Economic Development / 534
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CITY OF MORGAN HILL
FY 15-16
OPERATING AND CIP BUDGET
CITY OF MORGAN HILL
FY 15-16
OPERATING AND CIP BUDGET
CITY OF MORGAN HILL
FY 15-16
OPERATING AND CIP BUDGET
CITY OF MORGAN HILL
FY 15-16 OPERATING AND CIP
CITY OF MORGAN HILL
FY 15-16
OPERATING AND CIP BUDGET
CITY OF MORGAN HILL
FY 15-16
OPERATING AND CIP BUDGET
CITY OF MORGAN HILL
FY15-16
OPERATING AND CIP BUDGET
City Manager
(continued)
Economic Development
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION
The City of Morgan Hill’s Economic Development (ED) mission is to improve the community’s economic base and qual-
ity of life. Members of the ED Team, include but are not limited to the Tourism Alliance, Downtown Association (DTA)
and the Chamber of Commerce; and are engaged and empowered to deliver economic development as a top priority.
Since the dissolution of the Redevelopment Agency’s robust economic development program, the City’s Economic
Development program has received modest funding, therefore offering few assistance programs. Beginning in 2013-
14, the General Fund has provided limited but critical funding for economic development activities supporting the
staffing of a program which has relied heavily on building partnerships, leveraging of other resources, and seeking out
innovative and cost-effective ways to offer business assistance. In FY 14-15, the Program received a one-time boost
with former RDA bond funds used to implement a portion of the Downtown placemaking strategy.
Currently, the Economic Development team is made up of a Principal Planner/Economic Development Manager, a por-
tion of the Assistant City Manager for Community Development and part-time temporary resources. Among other
City teammates who contribute to the City’s ED efforts. FY 15-16 proposes the addition of a permanent Economic De-
velopment Coordinator to assist with the growing demands and continue the successes of the City's limited Economic
Development program.
Major activities for Economic Development Division include business retention and attraction, marketing and promo-
tion, policy analysis, supporting key economic development initiatives to create a thriving Downtown, development of
strategic partnerships and participating in leadership positions in regional economic development and marketing ef-
forts.
The FY 15-16 work program is projected to be dominated by four key areas: 1) Downtown Development—the imple-
mentation of the Successor Agency real estate disposition in the Downtown; 2) Business Retention and Attraction—
promoting the expansion of existing businesses and promoting industrial opportunity sites to new businesses to cre-
ate employment opportunities and relocation of downtown tenants potentially displaced by the sale of downtown
opportunity sites ; 3) Marketing and Promotions—creation and implementation of an overall marketing strategy
branding the community as a destination; 4) Building Capacity of Key Economic Development Partners—developing
financing infrastructures that add capacity to the City's business organizations by leveraging private dollars and estab-
lishing on-going sources of funding to promote economic development activities.
COUNCIL GOALS AND FOCUS AREAS
The Economic Development Division will implement policies and activities that are aligned with
priorities, goals and strategies the City Council has set for 2015:
Enhancing Public Safety
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Work with the Downtown Association to make Downtown more pedestrian friendly, calm traffic and create