Explanation
Over the past year, City Council created a Jobs and Economic Development Committee devoted to job creation and economic growth. Council also set aside a $2 million Job Growth Initiatives Fund in the 2005 budget with the purpose of actively seeking key job creation investment opportunities that employ Columbus workers and strengthen the City's income tax revenues to pay for critical city services.
At the same time, the private and public sector leadership of Columbus are cooperating on initiatives to accelerate the region's economic growth, aiming to make the region one of the nation's more recognized centers of economic opportunity. One means to achieve this objective is to embrace the tenets of an inclusive community. Columbus is home to an increasingly diverse community. Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for half of the total population growth in Columbus over the past decade. To achieve its goal of continued economic growth and prosperity, Columbus must develop and implement a strategy that captures the talent and skills of this increasing diverse population.
To that end, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and Columbus State Community College are partnering to create a website and database of certified minority businesses. The project will make it easier for governments and private businesses to identify and hire minority firms. The electronic database is intended to replace prior multiple systems used by potential employers to "register" minority firms. Moreover, it will expand employment opportunities for minorities by using a broader definition of what constitutes a "minority" business than is often employed with existing hard-copy systems. The website will also links to the Internet home of the Columbus Chamber Entrepreneurship Steering Committee, another public/private partnership, that can offer an array of startup services to new or growing minority firms.
City Council deems it an appropriate use of Jobs Growth fund t...
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