HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/04/2016 - Comcast Expansion - Economic Advisory Commission
Economic Health Office
300 LaPorte Avenue
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107 - fax
fcgov.com
MEMORANDUM
DATE: August 4, 2016
TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
CC: Darin Atteberry, City Manager;
Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager;
Jacqueline Kozak-Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer; and
Josh Birks, Economic Health and Redevelopment Director
FROM: Sam Solt, Chair – Economic Advisory Commission;
Ted Settle, Vice-Chair – Economic Advisory Commission; and
Economic Advisory Commission Members
RE: COMCAST EXPANSION – RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide City Council with the Economic Advisory Commission
(EAC) perspective on the recent expansion of Comcast in Fort Collins.
Context:
On May 18 the Coloradoan featured an article about 635 new jobs coming to Fort Collins. Comcast
plans to open a customer care center with an average wage (with benefits) of $44,421 (for context the
Larimer County average wage was $47,205 in 2015i). This project did not request nor receive incentives
from the City of Fort Collins, but the Colorado Economic Development Commission (EDC) provided
$8.1M in performance-based tax incentives to encourage this project to locate in Colorado.
The City takes a Triple Bottom Line approach to investments, considering economic, social, and
environmental factors. However, it appears that the State’s investment was based solely on the number
of new jobs and average wage. It does not appear that consideration was given to the impact of this
project on the City. Specifically, a low unemployment rate, additional automobiles on one of the busiest
streets in the City, more children for a school system that is already behind in building new facilities to
support the current population, and an already strained affordable housing inventory may be affected. In
short, the EAC feels this investment will likely exacerbate, not mitigate, current challenges facing the
City, and the costs borne by Fort Collins’ residents will likely exceed the benefits gained from these
jobs.ii
Recommendation:
The EAC recommends that the leadership of the City of Fort Collins engage with the Colorado Office of
Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and the Colorado EDC to:
Continue to identify for the kinds of jobs and employers the City desires through recruitment
efforts
Express the City’s economic development focus on Triple Bottom Line that provides a thorough
understanding of the positive and negative impacts of an investment on the local community
Clarify the process about how the OEDIT and the Colorado EDC work with local communities
in making investment decisions on behalf of the State
i Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2015
ii The City did not conduct an economic impact analysis of the project since no local incentives were being offered or
requested by the business.