Explanation
Background: This legislation authorizes the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a grant agreement with One Columbus in an amount up to $1,000,000.00 for the purpose of providing resources for aggressive action with key business and government contacts for business attraction, expansion, and retention in the downtown area, central city neighborhoods, and growth areas of the City of Columbus. In addition, these funds represent a commitment to One Columbus’s efforts related to the City's continued interest in workforce development, area wide marketing, international marketing, the creation and nurturing of entrepreneurship, and investment in public sector infrastructure. Funding will be advanced to the agency on a predetermined schedule.
One Columbus, the economic development organization for the 11 county Columbus Region, has set forth a vision for the Columbus Region to be the most prosperous region in the United States. Formerly Columbus 2020, One Columbus will continue to work in partnership with state and local partners, focusing on helping existing businesses grow, compete, and diversify the economy through the attraction of new businesses and support newly formed high-growth enterprises. The One Columbus strategy includes critical imperatives such as:
1. Sustain our economic momentum by continuing to make economic growth and prosperity a top priority;
2. Develop, inspire and attract a talented, adaptive and diverse workforce to compete for investment;
3. Enable the innovation capacity of businesses, academic and government sectors to grow dynamically; and
4. Increase global identity and connectivity.
One Columbus is also committed to achieving greater results than the goals achieved by Columbus 2020 in the last decade. Growth predictions include a 10% to 15% increase in jobs, payroll and investment while focusing on removing barriers to growth and prosperity. One Columbus will continue to work in partnership wi...
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