Submitted By: Roberto Ellis
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Presentation By: Aubrey Hale
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Department: Growth Management
FORMAL TITLE:
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Agreement for business creation, retention, and attraction services with the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership, in the amount of $190,000
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OCALA'S RELEVANT STRATEGIC GOALS:
Economic Hub
PROOF OF PUBLICATION:
N/A
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BACKGROUND:
The Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership (CEP) has requested a renewal of the Business Creation, Retention, and Attraction Services Agreement. This agreement requires an allocation of $190,000 from the City's Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget to provide a sponsorship to the CEP and to support business creation, retention, and attraction services. The City's partnership with the CEP began in 2012, when it agreed to provide quarterly funding to promote and enhance economic growth. An agreement has been renewed each year since. Before the formation of the CEP, which merged the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council, similar agreements existed between the City and those entities.
In 2024, City staff and the CEP collaborated to restructure the service agreement at the request of the Ocala City Council. The revised agreement included protocols to address conflicts of interest, separated funding into sponsorship and service components, and introduced a revised work plan focused on key priority areas. The revised service agreement became effective retroactively on October 1, 2024, following its approval due to the restructuring.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS:
Upon reviewing the documentation provided throughout the year, the CEP completed the primary work plan outlined in previous agreements and was compensated $90,000 for the services delivered. A sponsorship payment of $100,000 was also provided in support of CEP programming and business outreach initiatives.
Although the agreement is retroactively effective from October 1, 2024, the restructuring process delayed its approval until Dec...
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