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<br />Texas Economic Development ,wcentives 2003 <br /> <br />Page 5 of 29 <br /> <br />related to administering the economic development sales tax. The case study communities <br />generated a number of practices that could be labeled "best practices." These include: <br /> <br />. Written incentive guidelines. The Development Corporation of Abilene (DCOA) <br />has adopted written guidelines for financial assistance. These written guidelines are <br />not overly prescriptive and strike a good balance between flexibility and clear <br />standards, policies and procedures. <br /> <br />. Descriptive annual reporting. All of the economic development corporations <br />reviewed for this project report their activities to the City Council on a regular basis. <br />The DCOA for example, produces a semi-annual report that describes in considerable <br />detail how the previous six months' activities have helped further its six strategic <br />goals. The report also provides an update on businesses that have defaulted on their <br />incentive contracts, if any. The City of New Braunfels provides a detailed accounting <br />of expenses. <br /> <br />. Estimating economic and fiscal impacts. All of the economic development <br />corporations interviewed conduct varying levels of economic impact/return on <br />investment analysis before awarding businesses a significant financial incentive. But, <br />several impact analyses issues should be addressed: <br /> <br />Impact assessment procedures should be standardized to ensure similar <br />decisions are made by corporations in Texas. <br /> <br />Impact analyses should assess statewide impacts, in addition to local and <br />regional. <br /> <br />Evaluation of an "investment" of public funds should be equivalent for <br />both new and existing businesses. <br /> <br />Analysis of public investments like infrastructure or job training <br />programs should be conducted similar to those for projects involving <br />direct financial incentives to new or existing businesses. <br /> <br />The City of New Braunfels retained a consultant to develop a guidebook for <br />estimating economic and fiscal impacts. The guidebook helps decision-makers better <br />assess the net fiscal impact of a new project or relocation. This deliberate and focused <br />approach to measuring economic impact is a "best practice" that could serve as the <br />basis for additional training on economic impact analysis. <br /> <br />. Ongoing analysis and benchmarking of social and economic trends. The Taylor <br />Economic Development Corporation regularly tracks socio-economic trends in the <br />region, such as per capita income and educational attainment. The TEDC also <br />conducts benchmarking to compare itself to peers and the state as a whole. <br /> <br />. Supporting work force development initiatives. A common trend found in the <br />communities was a commitment to improving the local work force. Numerous <br />communities have used economic development sales tax dollars to fund skills <br />surveys, labor market analyses, as well as bricks and mortar type projects focused on <br />work force development, such as Temple College at Taylor and the Central Texas <br />Technology Center in New Braunfels. In Victoria, economic development sales tax <br /> <br />http://www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/ecodev03/06ch3 .html <br /> <br />9/27/2004 <br />