| Whatz Inzide | |
JOBZ Tracker: 100 Deals in Less than a Year, and Still Going StrongJoined in Greenbush by business leaders and economic development officials from throughout northwestern Minnesota, Governor Tim Pawlenty announced early last month that the JOBZ initiative had hit the 100-deal mark in its first 11 months.
“This milestone is a testament to Greater Minnesota’s determination to seize opportunities, to take control of its future, and to thrive rather than simply survive,” Governor Pawlenty said. “And it’s a testament to our determination to help. This is a remarkable success story – but it's only the first chapter. JOBZ is helping rural regions throughout the state to create an environment where business and communities can prosper.”
By the time the calendar had turned
from 2004 to 2005, the total number of JOBZ deals had climbed to 115, and
the projects keep rolling in. As of January 21, the total sits at 125 projects
representing nearly 2,900 retained jobs, 1,932 new jobs, and nearly
$165.8 million in new capital investment.
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Star Tribune Praises Success of JOBZ InitiativeIn an editorial last month, the Minneapolis Star Tribune dished out high praise for the many first-year successes of the JOBZ program. Here’s an excerpt from that editorial, “JOBZ: Can one success breed another?” published December 12, 2004:
It's hard to knock success. That likely explains why Minnesotans haven't heard much lately from critics of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's marquee rural economic development initiative, Job Opportunity Building Zones (JOBZ).
For all its defects in the eyes of economic purists, the JOBZ program is working as advertised. In less than a year's time, 104 job-creating businesses started, moved or expanded into JOBZ districts in outstate communities. Those businesses have been promised exemption from most state and local business taxes for 12 years.
Despite that surge of activity, the critics could still make a case against JOBZ. They said the state would be forfeiting tax revenue to simply shuffle jobs from one Minnesota place to another. That's true of 41 of the first 104 participating firms. The rest are mostly start-ups or expansions of existing businesses in the same community. Only six involve businesses moving to Minnesota from another state.
The critics said the tax breaks would reward firms that pay low wages. The average hourly wage and benefit at JOBZ businesses is $11.86. That's considerably lower than the statewide average of $15.25 per hour. About a fourth of the JOBZ employers pay wages and benefits lower than $10 per hour.
Still, in much of rural Minnesota, new jobs at $10 or $12 hour are as welcome
as an early spring. A few thousand of them are a bumper crop. JOBZ's first-year
yield is considerable: 1,654 jobs retained and 1,509 new positions, either
already delivered or promised in contractual agreements …. | |
Marketing Best Practices -- JOBZ Roadside Marketing: A Tale of Three CitiesThe owner of an Iowa trailer manufacturing company drives north with his wife. They follow a meandering route because the manufacturer is keenly interested in relocating his company and family somewhere in Minnesota.
At the edge of a community called Alpha he notices a “Tax Free Development – JOBZ” sign under the population sign. “I wonder what that’s about,” he says to his wife. She shrugs, and they keep driving.
Twenty miles along, they come to Beta, where the manufacturer sees the “Tax Free Development – JOBZ” sign beneath Beta’s population sign, and 50 yards beyond that he sees a phone number on Beta’s larger community sign, sponsored by the community's churches, businesses, and the city itself. His wife likes Minnesota. She’d like to move to Minnesota. In fact, she’s already dialed the number into her cell phone. But alas, no one answers. Maybe she got the number wrong; it was hard to see as they sped past the sign. She hangs up, and they keep driving.
Another 50 miles up the road they see yet another “Tax Free Development – JOBZ” sign, and just up the road from there, the City of Omega has placed its community sign with a big, easy-to-remember phone number 1-800-OMEGA-CITY. She calls the number which is answered quickly and gets an earful about Omega’s school system, a nearby trailer wheel vendor, average housing prices, and local lakes and rivers, as well as details about Omega’s JOBZ parcels.
By the end of the conversation the Iowa manufacturer and his wife have decided to stop at Omega on their trip back from up north and tour two parcels of JOBZ property with the mayor.
Moral: When thinking through your JOBZ marketing plan, try to envision the “future result” you are seeking. When you market your JOBZ parcels the more convenient you make learning about your community for your potential customers the “luckier” your community will be. Fortune favors the prepared.
