Industrial Development Authority
Today marks the first official meeting of the new Citrus County Industrial Development Authority (CCIDA). This is a board that former economic development director Steve Baham asked to create to help plan economic development in the industrial areas of the county.
Here is the purpose of this board, from the new Citrus County Economic Development website.
"The Citrus County Industrial Development Authority was established to support economic development and capital investment in the county. The Authority works with public and private partners to advance strategic projects and create opportunities for business growth. As the organization continues to develop, CCIDA will help expand the county’s capacity to support long-term investment."
The idea of this board is to help spur economic growth, particularly industrial growth. The board will help companies move to Citrus County and help grow the industrial base here in Citrus. They can also help local businesses expand their businesses here as well.
To do this, the CCIDA will be able to help businesses get bonds for their projects and the bonds are repaid through the project's revenues. These bonds are NOT bonds issued by the county, so there is no taxpayer risk if the company cannot pay them back. They are privately held bonds that the CCIDA is able to help leverage.
That is one of the main reasons this was created. The state provides this mechanism for these bond opportunities, so I imagine that will be a large focus of this board... how to leverage the power of these bonds to attract more businesses to come and invest here in Citrus.
Today's meeting will be the introduction to all of that.
The 5 members will be sworn in. Then they will decide on a Chair and Vice Chair. Once all that is done, they will have a presentation by the county attorney on public records and the Florida Sunshine Laws. This board, like all boards in the county, will have to follow public records laws and Florida Sunshine Laws. Like commissioners, they cannot talk to one another about what may come before this board outside of these meetings.
Then they will have a presentation on the purpose and goals of this board. This will show these members exactly what their roles will be (and what they will not be).
Here are the types of projects they are to consider.
Generally speaking, these specialty type boards do not get much public attention. Go to an aviation advisory board meeting and you will see maybe 5 people in the audience. There is not much fanfare, but they do important work.
This one however, I feel will become pretty popular at times. The goal is to drive new businesses to Citrus County via these bonding opportunities. That is meant to make it easier for business development.
What happens if a company people may not be interested in shows interest? Let's say a Data Center... what happens if one applies for these funds?
I can see meetings getting packed, like we see at the PDC at times. That is not to say its a bad thing when people get involved... just pointing out how difficult this board may find navigating these issues.
Add to that the overall sentiment in the community about growth and new businesses coming and "paving paradise" in the name of economic development.
Should be fun times. I will say, I do not envy these individuals.
To that point... it is a very good roster of good people...
- Cynthia Oswald
- Robert Bass
- James "Jim" Green
- Phyllis Dixon
- Rickey Wilson
So be nice to them if you end up going to one of these meetings and want to oppose something they are working on... They are your neighbors and are doing this for free.
Good luck to you all and thank you for your service to the county and for volunteering your time to help make Citrus a better place for us all!