Partnership with Central Bank Seeks to Generate Jobs and Economic Development
KANSAS CITY (BUSINESS WIRE), June 30, 2008 - The City of Kansas City, Mo., Community Development Entity (KC CDE) is helping direct new markets tax credits to catalytic projects that benefit low-income residents and communities in Kansas City, Mo. The development entity includes representatives from low-income communities and City staff, and is responsible for proposing and reviewing projects for new markets tax credit investments.
"New markets tax credits are an important addition to the City's available tools to address issues of economic development in distressed neighborhoods," said City Manager Wayne A. Cauthen. "The tax credits will be allocated through an established framework of neighborhood-based plans that identify specific needs and viable revitalization efforts."
The KC CDE partnered with Central Bank of Kansas City in October 2007 to apply for a $50 million allocation of new markets tax credits. The $50 million award is expected to produce a net amount of approximately $15 million of subsidy for businesses in distressed census tracts.
The KC CDE and Central Bank continue to work to pursue additional new markets tax credits for the development of mixed-use, business, community center and housing projects in the city's low-income communities.
"Coming off of my new tools for economic development symposium, I am happy to see City staff pursue new programs and resources that will specifically promote economic development in the neglected parts of our city," said Mayor Mark Funkhouser.
On March 5, the KC CDE submitted an application requesting $95 million in new markets tax credit allocation authority from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the U.S. Treasury Department. Organizations requesting awards under the federal New Markets Tax Credit Program must be certified as a Community Development Entity by the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
If the $95 million is awarded, it will be targeted at projects that meet several of the following criteria: create living-wage, quality jobs and use workforce development support; demonstrate commitment to working collaboratively with regulatory agencies, community support organizations and affected neighborhoods to optimize benefits to the low income community; qualify as minority/women owned businesses enterprises, or demonstrate commitment to using minority and women business enterprises-contractors; demonstrate commitment to environmental remediation and Leadership in Energy Efficient Design standards; and demonstrate local ownership by low-income persons or residents of low-income communities. The $95 million allocation award outcome will be determined in October.
The new markets tax credit program aligns with the City's redevelopment goals to provide investment capital to low-income communities and incent redevelopment efforts in highly distressed neighborhoods.
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Kansas City Is Among Top 25 Largest Cybercities
KANSAS CITY (kansascityfrontpage.com), June 30, 2008 - AeA, the nation's largest technology trade association representing all segments of the high-tech industry, today released Cybercities 2008: An Overview of the High-Technology Industry in the Nation's Top 60 Cities. This detailed report tracks trends in high-tech employment, wages, establishments, payroll, employment concentration, and wage differential at the metropolitan level.
Kansas City is among the top 25 largest cybercities in the country, employing 62,100 people in 2006, according to the most current metropolitan data available. These jobs pay well, with the average tech industry worker in Kansas City earning $72,400 in 2006, or 75 percent more then the average private sector wage of $41,400. This wage differential is significant given that 7.6 percent of the workforce is in the high-tech industry.
The largest high-tech sector in Kansas City was telecommunications services with 21,900 employees in 2006, making it the 7th largest telecommunications services sector in the nation. The next largest sector in this metro area was computer systems design and related services with 13,600 employees.
"Kansas City's high-tech industry created 1,600 new jobs from 2005 to 2006, but if we want this growth to continue, we need to be doing more," said Laura E. Owen, President, Chief Operating Officer, ICOP Digital, Inc., a high-growth surveillance technology company based in Lenexa, Kansas. "As former Secretary of Commerce for the State of Kansas, it was always my position that government leaders must provide meaningful economic incentives to foster job creation and innovation, especially in the technology sector. We also greatly value the highly skilled workforce and strong work ethic in Kansas City, and should continue to encourage a stronger emphasis on math and science in our schools."
Cybercities 2008 shows that the top five cybercities by high-tech employment in 2006 were the New York Metro Area, Washington, DC, San Jose/Silicon Valley, Boston, and Dallas-Fort Worth. The nation's highest tech industry concentration was in San Jose/Silicon Valley, where more than one in four private sector workers were employed by the tech industry. Seattle saw the largest tech industry employment growth, adding 7,800 jobs in 2006.
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Employment Outlook Shows Slight Hiring Decline
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