FY 2019 PROPOSED BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS County Board Work Session Arlington Economic Development Monday, March 19, 2018 4:00 PM General Fund & Tourism Promotion Fund
FY 2019 PROPOSED BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
County Board Work Session
Arlington Economic Development
Monday, March 19, 2018 4:00 PM
General Fund & Tourism Promotion Fund
Making Arlington a leading community
that is vibrant, accessible and
resilient, today and in the future.Become the Technology
Innovation Center of the U.S.
To continue to develop Arlington
County as an economically vital,
competitive and sustainable
community by providing leadership
and services to the business, real
estate development and visitors
services sectors of the Arlington
economy.
VISION
MISSION
Department Overview
2Arlington Economic Development
Business Investment Group
• FY18 year-to-date:
• 1.43 million square feet assisted
• 11,154 total jobs*
• Retention/Expansion: 19 deals, 1,181,285 square feet
• New Business: 8 deals, 247,788 square feet
BizLaunch
• FY18 year-to-date:
• Business outreach total: 2,300
• 45 workshops (75 by yr. end)
• 438 counseling appointments
• 100 counseling appointments and 9 workshops in Spanish
• Key topics: starting a business, marketing, financing and government contracting.
Communications
• Earned Media Impressions: 2.8B
• Media Value: $147.5 M
• Social Media: Fans/Followers: 6,538 Impressions: 976k
• Web Traffic: Sessions – 33k, Users – 24k, Pageviews – 73k
*Jobs # includes 8,000 from Deloitte retention-expansion (450,000 s.f.)
Department Overview
3Arlington Economic Development
Arlington Convention &
Visitors Service
• $119M in state and $89M in local tax receipts (2016)
• 247M domestic ad impressions to leisure & meetings audiences
• 150K StayArlington website sessions
• 26.4K group room nights booked
• 13K visitors served in person
Arlington Cultural Affairs
• Enriching Lives: Arlington Arts and Culture Strategy progress
• Cultural Facilities Task Force –Create Vision and Principles
• Artspace Arts Market Study –Identify Potential Cultural Facility Projects
• Arlington Art Truck – NEA funded mobile artist-in-residence launch
• 293 artists paid for arts activities
• New website launched
Real Estate Development
• Initiated studies of current and future commercial market conditions and opportunities in the Columbia Pike and Lee Highway corridors.
• Construction progressing at Ballston Quarter on schedule for delivery Fall of 2018.
Way Forward Updates
Arlington Economic Development 4
• Strategy: Nurture pipeline provided by brokers and VEDP while gathering intel on targeted geographies and national competitiveness.
• Examples: New York – Ed Tech, San Diego – Cybersecurity, D.C. – Broker Outreach
Marketing Missions
• Strategy: Brand Arlington as a place where innovation happens and federal funding is available. Lead with content to curate targeted companies through panels, speaking engagements and events.
• Examples: Consumer Electronics Show – Las Vegas, SXSW – Austin, Collision – New Orleans
Trade Shows
• Strategy: Implement innovate programs through which to collect leads. On average it requires 1,000 leads for two qualified prospects.
• Examples: Startup Arlington Program, Dongsheng Entrepreneurship Competition
Lead Generation Activities
Business Retention and Expansion
Arlington Economic Development 5
• Executive Luncheon for C-level executives
• Arlington Premiere with 500+ attendees
• Industry events and retention visits with County management
Executive Networking Opportunities
• Grand openings and ribbon cuttings
• Joint marketing missions at tradeshows
• Award nominations
Marketing & Promotion
• Site selection assistance
• Customized research and analysis (workforce, demographics, tax rates)
• Market performance updates
Business Intelligence & Research
• Connect businesses to County and community resources
• Customized workforce assistance
• Welcome letters (1,600+)
Liaison Services
Business Investment Summary
Arlington Economic Development 6
181*
32,200
5.4M
16
CLOSED DEALS SINCE JAN 2015
NEW AND RETAINED JOBS
SQUARE FEET
DEALS USED EDI GRANTS
1776
AIR**
APT**
Basket Savings**
BNA**
Eastern Foundry
Grant Thornton**
GW MFA
Lidl**
Nestlé**
SineWave
Axios***
Higher Logic***
Phone2Action***
Stardog***
VideoBlocks***
*127 AED-assisted
**COF match
***Gazelle grant
7County Manager's FY 2019 Proposed Budget
Business Investment Summary (continued)
Investment in
Economic Development
Ongoing: $1.5 million
One-time: $2.7 million
Total: $4.2 million
FY 2019 funding meets current
commitments
Every $1 invested generates $5
12.7%
16.2%
20.0%21.0%
17.3%
19.4%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%Countywide Vacancy Rate
Summary of Proposed Budget Changes
FY 2018
Adopted
FY 2019
Proposed Change
%
Change
Expenses $8,964,571 $8,715,160 -$249,411* -2.8%
Revenue $354,165 $197,000 -$157,165 -44.4%
Staff 56.2 FTEs 52.9 FTEs -3.3 FTEs -5.8%
8
• Budget reductions for consideration total approximately $433,000
(3.3 FTEs) (4.8% of FY 2018 Adopted Budget)
• Revenue decreases due to updated accounting for closure of
Spectrum Theatre – Facility closed June 2017
Arlington Economic Development
General Fund
*FY19 expenses includes salary and benefit increases as well as CPRO and Lee Highway Alliance funds moved from non-departmental to AED
Summary of Proposed Budget Changes
FY 2018
Adopted
FY 2019
Proposed Change
%
Change
Expenses $1,519,200 $1,546,700 +$27,500 +1.8%
Revenue $1,519,200 $1,546,700 +$27,500 +2.2%
Staff 7.0 FTEs 7.0 FTEs +0 FTEs +0%
9
• Revenue includes $246,700 ongoing General Fund transfer
• Proposed budget reflects anticipated revenue from Transient
Occupancy Tax surcharge reauthorization – VA General Assembly
Budget Bill with 3-year sunset currently pending approval (Mid-
April for Governor’s signature)Arlington Economic Development
Tourism Promotion Fund
Detail: Proposed Reductions
10
Eliminate the Strategic Partnerships Director/BIDs Partnerships Executive Liaison Function
Service Impacts Budget Impact
• Duties of this position will be permanently reassigned to
one Business Investment Group (BIG) staff person (1.0
FTE) resulting in 30% less time available for their
primary responsibilities (e.g. addressing commercial
vacancy rate)
• Partnerships Liaison role will be permanently
reallocated to Director’s Office staff.
