Incentive
The City may allocate up to $25,000 to a new business that meets the below criteria. Awards are subject to available fund balance and review of the submittal packet.
Businesses may apply for this incentive to receive reimbursement for the following qualifying expenses, but are not limited to:
- Employee Relocation Expenses
- Job Related Training
- Workforce Development
- Site improvements that provide public benefit: Beautification improvements, energy efficiency items, public roads and lighting, code required landscaping, public water and wastewater, etc.
The maximum awarded amount per business is $25,000.
Criteria
All submittals will be reviewed by staff to determine if the business meets the minimum criteria to be eligible for City incentives:
- Must be locating this business within City limits. New businesses may apply for this incentive if they located to Flagstaff within the last 90 days.
- Must be one of the key industries identified by the City.
- Must create a minimum of ten (10) new permanent full- time jobs, where the new position’s salary exceeds the Coconino County median wage of $20.04 per hour.
City of Flagstaff’s Economic Development Program Mission: Enhancing prosperity, long-term viability, and resilience of our community.
The City of Flagstaff is interested in attracting sustainable companies that will provide high quality, career oriented, opportunities for its residents that further commerce in the region. As part of these efforts, the City is providing economic incentives to meet its goal of attracting businesses to the following key industries:
- Astronomy
- Bioscience & Healthcare
- Education
- Environmental Technology
- Manufacturing
- Research and Development
- Software and Information Based Technology
Business Attraction Job Creation Incentive – The City may allocate up to $25,000 to a new business that meets the below criteria. Awards are subject to available fund balance and review of the submittal packet. Businesses may apply for this incentive to receive reimbursement for the following qualifying expenses:
The reimbursement is limited to expenses that provide direct community benefit and may include:
- Employee Relocation Expenses
- Job Related Training
- Workforce Development
- Various site improvements: Beautification improvements, energy efficiency items, public roads and lighting, code required land scaping, public water, and wastewater.
The annual funding for this policy is $75,000. The maximum awarded amount per business is $25,000.
Submissions
Any potential employer that is interested in applying for this incentive may submit the following information to the Business Attraction Office at the City of Flagstaff between June 1st and June 30th, 2021. If all funds are not awarded in this initial time frame, the City will open another submittal timeframe for potential employers to apply. Each new submittal window will begin on the first of every subsequent month and close on the last day of that month until all funds have been awarded.
- Written narrative of the venture which includes:
- Explanation of how all necessary criteria will be met.
- What City incentives you are applying for and how these incentives will be used to strengthen your ability to locate to Flagstaff.
- General proposal of how incentive funds will be used.
- If incentive is not received how will this impact your ability to locate to Flagstaff.
- Budget, schedule, and business plan for the potential venture.
- A narrative of the impact of the applicant’s businesses relative to water and energy usage, and to the community waste stream (this does not need to be elaborate).
- A detailed description of any proposed direct benefits to the community (not just applicant’s business) such as infrastructure, workforce development opportunities for residents or students, volunteer work, or some other benefit that the business is able to offer to the community.
- An accounting of the applicant’s private investment relative to the requested grant (Can be submitted confidentially).
- Please submit all proposals for incentive requests to Creag Znetko at cznetko@flagstaffaz.gov.
Scoring: Economic Vitality staff and various city offices will review and rank applications. Each complete application will be ranked based upon an overall tally of available points for three separate criteria:
Wages (20pts): A comparison of the wages of the jobs being created relative to the Coconino County median wage and relative to the average sector wage.
Environmental Impact (30pts): A narrative of the impact of the applicant’s businesses relative impacts to water and energy usage, and to the community waste stream.
Direct Community Benefit (50pts): A description of any proposed direct benefits to the community (not just the applicant’s business) such as infrastructure, workforce development opportunities for residents or students, volunteer work, or some other direct benefit that the business is providing to the community.
The review team will determine awards after considering each submitted application and final scores. Successful applicants may then request reimbursement for approved uses. A successful applicant may be reimbursed for a variety of approved uses but will not exceed the $25,000 limit.
Any unused program funds may be carried forward into the next budget year to fund additional ventures.
Successful applicants will provide a final report if an incentive is awarded, describing in detail any items related to section four of the submittal requirements and how the incentive was used. Successful applicants will meet with City of Flagstaff economic development staff quarterly during the first year. Successful applicants may be included in future marketing efforts for the program and for the economic development efforts of the City of Flagstaff in general.
