IEDC Definitions Flashcards
Amortization
The liquidation of a debt via a specified schedule of payments.
Affordable Housing
House which consumes no more than 30% of household income.
Angel Investor
Investor who provides equity investment to start-up businesses.
Assessed Valuation
Monetary worth of a property for the purposes of taxation. Total assessed valuation denotes the sum of the monetary worth of all taxable properties within a jurisdiction.
Assets
Business property acquired at a measurable cost, the use of which is related to the business operations. (Fixed Assets)
BOTs (Build, Operate & Transfer)
Process in which a private company finances, builds, and operates an infrastructure system for a fixed time, during which the gov’t has a regulatory and oversight role. At the end of the project (usually 15 - 25 years) the system is transferred back to the gov’t.
Bankable
A person who can qualify for a loan at a commercial lending institution.
Base Industry
AKA ‘Export’ or ‘Primary’ Industry. Base Industries sell or export their products and services outside of the community and bring new dollars into the community, increasing the total dollars that circulate within the community and that are spent on non-base industries.
Benchmarking
Quantifiable measures of economic competitiveness and quality of life that can be collected on a regular basis. They are used to measure a region’s economic status and progress against comparable regions.
Bond
A certificate of debt issued by a government or corporation, guaranteeing payment of the original investment, plus interest by a specified future date.
Bond Banks
A bond bank is an independent entity, created by the state, that consolidates local bond issues into a single pool to offer better financing options for state or municipal projects.
Bond Rating
An estimation of the relative credit-worthiness of a corporation or gov’tal unit. Private investment service companies make such estimates, generally designating the most credit-worthy borrowers as ‘Triple A’.
Brownfields
Commercial or industrial sites that are abandoned or underutilizied, and have real or perceived environmental contamination.
Business Assistance Center
A one-stop center for streamlining local permitting, licensing and fee payment processes and facilitating the decision-making process.
Business Climate
Usually referred to as the attitude of a local gov’t toward business, but can also consider attitudes of the labor force and local business networks.
Business Incubator
Entity that nurtures and supports young companies until they become viable, providing them with affordable space, technical and mgmt support, equity and long-term debt financing, and employment. The 3 basic objectives in creating an incubator are 1) to spur technology; 2) to diversify the local economy; and 3) to assist in community revitalization
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
Legally defined entities formed by property and business owners, where an assessment or a tax is levied for capital or operating improvements, as a means of supplementing city funding. The district is created by the public law or ordinance, but is administered by an entity responsible to the district’s members, or to the local governing body. Some states authorize non-gov’t, non-profit corportions to admisiter the district. Recent BID programs include economic and social development, transportation, parking mgmt, and conversion of redeveloped commercial bldgs for residential use.
Business Recruitment and Attraction
Traditional approach to economic development to entice companies to relocate or to set up a new branch plant or operation in a state or locality; often referred to ‘smokestack chasing’.
Business Retention
Systematic effort designed to keep local companies content at their present locations, which includes helping companies cope with changing economic conditions and internal company problems.
CBD (Central Business District)
Usually an area with the highest concentration of businesses, including financial institutions, shops, offices, theaters and restaurants.
CDBG (Community Development Block Grants)
Under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, eight former categorical grant and loan programs were replaced by a system of unified block grants under which communities with more than 50K people are entitled to receive funding, while other communities may apply for discretionary funding. Its purpose is to encourage more broadly conceived community development projects and expand housing oppys for low and moderate-income people. The 3 primary goals of CDBG are 1) to serve low & moderate-income people; 2) to eliminate slums and blight; and 3) to address other community development needs that pose a serious threat to the health and welfare of the community.
CDC (Community Development Corporation)
Organizations, typically non-profit 501(c)(3), which can obtain federal and private support. They are governed by local residents, businesses and community leaders through a board of directors that is elected from CDC membership or community. Some CDCs perform only economic development services, but most work only on housing issues. Those active in economic development provide technical assistance and financing and are committed to serving the impoverished people of America.
CDC (Bank CDC)
Bank-sponsored community development corporations are a way for banks to contribute to economic revitalization by investing in local businesses and real estate investment projects that benefit low and moderate income groups. A community can establish a bank CDC by working with one or more local banks, the Federal Reserve, the Comptroller and its respective state financial institutions’ regulators. In the case of consortium bank CDCs. where several banks join together, the investors do not have to be just local banks. Bank CDCs can purchase, construct or rehab property.
CDC (Certified Development Company)
The originating and administrating body for the SBA 504 loans. The program provides long-term, fixed-rate financing to small businesses to acquire real estate, machinery and equipment for the expansion of business or modernization of facilities.