Longmont to consider new contracts for economic development groups

LONGMONT — Longmont City Council members are set to consider Tuesday a series of new contracts that would fund economic development organizations in the city. 

The city’s 2020 budget includes funding for:

• Colorado Enterprise Fund: $5,000. The fund “provides loans to hard-to-finance businesses that have been turned down by conventional lenders such as banks and the U.S. Small Business Administration,” according to city documents.
• Boulder Small Business Development Center: $39,925. “The city-SBDC contract began more than 10 years ago as a way to enhance the level of service Longmont businesses receive from the SBDC,” according to city documents. “In other words, the contract is a direct payment for services rendered”
• Longmont Economic Development Partnership: $362,500. “This contract is more than 20 years old with a major overhaul in 2015 as Longmont EDP took on a greater role in providing economic development services to all Longmont businesses. As the scope of services provided by Longmont EDP (for example — Enterprise Zone administration and Opportunity Zone administration), the contract dollar amount has remained the same, providing enhanced value to the city of Longmont,” city documents show. “This is largely due to more aggressive private sector fundraising that allows Longmont EDP to continue to expand service offerings without additional public sector resources.”
• Visit Longmont: $516,889. The organization “provides the very best information about the wealth of activities in and around the city to visitors and incoming residents,” according to city documents. “It shares Longmont’s signature attractions, cultural events, culinary enticements and recreational opportunities with the goal of increasing visitorship in Longmont.”