Okaloosa County BOCC — January 5, 2016 — Resolution Draft Florida Enterprise Fund

RESOLUTION NO. 16-______ RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA SUPPORTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FLORIDA ENTERPRISE FUND AND THE ONE-TIME LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATION OF $250 MILLION TO ENSURE OUR STATE'S LONG-TERM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMPETITIVENESS. WHEREAS economic development is of utmost importance to Okaloosa County, its municipalities, businesses and citizens; and, WHEREAS the creation of quality, high wage jobs by existing and new businesses provides direct, positive impact to our communities and those who live here; and, WHEREAS economic development and the creation of high wage jobs is a highly- competitive undertaking, with communities, regions and states aggressively leveraging all assets and incentive programs to attract new jobs and investment; and, WHEREAS despite being the third most populous state in the United States, Florida has considerably less funding available for closing “game changing” job creation projects than do other states with which it regularly competes; and, WHEREAS in acknowledging the competitive nature of economic development, Florida's Governor Rick Scott has proposed the establishment of the Florida Enterprise Fund; and, WHEREAS Governor Scott is requesting that the Florida Enterprise Fund be seeded with a one-time appropriation of $250 million by the Florida Legislature; and, WHEREAS the proposed Florida Enterprise Fund improves the State of Florida's return on investment by eliminating the use of waivers and requiring a 10 percent annualized return on top of the original amount invested in a company; and, WHEREAS the proposed Florida Enterprise Fund improves accountability by requiring that any funding in excess of $1 million must additionally have the approval of the Speaker of the Florida House and the President of the Florida Senate, as well as the Governor; and, WHEREAS the proposed Florida Enterprise Fund eliminates bureaucratic hurdles while continuing to ensure that no incentive payments are made until a company satisfied the specific job creation goals included in their contract. 1  NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA 1. The Board of County Commissioners does hereby support the establishment of the Florida Enterprise Fund and the one-time legislative appropriation of $250 million to ensure our state's long-term economic development competitiveness. 2. This Resolution shall become effective upon adoption. DULY ADOPTED this 5th day of January, 2016. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA ________________________________ CHARLES K. WINDES, JR., CHAIRMAN ATTEST: J. D. PEACOCK, II Clerk of the Circuit Court By: __________________________ Deputy Clerk (Seal) APPROVED AS TO FORM: By: ______________________________ Gregory T. Stewart County Attorney 2