FRESNO (KMJ) — A Fresno City Councilman has his plan to bring back an economic resurgence to local residents.
Billed as the ‘Economic Expansion Act’, Lee Brand’s proposal includes new incentives for businesses – as well as new career paths for local students.
“There’s two sides”, explains the Councilman. “It’s having the ability to attract business without giving away the farm. That’s one side of it, that’s the demand side.
“The supply side is to find a way working with other agencies to have qualified trained people”.
Councilman Brand describes it as setting the course for economic growth, and the most comprehensive in the history of the City of Fresno.
“When you’re being successful – property values are going up, sales tax dollars go up, room tax, business tax, but [what] that also does is it raises the revenues for the City of Fresno”.
The detailed plan includes incentives for businesses looking to set up shop in Fresno. It includes reducing development impact fees, reimbursement for offsite improvements triggered by projects, and using a project’s new revenue to encourage private investment.
“Fresno is perpetually at the bottom of every good list, and at the top of every bad list”, Brand continues. “We’ve had continued chronic poverty, we have almost always double digit unemployment”.
The ‘Economic Expansion Act’ goes in front of Fresno City Council on March 17th.
Councilman Lee Brand spoke to KMJ’s Ray Appleton about his proposal, and you can hear that interview below:
