salvation of years of economic development ineptitude, a report being prepared by the Florida Legislature shows that few jobs are created as a result of Enterprise Zones.
The complete report can be
found
•
here
More on Columbia County Economic Development:
• Economic Development in their own words (Jan 24, 2011)
• County & IDA Drop the Ball - Again (Jan 05, 2011)
• Columbia County's inland port decades late (Jan 03, 2010)
• Columbia County ranks 5th in the nation in the unemployed (Dec 18, 2010)
• IDA Continues sub par under County management (Nov 29, 2010)
•
County Economic Development
Making it up as they go along (Oct 06, 2010)
• Lake City Planning for Future Downtown - County Commission MIA (June 25, 2010)
• The Great Columbia County Dog and Pony Show (June 02, 2010)
• IDA Rudderless • Web presence a mess (Feb 02, 2010)
The final report found that Enterprise Zone program participation remains relatively low in most zones, limiting progress toward achieving the legislative goals of revitalizing distressed areas and increasing employment of area residents.
Over the past five years, Florida's Enterprise Zone Program awarded $187 million in incentives, most of which went to businesses in Miami-Dade County. Program participation remains relatively low in most enterprise zones, limiting progress toward achieving the legislative goals of revitalizing distressed areas and increasing employment of area residents.
The report presents five options for the Legislature to consider:
- encouraging greater participation by lowering incentive eligibility thresholds;
- focusing on job creation by eliminating all incentives except jobs tax credits;
- establishing a one-year program moratorium on awarding incentives to save an estimated $18 million in Fiscal Year 2011-12;
- abolishing the program to save an estimated $18 million annually;
- or allowing the program to sunset on December 31, 2015.