The Marketing Best Practices column is an idea exchange. We know many communities have come up with some very good marketing ideas. This is the place to share them with others. If you wish to share marketing ideas, please send them – along with photos or other collateral materials – to John Fisher at DEED. You can use e-mail, john.d.fisher@state.mn.us or phone, 651-282-6791.
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JOBZ Deal Evaluator: It’s Almost Ready to UseThe much-anticipated JOBZ Deal Evaluator is now in its final stages of testing, and is expected to be ready for use by the end of January. The Deal Evaluator will be a simple, online tool to help local decision makers gather information to evaluate and compare potential JOBZ projects, based on a community’s own priorities and preferences. The Deal Evaluator will employ a four-step process that allows local officials and JOBZ administrators to use state and local data to plug in JOBZ project inputs, evaluate projected outcomes, and determine whether a proposed JOBZ project meets local needs and criteria for development. All zone and subzone administrators will receive notification via e-mail when the evaluator is released at the end of January. | |
Business Subsidy Reporting Forms and Business SurveysPlease remember that JOBZ is a high-profile project that is attracting widespread attention, so it is important to ensure strict compliance with all of the accountability measures and mandatory reporting requirements. The JOBZ initiative has many layers of built-in accountability, allowing for full disclosure and evaluation of the program’s effectiveness and offering complete and accurate JOBZ performance information for the public, the media, Legislature and academic institutions.
DEED is statutorily required to produce an annual report on the JOBZ initiative, and has created a mandatory JOBZ Data Sheet that must be submitted with each JOBZ business subsidy agreement.
A business survey must also be completed and submitted for every JOBZ project. The Business Survey asks for information about factors that influenced a business decision to expand or locate in a JOBZone. It too is required and must be submitted with all business subsidy agreements. Reminder: On page 2 of the Business Survey there is a space to indicate which zone you’re in. It’s important to include that information when you submit your survey.
Bottom line: When you submit a business subsidy agreement for any JOBZ project, you must also include the mandatory JOBZ Data Sheet and a completed Business Survey. All of these forms are available in the JOBZ section of the DEED website: www.positivelyminnesota.com.
It’s also important to remember that the JOBZ statute requires a report on all JOBZ projects every year for the life of the program – or until the program ends on Dec. 31, 2015. This annual reporting requirement for JOBZ differs from the requirements of the existing business subsidy law. The distinction is important: While business subsidy law requires annual reporting only until the negotiated goals are met, the JOBZ statute requires annual reporting for the life of the program, regardless of when or if the negotiated goals are met.
The first mandatory reporting date is April 1, 2005. All tax exemptions must be treated as business subsidies subject to Minnesota’s business subsidy reporting requirements. That means that each sub-zone community must file an annual report on the performance of each benefiting business. These reports focus on full-time jobs created/retained, wages and benefits for employees and capital investments. With this information, DEED will be able to determine and report the public benefit of JOBZ to the state.
To make filing as easy and efficient as possible, DEED has created an online JOBZ business subsidy reporting form. That form is in the final stages of testing, and will be available soon in the JOBZ section of the DEED website.
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Answering the Call: Get Fast, Accurate Help by Calling the Right PersonThe JOBZ program generates questions – a lot of questions – and it’s not always clear where to find the answers. You’ll get the fastest and most accurate responses if you direct your general questions first to your local subzone administrator or one of DEED’s business marketing representatives, all of whom have contact information listed on the JOBZ web page: http://www.deed.state.mn.us/bizdev/PDFs/jobzAdmSupCont.pdf
For program-related information about specific businesses: For
tax and revenue information: For
information about Prevailing Wage requirements and compliance: In addition, four DEED technical assistance representatives are ready to answer any purely technical questions you might have about any of the 10 zones. To reach the appropriate technical assistance representative for your zone, check the following list:
East Central Zone, Headwaters Zone, and West Central Zone Land
of the Dancing Sky – Northwest and Southern Minnesota JOBZ Alliance Northeast – Arrowhead, Southwest & Brewster
Ag Zone, and Upper Minnesota Valley Positively Southern Minnesota JOBZ Growth Corridor and Region 5 Job Zone MNPRO and Community Profiles Business subsidy policies, public hearings, annual reporting | |