During an economic recession, one tends to hear a lot of numbers being thrown around by members of the media, by politicians, and even by Joe Schmoe at the local coffee shop.
Some of the numbers that bear the most weight in everyone’s minds—and wallets—are unemployment rates. Not long ago, the Sun reported the Santa Maria Valley has an estimated 14.2 percent jobless rate. Lompoc’s unemployment rate is estimated at about 16 percent, Vandenberg Air Force Base’s is 14.5 percent, and Guadalupe’s is about 15.5 percent.
Those numbers can be unnerving for a lot of people, including Guadalupe Mayor Lupe Alvarez.
“The summer months are when unemployment is supposed to be the lowest,” Alvarez lamented in a recent interview.
So, in an effort to create more jobs, Alvarez proposed implementing a city program that will give local businesses rebates for hiring long-term employees. The Guadalupe City Council voted to approve the Job Creation Rebate Program on Sept. 14.
Alvarez said he hopes the new policy will have a positive “snowball effect” toward strengthening the city’s economy.
“If you’re working, you have more disposable income. And, hopefully, you’re going to spend it in the community, so from that comes more sales taxes for the city,” he explained. “And it could also have an effect on housing because when you have a steady job you might consider purchasing a home, which would help out the city and the county by creating more property taxes.”
According to documents from the city, the pilot program will run for three years or until Guadalupe’s unemployment rate is reduced to 7 percent. It will provide rebates on business permit fees for new companies opening within Guadalupe city limits. The rebate amount will be based on the number of new, full-time positions created by the individual business. Each position must be consistently filled for a period of at least 12 months to be considered. Construction jobs, however, aren’t being included in the program.
To apply for the rebate, a business owner submits an application to the city, including information about the amount of fees paid. After the 12-month period, the applicant then submits proof of employment and a rebate request, which are reviewed by city staff. If the request is approved, the city mails a check to the applicant.
Al Rodriquez, director of business development for Innovative Concepts, an information technology company based in San Luis Obispo, said the program is just another added incentive for expanding his business in Guadalupe.
“We’ve been looking in the Santa Maria area for a new location,” Rodriguez said, adding that the specific city was flexible because of the nature of his business.
“Guadalupe has been taking a serious run at us and it makes it hard for us to say no,”
he said.
Mayor Alvarez and City Administrator Regan Candelario have both met with Rodriguez about starting his business in Guadalupe. The mayor even gave him a tour of the town and introduced him to local business owners, he said, adding, “You can’t put a value on that.”
“We were looking hard at Santa Maria, but [Guadalupe officials] have made it very hard not to look at Guadalupe,” he said. “They’ve reached out to us, they’ve made it very enticing for us … The rebate is actually secondary, but it’s an added incentive.”
And according to Alvarez, the program could also be implemented successfully in other cities on the Central Coast.
“It’s not every day that jobs are created here in Guadalupe. We’re a small community,” he said, but the rebate rates could be adjusted for “whatever works for Santa Maria, Lompoc, San Luis Obispo, or wherever.
“Everybody’s complaining about the economy—and when I say everybody, I mean politicians—but nobody’s proposing viable solutions,” he said. “This is a viable solution.”
Contact Managing Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 23-30, 2010.
