HomeMy WebLinkAboutBusiness Subsidy Policy
☒City Council Approved: 4/5/2011
☐City-Wide Revised: Click here to enter a date.
☐Department
City of Edina Policy
BUSINESS SUBSIDY
Minnesota Business Subsidies Act (the “Act”), Minnesota Statutes, Sections 116J.993 through 116J.995,
requires cities to adopt criteria for awarding business subsidies. This policy is intended to comply with
the Act.
The purpose of a public subsidy granted to a private business is to incent a private business to make a
positive business action in the community that it would not otherwise do but for the granting of the
public subsidy. With respect to subsidies, the determination of the number of jobs to be created and
the wage levels thereof shall be guided by the following principles and criteria:
A. Each project shall be evaluated on a case by case basis, recognizing its importance and benefit to
the community from all perspectives, including created or retained employment positions.
B. If a particular project does not involve the creation of jobs, but is nonetheless found to be
worthy of support and subsidy, it may be approved without any specific job or wage goals, as may be
permitted by applicable law.
C. In cases where the objective is the retention of existing jobs, the recipient of the subsidy shall be
required to provide reasonably demonstrable evidence that the loss of those jobs is imminent.
D. The setting of wage and job goals must be sensitive to prevailing wage rates, local economic
conditions, external economic forces over which neither the grantor nor the recipient of the subsidy
has control, the individual financial resources of the recipient and the competitive environment in which
the recipient’s business exists.
E. Because it is not possible to anticipate every type of project which may in its context and time
present desirable community building or preservation goals and objectives, the governing body must
retain the right in its discretion to approve projects and subsidies which may vary from the principles
and criteria of this policy.
F. The City Council shall conduct a public hearing in response to a request for public subsidy prior
to the Council’s approval of said subsidy.