At last Tuesdays Council Meeting, Election Night, Council voted on wether or not to accept a multi million dollar grant to fund Phase II of the Flagstaff Business Incubator, NACET.
Many folks in Flagstaff may not be aware that Flagstaff has a business incubator on McMillan Mesa near Buffalo Park. It’s goal is to help businesses grow and bring jobs to Flagstaff. Millions have been invested and the operations are subsidized by the tax payer to the tune of over $600,000 per year. Despite this loss and serious questions as to how many jobs this tax payer subsidized operation brings to Flagstaff and questions raised by myself and others as to the real economic impact of this venture, the Council approved funding Phase II by a vote of 6-1.
I was not satisified, to say the least, with the responses to various questions I posed during the meeting (watch video Item 14A). When I asked why the last contractor pulled out of the project, who was to build and fund the facility, I was told the company pulled out because they could not attain financing for the project due to the fact that the clients the incubator would serve were not credit worthy. It appears the Flagstaff tax payer is going to step up and subsidize businesses that may not be able to receive traditional funding. In other words, the Council has decided to invest your tax dolllars into businesses that the private sector has by enlarge passed on. Sound familiar?
Past Councils have made financial investments that have not turned out very well for the tax payer, are we traveling down that road again?
A very busy week…
Tuesday, 11/13: I’ll be in Phoenix at the State House meeting one on one with Rep Crandell (Senate Elect).
Tuesday, 11/13: Council Work Session, Civil Rights Ordinance to be discussed.
Wednesday & Thursday, 11/14 & 11/15: Budget Retreat! I’ve been looking froward to this for a long time!
Thursday, 11/14: I’ll be on Flag Mornings with Charlie Hicks, 93.5FM from 7:00AM to 8:00AM
The election is over. Stay engaged. Stay active.
The Jeff Oravits Show 