Hi All! I had the pleasure of attending the IEDC Leadership Summit in Tempe, AZ this week. It was chocked full of good sessions, but President Jeff Finkle’s breakdown of the Obama Economic Stimulus Plan from an economic development viewpoint was most enlightening. You can download his slides by going to their Web site: www.iedconline.org. A few items of particular interest to economic developers:
- $43 billion for unemployment benefits and job training
- $32 billion for renewable energy projects including building 3,000 miles of the new “Smart Grid”
- $30 billion for roads/bridges
- $10 billion for research park projects
- $6 billion for expand broadband
- $730 million for new SBA lending
- Funds will generally flow through traditional state methods, but there will be No matching requirements.
IEDC has made a number of requests to push certain economic development programs to the administration (check out their Web site) and we thank them for that! Stay tuned…and get ready to spend! Deane