• BIDs will receive fewer staff resources (e.g. to attend
meetings or facilitate internal discussions with County
staff) from AED than in prior years
Change: -$143,231
Staff Impact
-1.0 Partnerships Director
(vacant)
Arlington Economic Development
Detail: Proposed Reductions
11
Eliminate Funding for the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Service Impacts Budget Impact
• Discontinues AED’s formal annual funding to
GWHCC
• Will require revisiting the partnership arrangement
and discussing alternatives for managing an
ongoing relationship with GWHCC
Change: -$6,000
Staff Impact
N/A
Arlington Economic Development
Detail: Proposed Reductions
12
Decrease the Ongoing Commitment to Arlington Sister Cities Association by 10%, from
$50,000 to $45,000
Service Impacts Budget Impact
• Reduces ASCA’s current budget by approximately 4%
• Also updates the agreement with ASCA to increase the
matching component of the grant from $10,000 to
$15,000. Non-matching component will consist of
$30,000.
• Will require the organization’s reallocation of resources
and reprioritization of its existing program goals. The
organization will need to increase fundraising or
cut/modify existing programs.
Change: -$5,000
Staff Impact
N/A
Arlington Economic Development
Detail: Proposed Reductions
13
Eliminate the Connect Arlington Marketing Program and Associated Business Development
Staff
Service Impacts Budget Impact
• Vision of Connect Arlington as an Economic Development
catalyst will not be fully realized
• AED will not undergo any significant marketing or outreach
to businesses specifically targeted for potential early-
adopters or likely users of the high-speed dedicated fiber
network, and sector specific business development
activities targeted to fiber users will not be offered.
Change: -$165,964
Staff Impact
-1.0 AED Specialist (vacant)
Arlington Economic Development
Detail: Proposed Reductions
14
Eliminate Connection Grants Funding (one-time)
Service Impacts Budget Impact
• Connection grants will no longer be offered as a potential
business investment tool for recruiting businesses.
• A review of the program’s business model is currently
underway with recommendations due to the Manager and
the Board this spring.
Change: -$250,000
Staff Impact
N/A
Arlington Economic Development
Detail: Proposed Reductions
15
Eliminate the Cultural Affairs Humanities Program
Service Impacts Budget Impact
The following programs will be cancelled or altered:• Moving Words: Juried poetry competition with winning
poems displayed on ART buses
• Little Saigon: Oral history project documenting
Vietnamese community in Arlington
• Legacy businesses: Oral history project documenting
historic businesses on Lee Highway and Nauck
• Halls Hill Legacy Makers: Portrait project documenting
Halls Hill High view Park community leader
• Poet Laureate: The Poet Laureate serves as an
advocate for poetry and the literary arts
• The Poet is in: Mobile poetry pop-up creating customized
original poems for Arlingtonians.
• Community Gardens: Oral history project documenting
the diverse cultural make-up of Arlington
Change: -$77,172
Staff Impact
-0.8 Humanities Programmer
(vacant)
Arlington Economic Development
Detail: Proposed Reductions
16
Eliminate the Cultural Affairs New Media Program
Service Impacts Budget Impact
The following programs will be cancelled:
• Full Dome Projections: Original new media work
commissioned for David M. Brown Planetarium
• How to Video Festival: Juried competition to create
entertaining instructional videos
• Outdoor Digital Projections: Original projection
commission to celebrate Dia de los Muertos event
• County Wandering Tours: Artist led walking tours
highlighting and reimagining the planning and
evolution of the community.
Change: -$36,225
Staff Impact
-0.5 New Media Programmer
(vacant)
Arlington Economic Development
Key Budget Considerations
• Steady improvement in the vacancy rate (17.3% in Q2 2017) was set back by the NSF
departure and new office deliveries (19.4% in Q4 2017)
• Support for business development to sustain overall program momentum
• Continued funding to meet anticipated performance on incentive projects
• Maintain tourism investment to leverage anticipated TOT surcharge renewal
17Arlington Economic Development