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Home My WebLink Aboutitem 04 Business Subsidy Policy ImplementationCity of Lakeville Community & Economic Development Memorandum To: Economic Development Commission From: David L. Olson, Community and Economic Development Director Copy: Justin Miller, City Administrator Kati Bachmayer, Economic Development Specialist Date: June 25, 2019 Subject: Update on Current Business Subsidy Policy Implementation The EDC and City Council adopted the attached amendments to the City’s Business Subsidy Policy in late 2017. There was considerable discussion at several EDC meetings in 2017 regarding the appropriate wage levels for new jobs being created by businesses receiving subsidies from the City. The minimum wage levels in the policy prior to and after the 2017 amendments were required to be “equal to the minimum wage level for business assistance programs administered by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) for cities located in the seven-county metropolitan area...” In 2017 the minimum wage level for these State programs as determined by DEED was approximately $13.50 per hour. Earlier this year when City staff were working with DEED staff on the Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) and Job Creation Fund (JCF) applications for the QA1 project, we were informed that DEED had increased their minimum wage rate for new jobs being created in conjunction with these programs and it is now $15.00 per hour. As a result, the 13 jobs of the total number of 44 jobs that QA1 is proposing to create that have an hourly wage of $14.00 could not be included in DEED’s determination of the level of assistance. The purpose of this memo is to inform EDC members, that based on the City’s current Business Subsidy Policy, going forward only projects that create jobs with an hourly wage of $15 per hour will be able to be considered for business subsidies from the City. Action Requested: This is being provided as an informational item. EDC Members are encouraged to ask questions if additional clarification or explanation is necessary.