Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Sandy-Michael McDonald
Department: Economic and Small Business Development
Information
Requested Action
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MOTION TO APPROVE Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance (hereinafter referred to as the “Alliance”) Fiscal Year 2024 quarterly performance report, for the period from October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, pursuant to the agreement between Broward County and the Alliance.
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Why Action is Necessary
Pursuant to the County’s agreement with the Alliance, the Alliance must submit to the Office of Economic and Small Business Development, quarterly performance reports for Board acceptance.
What Action Accomplishes
The Alliance's submission and the Board of County Commissioners' acceptance of the quarterly performance reports will satisfy compliance with the terms of the Agreement between the parties.
Goal Related Icon(s)
☒County Commission
☐Go Green
☐MAP Broward
Previous Action Taken
None.
Summary Explanation/Background
THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC AND SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
This item supports the Board of County Commissioners' Vision of “From sawgrass to seagrass, an inclusive and resilient community with a thriving quality of life”, and Goal of “Ensuring economic opportunities and a sustainable economy, with an emphasis on Broward's lower and middle class."
The Office of Economic and Small Business Development (hereinafter referred to as “OESBD”) reviewed the Fiscal Year 2024 Alliance First Quarter Performance Report (Exhibit 1). The quarterly report has been summarized to highlight the Alliance’s achievements for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2024. The quarterly report demonstrates the achievement of the Alliance’s overall quarterly goals. In the first quarter, notable achievements were accomplished in Number and Dollar Value of CareerSource Partnerships, public sector investing in economic development, total number of website visits, advertising and social impressions, and media value generated. For the goals that were missed regarding new domestic and international leads, number of projects in the pipeline, number of announced projects, new value-added jobs, retained jobs, corporate visits, and direct capital investment, a detailed explanation is provided below.
Performance Measures
Business Development
The Alliance annual goal for new domestic and international leads is to develop 225 leads (175 domestic and 50 international), or 56 leads per quarter for Fiscal Year 2024. The Alliance developed 27 domestic and 10 international leads during the first quarter for a total of 37 leads. This represents 62% goal attainment for domestic leads and 83% goal attainment for international leads. The international leads number has always been positively impacted by assistance from Enterprise Florida, which worked with the Alliance on international leads and projects. With the recent elimination of Enterprise Florida the international numbers have been negatively affected.
The Alliance goal for the number of projects in the pipeline is 20. There are currently 15 projects in the pipeline which is 75% goal attainment. This was missed primarily due to companies not making relocation or expansion decisions due to the continued high cost of money, the elimination of statewide incentives including the Qualified Target Industry funds and state closing funds, and the overall higher cost of living in South Florida being a concern to companies considering a relocation.
The Alliance annual goal for the number of announced projects is 12, or 3 completed projects per quarter for fiscal Year 2024. There were no completed projects in the first quarter, resulting in 0% goal attainment. This was missed primarily due to companies not making relocation or expansion decisions due to the continued high cost of money, the elimination of statewide incentives including the Qualified Target Industry funds and state closing funds, and the overall higher cost of living in South Florida being a concern to companies considering a relocation.
The Alliance annual goal for new value-added jobs is 1,200, or 300 new jobs per quarter for Fiscal Year 2024. The Alliance helped companies create a total of no new value-added jobs during the first quarter, resulting in 0% goal attainment. This was missed primarily due to companies not making relocation or expansion decisions due to the continued high cost of money, the elimination of statewide incentives including the Qualified Target Industry funds and state closing funds, and the overall higher cost of living in South Florida being a concern to companies considering a relocation.
The Alliance annual goal for the number of retained jobs is 500, or 125 retained jobs per quarter for Fiscal Year 2024. There were no retained jobs, resulting in 0% goal attainment for the first quarter. This was a reflection of the fact that Florida/Broward County are being perceived as being more welcoming to businesses than many states, resulting in most companies continuing to remain in Florida/Broward County and not choosing to look at locations outside the area.
The Alliance annual goal for business retention and expansion is to conduct 150 corporate visits in Fiscal Year 2024 or 37 per quarter. The Alliance conducted a total of ten visits during the 1st quarter, which represents 27% goal attainment. This goal is below objective in part due to losing an executive on loan from CareerSource Broward, who was focused on corporate visits for twenty years. The Alliance is now shifting responsibilities and exploring the opportunity of filling a part-time position to conduct corporate visits, with their objective of being on goal by year end.
The Alliance annual goal for direct capital investment is $79 million ($75 million domestic and $4 million international), or $19.75 million per quarter for Fiscal Year 2024. There was no direct or international capital investment for the first quarter, resulting in 0% goal attainment. This was missed primarily due to companies not making relocation or expansion decisions due to the continued high cost of money, the elimination of statewide incentives including the Qualified Target Industry funds and state closing funds, and the overall higher cost of living in South Florida being a concern to companies considering a relocation. Additionally, the elimination of Enterprise Florida also affected the international number negatively.
Marketing and Communications
The Alliance annual goal for the total number of website visits is 150,000 or 37,500 per quarter. In the first quarter, the total number of visits were 56,000, which represents 149% goal attainment for the quarter.
In effort to continue to grow its social media presence and following, the Alliance outlines goals for number of followers on four social media platforms: Twitter (6,000), Facebook (6,000), and increase followers on Instagram and Linkedin. For the first quarter, all four platforms increased followers. Total followers between the four platforms is 15,418, up from 15,050 in the previous quarter and up from 10,686 at the beginning of the initial reporting period in 2022. From October to December, Alliance advertising campaigns generated 3.1 million impressions resulting in 1.1 million video views/audio completions and 31,000 clicks to the Alliance website.
The Alliance annual goal for media value generated is $300,000 or $75,000 per quarter for Fiscal Year 2024. In the first quarter, the media value generated was $158,836, which represents 211% goal attainment for the quarter.
Investor Relations
The Alliance annual goal for private sector dollars investing in economic development is $2,795,000 or $698,750 per quarter. Financial numbers for the first quarter were not available for public/private mix and private sector dollars at the time of this report and will be updated at a later time.
The Alliance annual goal for CareerSource Broward partnerships was 14 company partnerships for Fiscal Year 2024, or 3.5 companies per quarter, and $1,000,000 in dollar value for Fiscal Year 2024, or $250,000 per quarter. During the quarter, there were 3 company partnerships completed, with total CareerSource Broward Partnerships valued at $271,683 for the period. This represents 109% attainment in the partnerships value for the quarter.
OESBD reviewed the Fiscal Year 2024 Alliance First Quarter Performance Report and recommends approval.
Source of Additional Information
Sandy-Michael McDonald, Director OESBD, (954) 357-6400.
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
None.