Orlando City Council Workshop
Council Chambers, City Hall
400 South Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801
Monday, October 9, 2017
Page 1 of 4
In attendance:
Mayor Buddy Dyer
Commissioner Jim Gray, District 1
Commissioner Tony Ortiz, District 2
Commissioner Robert F. Stuart, District 3
Commissioner Patty Sheehan, District 4
Commissioner Regina I. Hill, District 5
Commissioner Samuel B. Ings, District 6
Chief Assistant City Attorney Kyle Shephard
City Clerk Denise Aldridge
Sr. Assistant City Clerk Elizabeth Davidson
Police OfficersKevlon Kirkpatrick and Eddie Rosado, Sergeants-at-Arms
Mayor Buddy Dyer called the meeting to order at 10:04a.m. and welcomed everyone to today’s workshop. Mayor Dyer stated that at the beginning of the fiscal year, the City enters into agreements with various not-for-profit entities that the City supports, and today’s workshop will provide an update from three of those entities: The National Entrepreneur Center (NEC), the Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF) and Prospera Florida (Prospera). Mayor Dyer called on Economic Development Business Development Manager Lillian Scott-Payne to introduce the presenters.
Mayor Dyer called onNEC President Jerry Ross for his presentation to City Council. Mr. Long began by stating that small business is huge in the nation, in Florida and in the Central Florida region. In the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), 86% of businesses headquartered in Orlando have less than 10 employees and produce 34% of the jobs. 13% of businesses headquartered in Central Florida have between 10 and 100 employees and produce 35% of the jobs. Approximately 99% of businesses in Florida and Central Florida have less than 100 employees. Mayor Dyer inquired about the qualification of businesses headquartered in Orlando and Mr. Ross clarified that those included Tupperware and the American Automobile Association but did not include Disney, which is headquartered in Anaheim, California. Mr. Ross stated that Stage1 businesses(0-9 employees) in the Orlando MSA produce 34% of the jobs and Stage 2 businesses in the Orlando MSA (10-99 employees) create 35% of the jobs, so moving a business from Stage 1 to Stage 2 results in an exponential increase in jobs and that is what the NEChas been helping the community do since 2003.
Mr. Ross noted that a vibrant small business community needs a talent pool, intellectual capital, resourceproviders/support, advocates and champions, and financial capital needs. The goal of promoting economic development through small business development led to the formation of the NEC, which provides a single location, through a public/private partnership, state-of-the-art shared facility for thirteen resident non-profit organizations, and includes free coaching, low-cost business training, easy access to business resources such as a computer lab and software, and a variety of networking and business connection opportunities.
Mr. Ross stated that all thirteen non-profit organizations share a single mission: to help small businesses grow. Those thirteen non-profits include Prospera, Accion, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Metro Orlando, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Orlando, America’s Small Business Development Center Florida, National Black MBA Association, Inc. Central Florida Chapter, The Commercial Service, University of Central Florida (UCF) Business Incubation Program, Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council,
Orlando City Council Workshop
Council Chambers, City Hall
400 South Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801
Monday, October 9, 2017
Page 2 of 4
Central Florida Disability Chamber of Commerce, Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) Orlando, Asian American Chamber of Commerce and African American Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Ross presented a list of accomplishments of the Small Business Development Center at UCF, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Metro Orlando, the UCF Business Incubation Program and the Orlando SCORE Chapter over the past thirteen years.
In 2015, a report issued by Angelou Economics showed that for every $1 invested in the NEC, a $14 economic impact in the community can be shown. Since its inception in 2003, the NEC has “face-to-face” coached and trained over 200,000 business people, created over 3,000,000 personal contacts and facilitated over $198,000,000 in loans. Funding for the NEC is shared by Walt Disney World, UCF, City of Orlando, Orange County Government, Orlando Magic, the High Tech Corridor, Regions Bank, T-Mobile, Orlando Utilities Commission, Seacoast Bank and Wells Fargo – public/private partnerships that support the overhead of staff and management in acommon shared facility.
Mr. Ross discussed the NEC’s 2016-17 highlights as responding to the Pulse tragedy by establishing the NEC as a neutral ground to organize volunteers and supplies, providing space at the NEC for the Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster responseteam training after Hurricane Irma, setting up a bilingual phone bank to assist people with questions concerning Hurricane Maria and the resulting devastationinPuerto Rico and hosting roundtable discussions with Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy and SBA Administrator Linda McMahon to talk about federal regulations to support small business. The NEC’s partnership with the International TradeOffice openedthree years ago to engage with other delegations from all over the world.
Mr. Ross summarized his presentation by voicing the NEC’s continued commitment to strengtheningits collaborative community, especially with the SBA, to continue its support of the Puerto Rican response to Hurricane Maria andto explore expansion options. This year the NEC celebrates its fifteenth year of operation. A “Celebration of Collaboration” is planned between January and June 2018, culminating in a breakfast to thank its sponsors, supporters and the community. A copy of the NEC presentation is included as supplemental papers to these minutes.
At approximately 10:17 a.m. the NEC workshop was opened to comments and questions and discussion ensued. At 10:23 a.m. the NEC workshop was concluded.
Mayor Dyer called on President and Chief Executive Officer Inez Long of the Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF) for her presentation to City Council. Ms. Long began by noting that the BBIF is celebrating its thirtieth year in business and in partnership with the City of Orlando. BBIF is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Community Development Entity (CDE) through the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is amember of Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) which is a national CDFI organization comprised of 300 of the strongest CDFIs in the country, is a partner with the SBA in providingCommunityAdvantageLoans and Microloans, and partners with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and U.S. Department of Transportation. BBIF can provide workingcapital for any minority and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) businesses contractingonprojects such as Ultimate I-4 and can provide up to $750,000 in loans to those businesses. Ms. Long traced BBIF’s history during the past thirty years, when it had one BBIF certification, two staff members, seven volunteers, one service area in the OrlandoMSA, one loan product and an average loan size of $30,000.
