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Board of County Commissioners December 31, 2012 Page Five would not mandate that the County provide such improvements, but would identify factors considered by the County to be important in making its decision— and generally would spotlight the County's spe- cial desire to facilitate development in the Enterprise Zone. The consensus of the Agency was to rec- ommend approval of this proposed incentive. 6. Modify the Jobs Grant Program to Increase the Bonus for Jobs Created in the Enterprise Zone. As noted above, the County already has a Jobs Grant Program, and already grants a 10% "bonus" for jobs created in the Enterprise Zone. The proposed incentive is to increase the bonus to a higher figure, something between 20% and 50%. The consensus of the Agency was to recommend approval of this proposed incentive. 7. Waive or Subsidize the Local Business Tax Receipt for a Limited Period of Time. All business- es pay a local business tax (formerly occupational license tax) in the amount of$40 per year. The pro- posed incentive is to waive or subsidize the local business tax for new businesses in the Enterprise Zone for a limited period of time —perhaps three to five years. The consensus of the Agency was to recom- mend approval of this proposed incentive. 8. Waive (in whole or in part) the Franchise Fee or Fee-in-Lieu-of-Franchise Fee for a Limited Pe- riod of Time. Whether utilities are provided in the unincorporated portion of the Enterprise Zone by the County, the City of Vero Beach or Florida Power& Light, the County collects either a franchise fee or a fee-in-lieu-of-franchise-fee of 6%. The proposed incentive is to waive this fee, in whole or in part, for a limited period of time — again, perhaps three to five years. Because these fees are deposited into the general fund, the County would not be required to pay the funds from another source. Also, because franchise fees are excluded from the definition of "Net Revenues" in the County's outstanding bond documents, a waiver of the fees would not violate bond covenants. Implementation of this incentive would probably require amendment of the franchise agreements with the City of Vero Beach and Florida Power& Light. The consensus of the Agency was to recommend approval of this proposed incentive. After speaking with County administrative staff, there ate some concerns about (1) the financial cost of some of these incentives, and (2) the administrative burden in implementing some of these incentives. These concerns have not been fully vetted to date, on the notion that staff did not want to spend signifi- cant time analyzing incentives which the Board had not yet reviewed on a preliminary basis. Thus, as stated above, once the Board indicates which incentives it would like to pursue, staff will complete the analysis effort. Finally, it is obvious that some of the incentives involve small sums of money and, in the final decision of a new or expanding business, will carry little weight. However, after discussing the matter with He- lene Caseltine and the Agency, it was felt that the addition of even "small" incentives may be useful in the effort to promote the Enterprise Zone and develop interest among business owners who might not otherwise be familiar with the overall benefits available in these areas. F lw1ornevkUnda1GENERAbB CCAgenda blenmsE terprise Zone lnaenth-Zd- 104