ENTERPRISE ZONE DECISION NEARS FOR A.V. CITIES : HOPE IS TO BRING NEW FIRMS TO VALLEY.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer By November, state commerce officials are expected to decide whether they will designate the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley as an enterprise zone, providing the region with a powerful tool for attracting new businesses. The Antelope Valley, Watsonville in Santa Cruz County Santa Cruz County is the name of two counties in the United States:
v. Present participle of vie. vying vie to become the two communities designated as enterprise zones, which provide tax breaks and other incentives to businesses that move in or expand. ``The enterprise zone is another arrow in our quiver,'' said Palmdale Councilman David Myers. ``We're going to be a very attractive place for businesses wanting to stay in California.'' Enterprise zones are designed to encourage business expansion and job creation in areas of the state that are economically depressed. Since the program was created in 1984, 37 regions have received enterprise zone designations. Enterprise zone incentives include tax credits for sales or use taxes paid on the first $20 million of equipment or machinery purchased, deductions for interest income earned on investments, and a credit which employees can claim on their individual tax returns for wages earned from a firm located in the zone. Palmdale has had about a dozen inquiries from businesses as a result of hearing about the enterprise zone application, and officials expect more if the Antelope Valley wins one of the designations, said Al McCord, Palmdale's economic development director. ``It's going to make a lot of difference in our ability to market our industrial potential competitively,'' McCord said. But Palmdale and Lancaster will continue their program that offers up to $2,000 a job for new or expanding businesses, and will still have to hunt for prospects, officials said. ``That's a mistake a lot of communities make: They get the enterprise zone designation and sit back and wait for the phone to ring,'' McCord said. Lancaster and Palmdale officials are mapping out an implementation plan, including marketing and workshops for staff for both cities and the local development community with the state Board of Equalization In communications, techniques used to reduce distortion and compensate for signal loss (attenuation) over long distances. . The proposed Antelope Valley enterprise zone covers more than 40 square miles A square mil is a unit of area, equal to the area of a square with sides of length one mil. A mil is one thousandth of an international inch. This unit of area is usually used in specifying the area of the cross section of a wire or cable. and includes nearly all commercial and industrial property in Palmdale, Lancaster and unincorporated Adj. 1. unincorporated - not organized and maintained as a legal corporation unorganised, unorganized - not having or belonging to a structured whole; "unorganized territories lack a formal government" Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County. The application represents months of work by the staffs of both cities. The application itself was about 1,200 pages and about 8 inches thick. ``To put the energy into this and not get this would be a big blow,'' McCord said. The effectiveness of enterprise zones has never been measured because data is hard to come by and other economic factors come into play, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a November 1995 report by the Bureau of State Audits. ``Numerous other factors, such as changes in the general economy and similar programs operating in the surrounding areas, affect economic activity in the enterprise zones and program areas,'' the report states. ``Thus isolating the effect of enterprise zone and employment and economic incentive programs have on economic activity may not be possible.'' The Trade and Commerce Agency, which administers the program, acknowledges the difficulties in measuring effectiveness of enterprise zones. However, the agency argues there are indications the zones do assist in job creation. The agency estimates that 50,000 jobs have been created in enterprise zones for people who were previously on public assistance. Approximately 75 percent of enterprise zone businesses were small firms with 50 or fewer employees. Employee wages ranged from $5 to $13 an hour, according to state statistics. ``The role of enterprise zones is twofold: They are an effective business attraction tool and they are a business retention tool to keep good manufacturing jobs in the community,'' said Susan Arpan, president of the California Association for Enterprise Zones. Arpan, who coordinates San Jose's enterprise zone efforts, said companies looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. incentives will target areas with enterprise zones. However, how successful enterprise zones are depends on how active local governments are in promoting and contributing to them, Arpan said. ``It's only part of the puzzle,'' Arpan said. ``It's one more tool in our belt. It's not to be a be-all and end-all be all and end all or be-all and end-all n. The quintessential or all-important element: "Not that the more spectacular athleticism is the be all and end all of free skating. Spins . . . .'' One of the enterprise zone success stories is Sacramento Army Depot, a former military installation turned into an electronics manufacturing This article presents a typical manufacturing process of an electronic assembly. Component manufacturing Components such as resistors, capacitors and integrated circuits are generally made by specialized contractors. center. Peak employment for the depot as a military installation was 3,500. Employment is now around 5,000, said Michael Picker, chief of staff for Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna. ``From our perspective it's wonderful,'' Picker said. ``A thousand of the employees had been on welfare or unemployment.'' Among the firms that relocated there was Packard Bell See Packard Bell NEC. , a former San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. computer manufacturer that Palmdale officials had tried to woo to the Antelope Valley in 1994. Palmdale tried unsuccessfully for an enterprise zone designation in the early 1990s. One of the shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw. Shortcomings may also be:
Since then, the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster created their $2,000-a-job incentive program and created an economic advisory board called the Antelope Valley Regional Partnership, along with Los Angeles County, private business and Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. . When legislation was passed in 1994 to create two new zones, Palmdale officials decided to attempt the process again, this time joining with Lancaster to make it an a regional application. State officials say they plan two award two conditional enterprise zones on or about Oct. 28. The two regions selected will have until April to meet whatever conditions - improvements to the proposed operations - the state requires before receiving the final approval as enterprise zones. Palmdale and Lancaster officials say they are hoping to win final approval by January. BUSINESS BENEFITS Corporations and businesses operating with an enterprise zone can take advantage of several benefits: A tax credit for sales or use tax paid on the first $20 million of equipment or machinery purchased. A hiring credit for wages paid to employees hired through specific programs during the employees' first five years on the job. A 15-year carry-over of net operating losses Net operating losses Losses that a firm can take advantage of to reduce taxes. . Deductions for interest income earned on investments. Qualified employees may take a credit on their individual tax returns for a portion of their wages. Source: California Trade and Commerce Agency CAPTION(S): Box Box: BUSINESS BENEFITS (see text) |
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