Orlando City Council Workshop
Council Chambers, City Hall
400 South Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801
Monday, October 9, 2017
Page 3 of 4
Today, the BBIF has five certifications, ten staff members, twenty three volunteers, twenty four investors, a statewide service territory, six loan products, and an average loan size of $150,000. In Fiscal Year 2016-17, the BBIF facilitated over $47,000,000 in business loans, leveragedover$55,000,000in community investments, created/retained nearly13,000 jobs, maintained an historical loan loss that never exceeded 4% and facilitated over 400 loans to business people.
Ms. Long stated that the BBIF uses a holistic approach forsmall businessgrowth which begins witha willing attitude, an assessment of the capacity of the business based on market information, workingwith the business to expand its networks, investment of capital through direct loans and providing information for opportunitiesthroughMinority Business Enterprise (MBE) programs with entities such as the City of Orlando.
Ms. Long stated that thefive loan programs of the BBIF are the original BBIF loan, the SBA Microloan program, a contract financing program which provides working capital to minority businesses regardless of credit by securing the loan with contract assignments, a SBA loan product up to $250,000 known as Community Advantage for small businesses, and the New Market Tax Credit program. The BBIF has been awarded two allocations totaling $40,000,000from the New Market Tax Credit program out of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In order for the BBIF to remain a competitive CDFI, it must maintain excellent financial performance, manage its balance sheet and maintain a strong financial position. To bring more financial resources to the community, the BBIF must compete againstCDE peers and over 1400 other CDFIs nationwide.
To manage its balance sheet, the BBIF must establish and maintain its cash loan reserves, operational cash reserves, unrestricted net assets of at least 25% of total debt, loan losses that cannot exceed 7%, sustainability greater than 60% and Capital Deployment greater than 75% in order to be competitive in the national market. Ms. Long stated that the BBIF has achieved that,which allows the BBIF to get New Market Tax Credits. Over $6,000,000 has been invested into Aspire [Health Partners] on Mercy Drive in District 5. In closing, Ms. Long expressed the BBIF’s gratitude for the grant dollars that allow the BBIF to providetechnical assistanceand financial education training to small business and asked the City to consider helping the BBIF build its loan loss reserves to become even more competitive. A copy of the BBIF presentation is included as supplemental papers to these minutes.
At approximately 10:34 a.m. the BBIF workshop was opened to comments and questions and discussion ensued. At 10:44 a.m. the BBIF workshop was concluded.
Mayor Dyer called on Prospera Regional Vice President Gaby Ortigoni for her presentation to City Council. Ms. Ortigoni began by recognizingboard members in attendance and stating that the mission of Prospera (also known as the Hispanic Business Initiative Fund) is to assist Hispanic entrepreneurs open or expand a business in Florida and to provide bilingual and culturally sensitive services. This is accomplished through a combination of multilingual business seminars, orientations and workshops, business consulting, Minority Certification, access to capital and business grants. Ms. Ortigoni cited Prospera’s results during Fiscal Year 2016-17 as providing 268 non-repeating clients with business counseling, providing 2,144 hours of business consulting and creating or retaining 583 jobs for an output investment in the community of $473,396. Ms. Ortigoni noted that in the Central Florida region, Prospera assisted 558 clients, hosted over 1,800 participantsin
Orlando City Council Workshop
Council Chambers, City Hall
400 South Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801
Monday, October 9, 2017
Page 4 of 4
business programs and seminars, created or retained over 1,500 jobs and marketed over $6,400,000 in loans for local businesses. Ms. Ortigoni noted that at least 50% of those loans came from the City of Orlando. Ms. Ortigoni also noted that Prospera hosted 29 workshops and seminars with a total of 1,070 people in attendance. Topics included accounting for non-accountants, protecting intellectual property, human resources, Minority Certifications and understanding the permitting process in order to educate clients how to adapt culturally and conduct business successfully.
Prospera supports grassroots work in the community by bringing its services into businesses. Prospera is a Gateway Orlando District partner and brings its presentations into partner businesses to adapt to business schedules. Prospera offered a Contractors’ Academy consisting of eight two-hour sessions for Hispanic small businesses in the construction history. Out of forty registrants, thirty four graduated, resulting in an 82% graduation rate. Topics included access to capital, instruction in efficient business structure and finance andhow to do business with governments.
Ms. Ortigoni thanked Prospera’s investors and noted that Prospera lost a portion of its funding from the State due to non-recurring appropriations not being renewed. Prospera did receive some recurring funding and acknowledged the additional contributions of local governments and corporations in sustaining its organization.
Ms. Ortigoni cited a report from the Florida Chamber Foundation which projects a57% increase (6,000,000 people) in population growth in Florida by the year 2030, with the largest growth in Central Florida. Ms. Ortigoni noted the large Hispanic population in Orange and Osceola counties and the potential that the projected growth will have on current and future Hispanic businesses.
Ms. Ortigoni concluded her presentation by inviting everyone to the Don Quixote Awards ceremony on December 9, 2017. A copy of the Prospera presentation is included as supplemental papers to these minutes.
At approximately 10:57 A.M. the Prospera workshop was opened to comments and questions and discussion ensued. At 11:08 A.M. the Prospera workshop was concluded.
City Clerk Denise Aldridge