BUDGET PROPOSES POST TO AID BUSINESSES.

Byline: Amy Collins Daily News Staff Writer

Business big and small, Santa Clarita is hoping to give you a boost.

Tucked in the city's $75.5 million budget proposal for 1997-98 is a call to hire a planner to help small businesses succeed in Santa Clarita. And Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy said she also will push for a second economic development position to lure bigger companies.

``We need a person who actively seeks new business to come to the city,'' she said.

She named a number of businesses that could make a nice match with Santa Clarita, ranging from Nordstrom and Pic 'N Save to a fairgrounds and the Dreamworks project.

Mayor Clyde Smyth said it's an issue he would like to examine when the budget is reviewed by the council next month. He said the small-business position will be extremely important to the city and the big business recruitment might be something better handled by a consultant.

Mike Haviland, Santa Clarita's marketing and economic development manager, said he would welcome the help. ``I do everything now,'' Haviland said.

He credited The Newhall Land and Farming Company, the brain trust behind Valencia, with recruiting several companies to the area.

``They have a real strong marketing program, a real strong budget and some real good people,'' Haviland said.

Newhall Land has made business attraction a key component of its plan for the master-planned community of Valencia, said company spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer. She said it not only provides local jobs but creates customers for existing retail business and infuses funds to local charities and schools. ``Economic development and creation of jobs is really critical to the community,'' she said.

But since only portions of Valencia are within Santa Clarita's city limits, Newhall Land's efforts only go so far, Haviland and Darcy said.

``They do it for their business properties, not ours,'' Darcy said.

Lauffer said Newhall Land has a few people at the company who are devoted solely to recruiting businesses to the Valencia Gateway centers, and also network through the monolith CB Commercial real estate company.

Lauffer said the Santa Clarita Valley has come a long way in successfully marketing its image as business-friendly, and cited the city's ranking last year in the California Business magazine as the second-best place to do business in the state, as compared to other mid-size cities.

Councilwoman Jill Klajic was supportive of hiring a planner to give hands-on help to small business through development of merchants associations, marketing help and coordination of events such as sidewalk sales.

``The way things are going, we're going to lose all of our small businesses,'' she said.

Haviland said hiring one person to help small business will end up benefiting the big business effort. ``If I had someone who could at least take care of the retention side, I could at least spend more time on attraction,'' said Haviland, who has been the city's point-man in its efforts to bring part of Princess Cruises headquarters to Santa Clarita.